| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 354.1 | It's not that outrageous.... | BAHTAT::SALLITT | a legend in his lunchtime | Wed Apr 22 1992 14:29 | 25 |
| Linn have put some special requirements on those dealers who wish to keep the
franchise. The main areas are around demo facilities, installation and support,
credible business plan, musical evenings, approved subcontractors, etc. They
are also requiring (as I understand) those dealers who wish to keep the
franchise to sell the whole range of Linn kit.
Those dealers who have left Linn either refused to adopt these standards often
on the basis that they prefer to offer just the best from each manufacturer's
range, or just didn't have the ability to achieve Linn's targets and/or
standards. The dealers who left the fold were made the offer that Linn would
take all their Linn stock off their hands at cost in return for a list of that
dealer's Linn users. The response from most was "Get stuffed, they're OUR
customers". These are probably the dealers referred to in .0.
The logic behind all this is that Linn is preparing for the single Euro-market
at the end of this year. Without some sort of contractual standard-setting,
Linn would be compelled to sell their kit through anyone who asked for it -
Currys, Comet, Argos, et al, not to mention the cowboys in "straight" hifi
retail.
Linn's approach is probably sound. 1991 was one of their best years for profit
and turnover, in the midst of a recession, and 80% of that business came from
20% of their dealers.
Dave
|
| 354.2 | | WOTVAX::MEAKINS | Clive Meakins | Wed Apr 22 1992 15:03 | 8 |
| Linn wanted two shops I know of to push their kit first, turning these
shops into pure Linn outlets. I know that these two shops prefer to
understand the customer's requirements and then suggest a shortlist of
suitable equipment. Linn felt that only their equipment should be
suggested first off. They seem to be setting up a chain of stores to
service their user base. This seems like a good idea, though their
execution has probably caused a great deal of ill feeling from dealers
who may not now have many kind words to say about them.
|
| 354.3 | | LARVAE::IVES_J | Bad Karma in the UK | Wed Apr 22 1992 15:13 | 23 |
| Well thts one way of looking at it.
Don't you think that linn are trying to develop the kind of dealership
that B&O or QUAD have where they sell complete solutions, Front end,
tuner, Amps speakers and interconnects. The works in fact.
Most Linn dealers can probably shift Sondeks/Kans/Basiks/Ittoks etc
quite happily, but if I was a dealer already selling mid price amps
(e.g. Musical fidelity) or high end CD players (e.g. meridian) I
would'nt neccesarily want to also have to stock the Linn equivalent,
knowing , perhaps that it was'nt as well received as their earlier
products ?
I admit that Linn equipment is good, a friend of mine recently bought
the Intek and it's a good amp, buit I think the gap between Linn's
amps/CD player and the competition is getting narrower.
I would think that Linn have not yet taken the number of orders they
expected for the CD player. Not because it is'nt good ( I heard one at
Farnborough HiFi and liked it), but because it is'nt the same leap that
the Sondek was over the competition back in 19??.
Just opinions mind.
|
| 354.4 | Makes sense to me. | SKIWI::EATON | Marketing - the rubber meets the sky | Wed Apr 22 1992 23:12 | 3 |
| I guess a lot would depend on whether the dealer had to take all the kit on
assignment prior to sale. I also suppose that, for the great unwashed, listening
is not that important a pre-cursor to buying as it may be for some others...
|
| 354.5 | Probably best policy | WOTVAX::MEAKINS | Clive Meakins | Thu Apr 23 1992 11:17 | 11 |
| I wonder if the Linn market will become polarised. What I mean is that
shops that are not Linn dealers, especially those who used to be Linn
dealers, won't have very kind things to say about Linn. Whereas Linn
dealers will be very pro-Linn, more pro-Linn that their other agencies
they hold as these are the sort of dealers Linn now insist on.
As Linn hold and expound strong views on hi-fi many people either love
them or hate them, I believe their new dealer policy will exacerbate
this situation. This could well be the best policy for their long term
survival by creating an even stronger hard-core of Linnites. I don't
believe Linn could survive intact in the mass market mid to hi fi market.
|
| 354.6 | Linn can deliver fast | BAHTAT::SALLITT | a legend in his lunchtime | Thu Apr 23 1992 11:35 | 16 |
| Very few dealers actually hold Linn products in stock, other than for dem. Linn
use a very good "just in time" process to manage their internal inventory
during and after manufacture, and this helps them supply dealers (in the UK at
least) any current product within one working day. (FWIW, they run it on
VAXes...). When I ordered my replacement LP12 motor unit, the dealer sent Linn
a fax at 3 p.m. on the Saturday, the new unit was in the shop in York the
following Tuesday - the shop doesn't open Mondays.
Thus Linn's UK dealers don't have to hold backup stock unless they want to, but
Linn do expect their dealers to be able to dem every Linn product. This still
means a wide dem stock and a considerable upfront investment from the dealer,
as well as comprehensive dem facilities. I understand Linn reward dealers who
make the commitment with appropriately wide margins, so they do not feel
pressured to shift high volumes.
Dave
|
| 354.7 | | KRAKAR::WARWICK | Trevor Warwick | Thu Apr 23 1992 13:52 | 5 |
|
It said in HFN/RR that the Sound Organisation are not Linn dealers any
longer. Isn't that where you go, Dave ?
Trevor
|
| 354.8 | No EDI? | TIS::GRUHN | | Thu Apr 23 1992 15:32 | 7 |
| Re. .6
What? With all those VAXes they are using FAXes? Come on, get in
there and sell them DEC EDI. That way you will get the motor before
you order it.
Bill
|
| 354.9 | Different company..... | BAHTAT::SALLITT | a legend in his lunchtime | Fri Apr 24 1992 11:28 | 15 |
| re .7....
The Sound Org in London and in York are seperate companies, though they used be
the same. Two people from Graham's HiFi set up on their own c.1981, then one
moved north to open the York shop. About 3-4 years ago the London guy sold up.
Note that the York shop has umlauts (umlauten?) over the letter O in the logo,
whereas the London shop no longer does. Also, I believe the London shop no
longer has any connection with Sound Org. Enterprises, who manufacture the
Sound Org. brand of support equipment.
End of rathole.......
Dave
|
| 354.10 | | UPROAR::GUNNS | Biodegradable and ozone friendly | Fri Apr 24 1992 11:42 | 6 |
| RE .1
What would be wrong with Currys, Argos etc selling Linn? This seems a bit
snobbish. Bring good hifi to the masses!
Steve
|
| 354.11 | The masses won't want it | WOTVAX::MEAKINS | Clive Meakins | Fri Apr 24 1992 14:05 | 8 |
| >What would be wrong with Currys, Argos etc selling Linn? This seems a bit
>snobbish. Bring good hifi to the masses!
Wasn't being snobbish, it's just that Linn kit doesn't fit the market
the Curry's etc pander to. Most of mass market punters are after
functionality, looks, convenience and something that can provide
background sounds. If sound quality is paramount, then go to a
specialist hi-fi shop for this niche market.
|