Hmmmmm...interesting...

This is really bad for them, as this has been a particularly rough year for them, at least regarding public relations.

It's another missing piece of the puzzle that has me wondering what their plan might be, or what they're doing.

Gibson signed a 15-year lease for the old Tower Records on the Sunset Strip. They had planned on spending one million dollars to renovate the location. This was THREE YEARS AGO. I drove past it last month, and it looks utterly abandoned, with the exception of a sign showing that Gibson is going to have something to do with the location. It's a mystery to me.

Over the course of 2017, I've had interactions with a variety of reps from various manufacturers. The rep from Gibson was probably the worst person I'd encountered. The way he approached me was almost as if I was bothering him, and he KNEW that I own five Gibson guitars and a Gibson bass. My sales rep at the store even told him that, "This guy spends WAY too much money here." So when I had a question about something regarding one of their models, he just shoved a Gibson guitar polishing kit in my hands with a "go away kid, you're bothering me" attitude.

I hate making comparisons of brands, and am against mindless bashing, so I don't write these things with the idea that X is better than Y. I think that Gibson is in some rather serious trouble, and it boils down to things like leadership and quality control. For me, they've also got an image problem, based on the reps that go to the stores or handle their presentations. The store has "X Brand Day" events, where reps come out and the put their best on display. Not a good moment to take attitude with customers.

I have my doubts about whether or not the brand is going to survive the weather. Maybe someone with big bucks will step in and shape things up. That almost feels like a dream or a wish, since it's not based on anything that has happened.

Competition is healthy in a market like this one, as it pushes everyone to deliver their best to us. It feels like Gibson isn't even trying to compete, leaning back on their cushy big name. If they do not become competitive, then they will go away.
 
I think they're just a consumer electronics company now, so it makes sense.

Besides, the last new thing they made came out in 1960. :rolleyes::p
 
sergiodeblanc said:
I think they're just a consumer electronics company now, so it makes sense.
Click to expand...

Henry has basically said as much. "Lifestyle brand" I believe he referred to Gibson as. They bough Phillips and other CE companies and seem to want to widen their reach beyond the MI market, which may not be a bad idea seeing as how the MI sector is not exactly thriving right now. Of course, it's not like the consumer electronics biz has room for more boats in the ocean, so he could simply be throwing good money after bad in trying to break into a market where Gibson has no business being.

The music world needs another "Guitar Hero" video game or similar to act as a shot in the arm. :)
 
Dirty_Boogie said:
Nah... I thought they hit their pinnacle of guitar design when they came out with this: http://www.axebition.com/blog/gibson-m-series-guitars
:eek:
Click to expand...

Which looks somewhat like Godin's G3000 guitars.

ue8kxwo1uua4wu7uli2x.jpg
 
dmatthews said:
Not attending NAMM will do nothing to help repair their rapidly tarnishing brand status IMHO.
Click to expand...

True. I think their lack of attendance is representative of their problems.

My music shop had sent out holiday emails just before Christmas. Can you guess what is not present in their message?

0I4VUmq.jpg
 
It costs lots of $ to set up a booth the size of the ones Gibson has had at NAMM in the past. My guess this that this move represents a shift in strategy by the owners of Gibson & that they want to invest in segments of their business that they think have greater growth and profit potential. There are a lot of players (both large and small) in the guitar marketplace right now & many of them play at all price points (inexpensive on up to custom made). At least to me from a distance, the guitar manufacturing industry seems ripe for further consolidation. The negotiating leverage that guitar manufacturers have with their supplier base and their dealers is a major determinant as to how profitable the industry is as a whole. My guess is that right now negotiating leverage is not very good on either side.

Maybe PRS can be one of the consolidators!
 
CVS said:
It costs lots of $ to set up a booth the size of the ones Gibson has had at NAMM in the past.
Click to expand...

Agree. But the cost of NOT being there is even greater. Running a software company, where there are so many trade shows and user conferences each year, we often question the practicality and cost of hosting a booth at all these events. In the long run, we've seen that if you don't have a presence (even if you really don't drum up much new business) the perception is that you're not in the game, you're not active and viable, and somebody else will quickly get the attention.
 
AP515 said:
I don't know, this one was way up on the applause-o-meter...
zoot_suit_crop.jpg
Click to expand...
Yes - this one was a real winner! I always wondered how they got the trees to grow different color rings - maybe a different food coloring in the irrigation system each year!? :D

And of course, we can never forget the reverse "V" - how can you take something so iconic and perfect, and with a simple 180 degree rotation, make it so hideous?
 
Dirty_Boogie said:
Agree. But the cost of NOT being there is even greater. Running a software company, where there are so many trade shows and user conferences each year, we often question the practicality and cost of hosting a booth at all these events. In the long run, we've seen that if you don't have a presence (even if you really don't drum up much new business) the perception is that you're not in the game, you're not active and viable, and somebody else will quickly get the attention.
Click to expand...

That may be true of some companies and especially those who do not have Gibson's name recognition, but it's obvious that the world is changing and doing so in rapid ways when it comes to business and marketing and sales, etc...and the old "brick and mortar" model as standard is changing. This applies to trade shows as well as they are not drawing the overall attendance numbers that they used to (this applies to the entire industry, not just NAMM).
Gibson not showing up at NAMM could mean a lot of things, both good and bad, but if they're a no-show and yet business and profits stay stable or even increase, it's going to be a major shot across the bow to other majors who may rethink their future NAMM attendance.

I'm actually more curious to see what happens at summer NAMM, which is held right in Gibson's hometown of Nashvegas. Them being a no-show there would be...interesting...more so than the SoCal show.
 
It must be something of a n0-win situation for Gibson when it comes to stuff like NAMM. Short of new signature models, what are they really going to introduce? It's either going to be "Oh great, another flavor of Les Paul" or "Who wants this new thing? Why mess with something classic like a Les Paul?" No presence doesn't send a great message, either, though.
 
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