SPECIAL: GUITARS
April 15 2007
VOLUME 24 NO.4

THE MAGAZINE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND SOUND PRODUCT MERCHANDISERS

 

   
 

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-Table of Contents
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FEATURES
FEATURES
America the Beautiful 2010 has been a good year for American patriotism. And we don’t just mean annual rituals such as the Fourth of July.
Not Doubting Thomas
Mendello Retires, Thomas Named Fender CEO
Former Guitar Center CEO Larry Thomas has a new gig: CEO at Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
The ‘Spin’ on the DJ Market Whether your store carries a full line of DJ products, just a few or none at all, it’s hard to dispute that these products have carved a major indentation in the MI marketplace.
Music City Mystery Summer NAMM had many highlights, but attendance dropped 4 percent compared to last year. The future of the show is a topic on many minds.
The Canadians’ Club Changes galore took place at this year’s installment of the MIAC show in Toronto. The date changed to May. The location changed. Why were the adjustments made? Did the alterations work?
Floyd Rose Sued Geoffrey McCabe, an inventor and guitarist, has sued Floyd Rose Guitars and distributor Davitt & Hanser Music for patent infringement.
Pay It Forward! You’ve heard enough bad news. We take a look at the fantastic things happening in MI today.
-‘MIM is the Word The Musical Instrument Museum opened in Phoenix to a lot of fanfare. Rebecca Apodaca, an expert on antique instruments, gives you a rundown of the latest thing to hit MI.
-‘Loud and Clear Pro audio products continue to sell. We get the scoop from four top manufacturers.
-‘Open Door’ Policy NAMM makes a big change by allowing member-invited guests on the last day of Summer NAMM.
-Musikmesse A-107K! Attendance at Musikmesse and Pro Light + Sound dipped slightly, but optimism was up.
-It’s in the Cards ! You need to have PCI DSS-compliant terminals to handle credit card transactions by July 1. What are we talking about? Don’t worry, we’ll explain.
-Unplugged Acoustic guitar sales grew dramatically in 2009 and the beginning of 2010. Is this the beginning of a new trend?
-Head of the Class! We shine the spotlight on many of the new companies that launched at NAMM.
-Musicorp Mourns Mike Murphy We honor the sale rep’s life that ended way too soon.
-Is a New Healthcare Plan Just Snake Oil? We take a thorough look at how a new public healthcare plan can affect you and your employees. ?
-Bonanza! Behringer Buys Bosch Brands Behringer’s parent company added the Midas and Klark Teknik brands to its stable.
-The Stars Will Come Out…This Weekend We highlight a few of the celebrity appearances at NAMM.
-What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been!!! We reminisce as we close out the first decade of the new millennium. It was a tough 10 years for many. How about for the music industry though? What’s ahead?
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It’s Voting Time! Here are your nominees for the 24th annual Music & Sound Awards.
-Here We Come to Save the Day!!We provide a plethora of accessories that manufacturers assure you will provide excellent margins.
-For Those Who Make Lesser Publicized Instruments, We Salute You!!For the first time, we pay tribute to instruments and products that get little press coverage. We provide a well-deserved spotlight for these products!

-The Latest, Industry, Dealers, People and Product Buzz and Showcases.

COLUMNS
-The Music & Sound Independent Retailer: We bring back our popular Independent Retailer Round-table. Providing four pages worth of answers are Gordy Wilcher & Lisa Kirkwood.
-Five Minutes With: We lend our ears to Marty Garcia, Founder and CEO of Future Sonics.
-MI Spy: Spy makes a visit to New York City to check out stores in both downtown and midtown. Service has to be good to win over discerning New Yorkers, right? We’ll find out.
-Dan the Man: Dan Ferrisi, with the help of occasional strategically placed SAT vocabulary words, discusses the prospect that the industry may have lost luster since a promising and upbeat January NAMM show.
-Birth of a Product Two former PRS veterans combined forces to found Knaggs Guitars. The story behind the Maryland- based company, which debuted a line of products at Musikmesse.
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Sales Guru: Sales persistence pays off. Just ask Gene Fresco
-Veddatorial: Dan Vedda provides a can’t-be-missed Summer NAMM synopsis.



