2. misc-audio
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Dealers and changing product lines

I tend to visit the local audio/video dealers in the area every year or so just to see what they have on display and what is new. It seems as though many of them change product lines every two to three years. In fact, what is happening is dealers are essentially swapping product lines every few years. Is this a normal practice in the business? Some times I will call a manufacturer and they will give me the name of a dealer and when I call the dealer they tell me they no longer carry the product line. I guess I am just curious. I find it strange that manufacturers are sometimes not even current with the dealers that carry their products.
mchd1

Showing 1 response by gregg_c

gregg_c
36 posts
 
I have a new hypothesis about this (at least it is new to me). I believe if sales are slow, by dropping the line the dealer has the luxury of selling stock at a discount--something they are unable to do by contract with the manufacturer. I bought a center channel speaker here on Agon for a great price because the dealer was "dropping" the line. I know that he completely unloaded a lot of stuff which had to have helped with cash flow. Well, after talking to the manufacturer about changing out a grill, I find that the same dealer has changed their mind, deciding to stick with the brand. The bottom line is that the dealer was able to unload the inventory out of his territory under the guise of dropping the line. If not, he would have been in legal hot water. Like I said, just a hypothesis.

Gregg
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