Members PintoMusic Posted October 17, 2004 Members Share Posted October 17, 2004 ______________________________Fender plucks Tacoma GuitarAcoustic-instrument factory will keep running after saleTuesday, October 12, 2004http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/194744_tacomaguitar12.htmlBy DAN RICHMAN SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER After struggling to compete in a red-hot but crowded market, acoustic stringed instrument-maker Tacoma Guitar Co. has been bought by the much larger Fender Musical Instruments Corp. The deal includes the brand names Tacoma, Olympia, Orpheum and Papoose, all of which likely will be kept in use, Fender spokesman Morgan Ringwald said. It also includes the company's factory in Tacoma, which may be expanded in the future. The deal "offers us a very big, state-of-the-art acoustic-instrument manufacturing facility, with a great brand name attached to it," he said. Of Tacoma Guitar's roughly 50 employees, "the major, major bulk will stay," with "maybe one to five" laid off because of redundancy, he said. The purchase, for an undisclosed amount, was finalized last week, Ringwald said. The Tacoma-based company turns out 7,000 to 10,000 guitars, mandolins and basses annually, said Julian Henslee, who until the purchase served as Tacoma Guitar's vice president of sales and marketing and now describes himself as "part of the sales and transition team." "We'll probably double our production," Henslee said. "It will be great for the production staff and great for customers." The factory will also be used to turn out Guild guitars, a brand Fender bought in 1995. That company's guitars were made at a factory in Westerley, R.I., before production was moved to California. Tacoma Guitar has achieved considerable success in selling acoustic guitars. It is tied for fifth or sixth place nationally in unit sales, after Martin, Taylor, Gibson and Fender, said Paul Majeski, publisher of Music Trades magazine. Tacoma Guitar instruments have been used by Bob Dylan, the Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, Ben Harper, Nickelback and Bonnie Raitt. And the growth of the market for guitars is "staggering," Majeski said, with sales of acoustic models hitting 502,600 in the second quarter -- up 24 percent from the year-ago period. American-made acoustic guitars are the most-sought-after in the world, he said. But even with such enthusiastic uptake and a strong market, Tacoma Guitar was recently compelled to put itself up for sale. "I think the company was financially challenged," Majeski said. "It's very difficult for small to midsize companies to compete." Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Fender, with $400 million in annual sales and a large staff, can spread its expenses over a huge sales volume, half of which comes from Europe, Asia and Australia. In contrast, "Tacoma has a sales manager, and his salary is spread over a relatively small unit volume," Majeski said. "The company never got to the size where it could compete globally." Fender, overall the world's largest maker of guitars, makes frequent acquisitions. In 1987, it bought Sunn, a line of amplifiers used by The Who, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. It bought the DeArmond brand of musical-instrument pickups in 1997 and amplifier maker SWR in June 2003. Although best known for solid-body guitars, it recently has bought acoustic-guitar makers Benedetto and Jackson. It aslo owns a license to use the Gretsch name and to market Gretsch-brand fretted instruments. (Editor's Note: The original version of this story misstated the relationship between Fender and Gretsch.) Fender was founded in 1946 and produced the first commercially viable solid-body electric guitar, invented in the 1940s by California guitarist Leo Fender in his radio shop, according to the company's Web site. The company, acquired by CBS in 1965, also produced the first electric bass.People posting messages at HarmonyCentral.com, a Web site for musicians, offered mixed opinions on Fender's most recent acquisition. "Hmmm, wonder how long it will take for Tacoma to be robbed of its dignity?" wrote "nasum" from Minnesota. Responded "riffdaddy" of Wichita, "I see absolutely no reason why both Fender and Tacoma (and possibly Guild also) won't ultimately be better off as a result of this." Fender has a network of specialized sales representatives and distributors dedicated to selling products made by some of its acquired companies, and Tacoma Guitar's products could be handled by that division, said Majeski, the trade magazine publisher. "Every acquisition Fender has made has been a success," he said. "They acquire these brands and do good things with them." TACOMA GUITAR USERSMusicians who have played Tacoma guitars: Art Alexakis, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, David Grissom, Jackson Browne, Nickelback, Vince Gill, Peter Frampton P-I reporter Dan Richman can be reached at 206-448-8032 or danrichman@seattlepi.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted October 17, 2004 Members Share Posted October 17, 2004 That's interesting regarding the plan for the Guild brand name. Things may not be so bad after all. Thanks for posting this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seven7 Posted October 17, 2004 Members Share Posted October 17, 2004 ha! thanks for sharing. hmm, the media is watching us.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators The Eristic Posted October 17, 2004 Moderators Share Posted October 17, 2004 Originally posted by PintoMusic "Every acquisition Fender has made has been a success," he said. Except for Guild's acoustic line and DeArmond... This news should mean that Guilds will improve, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riffdaddy Posted October 18, 2004 Members Share Posted October 18, 2004 Sweet! I'm gonna have my aunt get me a print copy of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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