LPD Music, in Madison Heights, Mich., has partnered with Line 6 as a distributor of the Line 6 PODS, effects, digital wireless systems, and accessories. Vice president Tom Vallis has been both surprised and pleased with this new venture.
With the first half of 2009 behind us and (knock on wood) some early indicators of a potential bottoming out to the current recession, things are (again, knock on wood. Vigorously beat upon any and all wooden objects) possibly beginning to look up for the U.S. and global economies. MMR recently asked over 2,000 retailers to summarize their observations on the first six months of the year and to offer their projections as to how 2009 will wind up.
“We’ve been hearing about the market for used or reconditioned cymbals for some time now,” says Peter Stairs, Sabian’s vice president of sales. “We’ve been looking at how to enter that market formally; up until now, we’d never really figured out exactly how we were going to do it.”
What Sabian has come up with is a new brand: the SR2. Sabian is going to “recondition” playable cymbals that are sent back to the factory, stamp them with the SR2 logo, and release them back onto the market. There is a growing market for used musical instruments, due in part to the flagging economy, and Stairs feels that the time is right for this new endeavor.
It may seem that everyday one gets out of bed in the morning, it’s a wild, wild world out there where economic paradigm shifts are as rapid as they are unnerving. Still, retailers, particularly (exclusively?) the independent ones, not only continue to rely on their big and small wholesalers and distributors, but also are anxious to partner with them more than ever. Better deals, better margins, better terms – along with a better understanding of exactly what is happening to those on the front lines of MI retailing are no longer a luxury but a necessity, requiring creativity and new approaches from suppliers.
