It depends on the size of the manufacturer and the number of units sold. A small boutique hi-end manufacturer wants the dealer to sell and deal with customer concerns because they don't have the staff to that function. Big companies can service/support their products much easier with in-house staffing.
Do high end manufacturers need retail outlets?
Most of the preamp’s and amps I want to look at are not readily available in my Geographic area and many of times I have bought them without hearing them first. And even hearing them is problematic in a dealer if even possible because their systems are very different than your home system.
Further most hi end components are not on display anyway.
The hi end audio business is very small and don’t know why manufacturers don’t begin selling directly to consumers. PS audio does this end it seems there components are actually cheaper versus a retail store but I don’t like PS audio.
I think hi end market is undergoing a change. They really don’t need retail stores. For lower-cost mass market products you need retail stores. If I buy a hi end product from a retail store it will be drop shipped from the manufacture often times. And further i don’t really like giving 40% of price to a retail seller when added value is very limited.
We all know high-end components are over priced and there needs to be a way to bring these prices way down and direct sales would go very far.