Backorder dates pushed back again? And again…

[patrickihuey]

I got on the wait list for a 1960AV in May with expected in stock date of first part of July…was promptly moved to August, and now yesterday they show WTF??? OCTOBER? Have they simply decided or going to decide to discontinue amps and cabs entirely? I wonder was that price reduction seen after firing their US distributor simply a way to eliminate stock leftover this side of the pond?? Also noted the only available new Marshall anything is some lower end MDF cabs. Messaged their facebook page with their response being “we are sorry you are experiencing issues getting your product, please email support at blah blah…. did that as well Saturday no response yet.

 

[RLW59]

Everything seems to be available in Europe:

Thomann - Welcome Home!

Search Results - Page 1 - "Marshall"

www.thomannmusic.com

So I don't think they're abandoning amps and cabs.

Zound was successfully distributing headphones and Bluetooth speakers to a few large retailers in the US, but apparently completely underestimated the complexity of distributing large, heavy items to hundreds of small retailers. Plus warranty services -- they probably just exchanged/replaced defective headphones rather than contracting with hundreds of independent repair centers.

Acquiring a large warehouse/distribution center, staffing it, negotiating hundreds if not thousands of dealer and warranty service contracts, price shopping the dozens of trucking companies -- it's a big job to start from scratch.

Even lots of US companies hire distributors to navigate the US market. Europe/UK is a big market but most of the countries don't have Marshall dealers or service centers.

So I can understand that they're having birth pains with distribution. But I don't understand why they're not owning up to it. They don't have to go into details, but if they'd just acknowledge that distribution is a much bigger endeavor than they expected, they wouldn't have people worrying that they're collapsing.

 

[RLW59]

I worked for a Texas retail chain that was outgrowing its warehouse/distribution center. From the time we decided to open a new distribution center to getting it up and running took 2 years. And some of the major decisions were simple -- we knew we wanted it in Texas, that we wanted it near corporate HQ in the Dallas area, and that we wanted to own it rather than rent it. We already had contracts with freight companies to get stuff to our San Antonio stores, so we just had to give them a new address for pickups. All our suppliers were already delivering stuff to us so again it was just a matter of giving them our new address.

A direct importer starting a nationwide distribution system has an overwhelming number of options. Buy an existing place, rent an existing space, build a new place? Which State has the best taxes, transportation network, workforce? Do you buy trucks to tow containers from the port of entry to the warehouse or do you hire a trucking company (if so, which one)?

So, you've got a building. Is it going to be a warehouse and distribution center holding lots of stock so you only need to import large batches a couple of times a year, or a flow-through distribution center where you get many smaller shipments per year and ship everything out to retailers as it comes in?

What sort of pallet racking do you need? Where do you buy it? Who sets it up? How many forklifts do you need? Electric or propane? What brand? Which dealer offers the best price and best service? How many employees are you going to need?

The staff that's taking retailers' orders for headphones -- do you hire more of them to handle the amps too, or do you set up a new separate group for the amps?

Distribution is a complicated industry. That's why so many manufacturers pay distributors to handle it, even though paying middlemen is an extra expense.
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Marshall has always sold more in Europe than the US (as Fender has always sold more in the US than Europe) so it makes sense they concentrated on the European market first. Actually pretty impressive that it went so quickly and smoothly.

Hopefully now that Europe seems to be set up, the US transition will get full attention and start to speed up.

 

[RLW59]

Exertis-JAM Home - Jam Industries

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jamindustries.com

Hmmm. Marshall's old USA distributor still lists Marshall as one of the brands they distribute. It's possible they just haven't updated their website.

But it's possible there's some clause in their contract with Marshall that's letting them challenge Marshall's plans. Every distribution contract is unique -- some features are common but it's not like there's a universal standard contract.