About POPSTORE

Hey, I’m Tom. Founder, owner, and Chief Spinner at Popstore.

Tom at Popstore

Popstore is new. We’re still a baby, you could say. I say ‘we’, but while we’re a family business, this is mostly my baby. So, I thought I’d introduce myself and bit about what we’re building here.

I started Popstore in 2025 having spent 20 years of my career in retail head offices and publishing. I worked my way up to Senior Vice President in a FTSE50, but I eventually became disillusioned with the corporate world and a life on planes and in meeting rooms. As a working class, gay kid of the 80’s, I never really fitted in, despite my so-called ‘success’. What even is ‘success’ anyway? Posh job titles and fast cars? Urgh.

So - this year I decided it was now or never, and the best chance I’d get at doing something I’d always wanted to do - open a shop. As an ecommerce specialist, I knew I could take what I’d learned in the corporate world and add it to a lifelong love of music - and hopefully make enough to live on at the same time. It’s early days, but I’m not dead yet.

At Popstore, we have three core missions:

  1. We won’t ever become ‘vinyl snobs’. I’m not new to music collecting, but I’ve only been collecting vinyl for a few years, and the amount of raised eyebrows I’ve witnessed in that time is astounding - particularly around pop music. Music is for everyone - whatever your taste, whatever your journey, and we won’t ever budge on that, or judge you for it.
  2. We’ll retain our position as one of the cheapest places for pop on the market. You’ll probably know that there is a huge spectrum of retailer prices - and there really shouldn’t be. Charging more solely because you have a well-known brand is not the route we’ll take.
  3. When Popstore grows, it’ll give back. We’ll use what we know to share our knowledge with those who need it. Young, diverse, talented people who just need a nudge and a supportive arm round their shoulder. We won’t ever hire for ‘who you know’, and we’ll reward impact, not politics.

So that’s us. I’m so glad you’re here. You’re helping make dreams come true.

See you on the dance floor.

Tom x

P.S. Oh - we love to chat about pop music, so join us over at https://www.instagram.com/wearepopstore and say hi.

You can also email us for help and recommendations at hello@wearepopstore.com.