Renée Frojo
Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

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After more than 140 years, piano retailer Sherman Clay Co. will be playing a swan song for its two Bay Area stores.

Historic New York-based piano maker Steinway Sons will be taking over the retailer’s stores on Mission St. in San Francisco and another in Walnut Creek. Sherman Clay’s shops in Santa Clara and Sacramento will shutter entirely.

The San Bruno-based company will, however, continue to run its stores in Seattle and Houston.

Sherman Clay CEO Eric Schwartz, whose family has owned the business since 1960, said the move is “bitter sweet,” but the family had to move on to focus on its other businesses.

“We will miss working with our many friends and associates in the Bay Area, relationships that span decades,” said Schwartz. “However, the sale to Steinway will allow us to focus more attention on our other business interests in commercial real estate, retail sales financing, and paper manufacturing. We’re confident that Bay Area musicians and piano lovers will be in good hands with Steinway.”

The piano store was founded in San Francisco in 1870 by Leander Sherman and owned by the Schwartz family since 1960. It’s now part of the Sherman Clay Group, which includes SClay Management, Inc., a commercial real estate management firm and Allegro Acceptance, which give financing to those who purchase pianos and hearing aids.

Those in the market for a piano will likely get a good deal at the store’s closing sale, beginning on Thursday. Sherman Clays’s complete inventory of new and used Steinway, Boston, Essex and Henry F. Miller brand pianos will be up for grabs.

The company currently employs nine people in the Bay Area and three in Sacramento. Most will likely transition to Steinway, Schwartz said.

Renée Frojo covers hospitality, restaurants, retail and nonprofits for the San Francisco Business Times.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2013/04/historic-sherman-clay-piano-company.html