FORMIDABLE FEMALES

-Kathy How:Now here’s a story you don’t hear connected to MI every day. A woman who grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, studied medicine and later moved to England.
-Sarah Heil:We’ve all heard the stories about people beginning in the mailroom and later becoming the CEO of a major corporation. Those people are rare, but it does happen.
-Sue Avant is a trailblazer. She’s also someone who
has varied interests. And she is, indeed, formidable.

-Mary Ann Giorgio It sure sounds like a great job to cover soap operas like Days of our Lives and speak to celebrities on a daily basis. But MXL’s Mary Ann Giorgio was never comfortable in that industry. She sure is comfortable at MXL Microphones though.
-Fusion Bags For the first time, we feature multiple people in this column. We look at the genesis and growth of the all-women founded business, Fusion Bags.
-Linda Arink is one of the very few female executives at a DJ company. Learn how she became involved and why she hopes we won’t even need to have a column about top industry females in the future.
-Debbe Stephenson stumbled upon MI shortly after college, but is sure glad she did. She’s now president and COO of Pro Co Sound.
-• Mary Peavey
-• Jennifer Tabor
-• Tarina Dunwoodie
-• Stacey Montgomery-Clark.
-• Cathy Duncan
-• Bee Bantug
-• Dale Krevens
-• Melanie Ripley
-• Susan Grund
-• Toby Nady
-• Shawna von Behren.
-• Berenice Chauvet
-• Sue Kincade
-• Tish Ciravolo
-• Vikki Hayward
-• Roxana Ramirez
-• Susan Lipp



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CLUB WORLD
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-Club World Awards 2009.
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SURVIVOR: GUITAR STORES
[April 2007 - Page 2]

“You can’t abandon the product levels that they sell,” Meader added, “but you sure can exploit the stuff they don’t do.”
“I think retailers should shop just like a consumer shops,” Turchetta suggested. “You can buy $200 to $500 guitars that you’re not embarrassed to sell and actually will last and play. Instead of just taking $2,000 to buy 30 guitars, I’d say buy 10 that you’re not embarrassed to sell.”

The mid-range is an important area to focus on when trying to bring in the step-up customer who may have bought his first guitar at a big box or chain so that when they walk into your store, “they don’t feel overwhelmed by seeing price points that are crazy compared to what they saw at Target or wherever they bought their guitar,” said John Thomas, director of sales at Tornavoz.

Are You Being Served?
“What I’ve told my dealers over and over again is whatever these chain stores are doing, do something else. But to them that means sell a different product line,” said Peavey. “That may be part of the answer, but that’s certainly not all of the answer.”
In truth, product selection alone will not distinguish you enough from other market segments. What every successful independent dealer needs is a strong add-on service and personalized touch that creates a store identity.”

photo1

“If you want to stand out from a superstore, the best way to do that is to realize that the first impression you make comes down to the first person who your new customer runs in to,” said Gallenberger. “It’s not just how well they are trained. What do they know about guitars? Do they present themselves well? Are they polite? Your employee has to be happy and has to want to be there,” he continued. “All the marketing money you spend is lost if your customer doesn’t feel like they’re welcomed and like this is a good place to come back to.”

photo2

“I still believe that knowledge and real care for the customer on a retailer level is the goal, and is the one thing that can set you apart from your competitors,” said Peter Wolf, PRS Guitars’ director of sales and marketing. “Essentially, [you’re] not really ultimately selling a product to [your customer]. You’re actually selling yourself or your services to him first.”

Technical Terms
The role of the salesperson has not dissipated in the wake of the Internet, where unlimited information is at any potential customer’s fingertips. “Customers approach retailers more informed than ever before,” said John Grabowski, Sweetwater’s director of purchasing, “but there is no substitute for the knowledge and guidance of a skilled salesperson. In this day of Wal-Mart and a self-service mentality, it’s easy to lose sight of this, but when exposed to it, customers appreciate true service and a relationship with an expert more than ever before.”
The need for knowledgeable salespeople becomes especially important in the face of new technology in guitars—even though guitar players are known to be some of the least adventurous of the bunch
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