Exclusive Dealers & the Downfall of the Piano Store
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
- Increasingly manufacturers are moving to a direct sale and exclusive store model in order to control the narrative about their product and increase their margins. The piano industry is not immune to these changes and in fact may face the worst examples of it. Long entrenched in a dealer favoring territory business model, the piano industry has quickly moved to include dealer exclusivity and manufacturer stores only in a moves that many see as anti-consumer. This has caused many piano dealers to move to a used only model or close altogether. Ted and Patrick discuss how this came about, the biggest pitfalls and what the future may hold.
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After spending an hour at the steinway store playing Steinways, Boston, and Essex pianos, I asked what they had in the way of used. They took me to a whole room full of Yamahas lol
I was just thinking about the death of the local music store the other day, and initially concluded that the "Walmart" effect and online shopping were the root causes. I'm now left rethinking that conclusion and would say that this topic of dealer exclusivity may also be one of the smoking guns. We have to remember that for a good part of the last century and prior, there were no telephones, no televisions, no internet--music was one of the great escapes. I recall growing up, my and my friends grandparents had a piano, organ, guitar, or some form of musical instrument, perhaps several in the house--a testament to my previous statement. Household instruments are just not as prevalent anymore. If they are purchased, most are non-essential (not for income producing reasons) and purchased with disposable income. There's definitely been an enormous shift in musical instrument market dynamics over the last century that I don't view as compatible with dealer exclusivity on the typical consumer level. There is just not enough demand to keep a only-BrandX dealer's doors open in local or even some regional markets. It's quite sad to think that manufacturers may have truly been a cause in the closure of many local music stores whose market territory just doesn't lend well to dealer exclusivity. Know this, I'm not driving to San Antonio (only a 3-hour drive away) to visit a showroom dealer. Sorry guys, I think Patrick is spot on regarding his take on things. Ted may be righteous in his analysis, but dealer exclusivity agreements are never in the best interest of consumers. In this case, I actually think such agreements may have actually backfired to alienate potential consumers from dealers and manufacturers, a loss for all parties. If anything, these agreements drive consumers to shop online. My last few musical instrument purchases (a synth & a guitar) have both been online because there are no local music stores that actually carry anything significant anymore. I was skeptical, but both were a great experience. With that being said, I still wish I could have made the purchase locally and physically tried various options without necessitating a 180-mile one-way trip to do so.
I recently wanted to compare two premium brands by listening closely to them side-by-side. To find a dealer that had both brands, I had to drive to Alabama from my home in North Carolina.
But you FOUND one - impressive.
In my town, over the past 20 years or so, the Yamaha-exclusive store closed, but the two family-owned multi-brand stores are still open.
I went to your Kawai Piano Gallery of St. Louis the other day and it was a very nice place. That said, Patrick and Ted need to take a cue from Vince McMahon and eliminate this manufacturer exclusivity deal in the piano world.
This is a very important topic, and so is the dilemma of online purchase stealing shop trade. But what else should customers do when they can't try most models anyway?
One of the things I dislike about the Kawai distributor in Spain is the snooty way they told me that it is no hardship if I have to drive over 100 kms to try one of their pianos. Meanwhile, I understand that Yamaha distributors tell music shops what they must and must not stock if they want to receive any Yamaha stock whatsoever. Strangely, in Japan, it's not unusual to see Yamaha and Kawai pianos in the same showroom.
It would funny if everybody boycotted their products.
Yeah. I just went to my local piano dealership as I wanted to try out the new Yamaha NU1XA hybrid piano. The owner sat me down and talked for over half an hour about how much he hated hybrid pianos and they are just made for rich people who don't really know what they are buying. He then told me that piano technicians won't touch them with a barge pole either because of all the electronics inside and they have loads of manufacturing problems. He then proceeded to try and sell me a Kawai piano, even after I'd told him that I had tried a number of Kawai and Yamaha pianos side by side in another shop, and I preferred the Yamaha by a country mile! He then told me they are no longer a Yamaha dealer (even though they had a couple of second hand Yamahas in the shop). I then walked out of the shop 45 mins later having not touched a single piano, and hearing some sob story about some piano technician carrying round a bag of rubber grommets that had fallen off Yamaha & Roland digital pianos. I believe in supporting your local business and all that, but it's no wonder why people just prefer to shop online instead!
