How much longer before G&L goes under?
Jul 22, 2012 19:37:33 GMT -5
Post by Infinite Ego on Jul 22, 2012 19:37:33 GMT -5
Pure speculation on my part. And not really a prediction just wondering out loud about the long term viability of this kind of company
After reading that Fender IPO story I began to wonder about lesser firms such as G&L that survive in the wake of Fender.
I don't know if you're aware of it or not but even PRS nearly went belly up in 2008 or 09. I think they're okay now (laid off employees, went like gangbusters selling off their wood supplies and making a ton of extremely expensive Private Stock guitars....) but the trend is away from the kind of USA-made guitars that G/L makes....the middle priced stuff, i.e., Strat and Tele style guitars for 1K to 1500 give or take
It seems to me that guitar makers are hanging on for now by selling the cheapest shit on earth or the ultra expensive stuff. Its' the middle rungs that aren't working out they way they used to.
Guitar-driven music is drying up
There are too many guitar makers (20 companies that start with the letter G alone, no shit, not to mention the rest of the alphabet)
The used guitar market is super saturated and it will take years for that stock to stabilize
Used G&Ls are a dime a dozen
Buffalo Bros., used to be a major dealer, has virtually no GL stock
Online dealers that still carry them are sitting on stock that, in some cases, are 3 or 4 years old...they're just not moving.
As G/L continues to rationalize production (CNC, PLEK) and so on it actually lowers production time and the value of the instruments...labor time per unit drops, output goes up, supply outstrips demand, prices drop, and you end up in the classic capitalist death spiral that any company with tremendous competition faces: overproduction and underconsumption, inability to translate product back into working capital.
And G/L seems to be working against both business trends: their import stuff is priced well over Fender bottom rung offerings and they don't really have any gaudy heirloom things to buy.
In the last few years you see an emphasis on special series (Korina Collection and whatnot) and now they're selling off prototypes....Is the shift away from run of the mill production to more exotic fare? Would make sense, no? Can G&L compete in the congested heirloom/collector guitar market, if, indeed, these are indications that it will build more unique instruments?
Their marketing has taken an oily turn lately (Inspired by Leo we tweaked this Cort model ....good thing he was cremated or he would be rolling in his grave) and I hear odd things about long delays in orders, etc., while management is presenting an "everything's great here, never better" front at all times.
I wonder if they'll be around three years from now?
After reading that Fender IPO story I began to wonder about lesser firms such as G&L that survive in the wake of Fender.
I don't know if you're aware of it or not but even PRS nearly went belly up in 2008 or 09. I think they're okay now (laid off employees, went like gangbusters selling off their wood supplies and making a ton of extremely expensive Private Stock guitars....) but the trend is away from the kind of USA-made guitars that G/L makes....the middle priced stuff, i.e., Strat and Tele style guitars for 1K to 1500 give or take
It seems to me that guitar makers are hanging on for now by selling the cheapest shit on earth or the ultra expensive stuff. Its' the middle rungs that aren't working out they way they used to.
Guitar-driven music is drying up
There are too many guitar makers (20 companies that start with the letter G alone, no shit, not to mention the rest of the alphabet)
The used guitar market is super saturated and it will take years for that stock to stabilize
Used G&Ls are a dime a dozen
Buffalo Bros., used to be a major dealer, has virtually no GL stock
Online dealers that still carry them are sitting on stock that, in some cases, are 3 or 4 years old...they're just not moving.
As G/L continues to rationalize production (CNC, PLEK) and so on it actually lowers production time and the value of the instruments...labor time per unit drops, output goes up, supply outstrips demand, prices drop, and you end up in the classic capitalist death spiral that any company with tremendous competition faces: overproduction and underconsumption, inability to translate product back into working capital.
And G/L seems to be working against both business trends: their import stuff is priced well over Fender bottom rung offerings and they don't really have any gaudy heirloom things to buy.
In the last few years you see an emphasis on special series (Korina Collection and whatnot) and now they're selling off prototypes....Is the shift away from run of the mill production to more exotic fare? Would make sense, no? Can G&L compete in the congested heirloom/collector guitar market, if, indeed, these are indications that it will build more unique instruments?
Their marketing has taken an oily turn lately (Inspired by Leo we tweaked this Cort model ....good thing he was cremated or he would be rolling in his grave) and I hear odd things about long delays in orders, etc., while management is presenting an "everything's great here, never better" front at all times.
I wonder if they'll be around three years from now?
