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-Guitar Hero is all the rage for consumers.
-Need to take a break from searching for the latest gear during The NAMM Show? Here are some celebrity appearances and parties to check out.
-Attendance increased at Music China and Prolight + Sound, and Kenny G made a big splash.
-Improving next month's NAMM Show is like making the 1972 Miami Dolphins better. But NAMM is certainly not resting on its laurels.
-We reveal all of the manufacturer nominees for Music & Sound Awards to be handed out next month at The NAMM Show.
-Counterfeiting on MI products, particularly guitars, may have received minimal national press, but the problem is real and not going away.
-Find out how to sell products your customers are probably not looking to buy.
-M&SR features its second annual independent retailer roundtable. What's on dealer's mind's this year. Are things better than last year?
-Females playing musical instruments now outnumber males, according to a NAMM/Gallup survey.
-Industry leaders paved the way for the next 10 years.
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-The Latest, Industry, Dealers, People and Product Buzz and Showcases.
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-Dan Vedda shares every thought not appearing in his monthly column right here.
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-Robert Gault, president of Eminence Speaker, knows a massive amount about China and the pro audio industry. Enough said.
-To say Kurt Ballou, Converge's guitarist, doesn't treat guitars well is like saying the New England Patriots are a decent football team. Ballou had to find a guitar to take a pounding. Here's why he chose First Act's Sheena.
-The amazing story of how Gear Source Music reopened days after a flood took it apart. Spy ventured to the Pacific Northwest to the great city of Seattle. Five minutes with a great wealth of knowledge in the percussion industry, Remo Belli.
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-John Flansburgh, They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh is a big fan of several independent dealers as well as a host of manufacturers.
-Matt Rubano, the bass player for the red-hot band Taking Back Sunday. Even better, he likes to shop for MI gear.
-Paul English, Willie Nelson has had four wives in 40 years, but only one drummer in that same time frame.
-John 5, When your name is a number, you must be cool. John 5, who played with Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, says idolizing Eddie Van Halen was a big mistake. How is that possible?
-Luke Pritchard may be “all together Kook-y,” but he has cool memories from the days he visited retail stores.
-Eddie Ojeda; Lead guitarist for Twisted Sister.
-Will Lee; Getting that gig isn’t easy and took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
-Imogen Heap writes songs, plays piano and the nail violin,Does she plan to design her own instrument?
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THE STATE OF THE DEALER
MSR's Second Annual Indie Roundtable |
| By Brian Berk |
[November 2007 - Page 1] |
Last November, we interviewed a group of retailers at a restaurant to find out what was going well, what wasn't, and what could use improvement. We're back now to give you a second helping of our independent roundtable discussion. Are things going better for independent dealers? What are their biggest pet peeves? We hosted a small group of four retailers, Peter Hix of Hix Bros. Music in Aurora, Ill.; Chris Lovell of Strings & Things, Memphis, Tenn.; Bill Stevens, administrator for the NORCAL Music Coalition in Oakland, Calif.; and Chad Knowles from The Music Room in Rome, Ga., to provide their thoughts.
The Music & Sound Retailer: What's your biggest challenge at your store right now?
Chad Knowles: The main thing that is concerning me is some manufacturers don't want to deal with independent music stores. I can't get the same products that the big boxes can. And I can't sell products at the same price that big boxes can. So I'm losing customers every day. I can discount, but I still can't compete with the big boxes. We are trying to utilize some of the NAMM programs like Weekend Warriors, and we've looked into working with Little Kids Rock. But price plays a major role in a buyer's decision. It seems like service doesn't matter anymore. Customers want a cheaper price only.
Peter Hix: My problem is probably the same as everybody else. I describe it as though I'm standing on my tip-toes and my head is just above water. I'm about to drown. The only thing helping me is I've done this for a long time, so I'm trained. The biggest problem is a lot of things are not as profitable as they could be because the products we have are devalued. Manufacturers have lowered the costs, so the gross dollars aren't as good. But we also don't have the opportunities to make any dollars off of it because we have devalued our own goods. Not our services, but our goods. I use the Bentley as an example. I think the cheapest Bentley is $169,000. Is it worth that price? Sure it is, because that's what people will pay for it. Bentley doesn't have a $50,000 car. It hasn't gone to China. It's not that we are not selling items. We are. The problem is we are not making as much as we should. The second thing that concerns me is the fourth quarter was always the quarter when we kicked some [butt]. We sold enough of the entry-level stuff. People came to the guitar stores to buy guitars. And with that quarter, we came off well. All of our employees received bonuses. We don't even get an opportunity to do that anymore because the general public sees guitars everywhere, so they don't even come in the store. We don't have the opportunity to get out of debt during the last quarter or really establish something.
M&SR: But can you then sell the boutique independent-friendly brands instead?
Bill Stevens: It's a problem when you are one of the ones who built up the name of that big manufacturer. You all of a sudden get involved in a situation where a company you and your dad spent 20, 30, or 40 years building up is one you can no longer make a profit on. You're faced with the problem of having to switch brands. That's a very hard decision to face.
M&SR: Are you worried about the future of the independent dealer?
Chris Lovell: I'm less worried. Do you know why? Because the manufacturers are in the swamp with us. The whole thing is a wreck. Now that the reps and manufacturers are in the quicksand with us, we'll all die together or someone will do something. That's the good news. Manufacturers are now unsure about the future like we've been for the past half-decade.
Stevens: There's an old Chinese "curse" that says "May you live in interesting times." There's doubt and insecurity about what the Guitar Center sale means for growth. Will there be growth? Where's it going to come from? There's doubt involving the [possible] FTC investigation. Doubt involving the Leegin Supreme Court decision that allows manufacturers to set a minimum selling price. That has major implications for our industry. So there's a lot more "up in the air" then there has been in a long time. The margin difference is so dramatic for independent dealers that they can't make money in the same business their fathers and grandfathers have been in.
( continued, next page >> )
[ pages: 1 - 2 ]
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