Great subject. And very contentious even among you two as coworkers. The thing to realize is that advertising and marketing works. That’s why companies put so much money and effort into it. Consumers, who think that they’re “above it all“ could very easily be manipulated with a “reverse psychology“ marketing strategy. Even going with the opinion of a trusted friend could easily be manipulated by the marketing with which your trusted friend started their journey of discovery.
Reviewers such as yourself, and others, who show us equivalence, strengths, and weaknesses help us to know the ballpark in which to inspect, but our final choice is based on our own personal aesthetic and values. I have even seen beautiful instruments out on the showroom floor that were set up abysmally and, based on what I could hear, I would never buy that brand or model… Was that done intentionally or was it done carelessly? Thank you two for your perspective.
Along with the historic marketing strategies in the piano sales business, is what it appears to lend itself to the pretentious nature of the sales people. This is a real turn off for me. I purchased my Yamaha C-5 from a used dealer. The prices, and discounted sales prices were clearly marked and advertised. The process was seamless, and it was shipped to me free since I was in their 100 mile radius. I realize this is different in the new market, but I think people going into an exclusive store are going to be taken aback by the archaic sales practices and what seems to be snobbery on the part of the staff. It has to be a confusing feeling for the new piano buyer. If you're purchasing a piano, or any item, it's bad enough that you are going to part with perhaps 10's of thousands of dollars. Why should I or anyone else have to concern themselves with the dealer's problems as to exclusivity, territory, not giving a price, etc.?
My local piano store here in Rockford Carrie’s a lot of different pianos and keyboards. I think every brand is represented in grands, uprights and keyboards. I bought my new Yamaha from them.
I went to an out of town piano store to look at a used piano. I ended up not buying the used piano, but was interested in a few of the new pianos they had, but only asked for a price on one model. It was out of network, but they could give me the price in the store. When I called to check on a different model the salesperson could not give me a price over the phone. The salesperson knew I was irritated, and within minutes the owner called me and went into a long winded explanation about it being out of network and he wasn't going to compete with my local dealer yada, yada, yada. I said "dude, I spent two hours in your store last week." He eventually gave me a price and I bought the piano, but it was not a great experience. Had my local dealer had the piano in stock, I would have bought it from him. The whole experience left me feeling like piano salesmen are worse than car salesmen. For the real scoop on piano dealers, I go to my tuner!
I would prefer that one store sold only one brand, for the simple reason that is the only way the following can happen: As a knowledgeable consumer, I would like the ability to chose a 'special' instrument from amongst several examples of the same brand/model to find that 'special one' that speaks to me.
Unless you are buying a Steinway Concert Grand at the factory, you aren't going to find a multiple brand retail store that can afford sufficient stock or room to display multiple versions of the same brand/model, prepped, and on the floor for you to chose between, and then...WALK OUT THE DOOR WITH IT, figuratively speaking.
If you have to hear two instruments side by side in order to know which one you prefer, you don't really know what it is you want or what it is you like. In a 'single' brand showroom, the retailer would have to work harder, and prep 'better' to win the sale from a buyer that by definition will be making the rounds to sample the competition.
There's not piano store that I visited that have multiple copy of the same model. It takes too much footprint but they have all the model of that brand.
I love the piano facts.
After selling pianos for more than 15 years I can tell you manufacturing exclusivity is the enemy of consumers. First of all each customer is different, there is no one size fits all. And secondly, the retailer doesn't have to lower the price to be competitive because their belief is you can't get the product anywhere else. It's just plain Un-American!
Who is the average first-time piano buyer? I will guess someone who wants their child to learn to play. A low-end studio or upright is around $3000 and once delivered, is pretty much immobile. For the same price I can order umpteen digital pianos with weighted action (if I know enough to care) that can take up less room, (very) arguably sound as good, and never need tuning or 'routine' maintenance. As a parent, it's almost a no-brainer. As a BONUS, if I order from Jeffie, and the kid decides they HATE piano lessons and refuse to play - they TAKE IT BACK! FREE!
Not your fault, but the sales model breaks down completely in the smoggy sunlight of 2023. Steinway, Bosendorfer, Yamaha, probably Baldwin, other SERIOUS brands will be shaken, but not broken. But even there, what does AliBaba offer? I don't dare look...😱😨😱
And as a professional pianist, I can assure you most new night spots are NOT buying pianos. It up to your Industry Marketing Group - oh wait! I can't FIND an industry marketing group - somebody to promote REAL pianos - resale value, tone, acoustic beauty vs electronic sounds, etc. Because - sad fact - right now, we don't NEED you! Sales of electronic pianos are MUCH higher, as are the margins
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