I saw this bit of news today FYI
dCS shook up their North American distributor. They’re trying to find a way to succeed in a changing market. Locally the dealer that sells dCS does a great job with what is an expensive product and a specific market. They might be disappointed if the approach expanded. I don’t see direct sales in North America but who knows.
It was interesting to me that another top tier manufacturer has gone to (at least partial) online sales. A sign of the times for sure.
I have collected 3 very nice systems without ever entering a set of B&M doors.
Yet some new stores are opening. 3mA of Houston is building out a superstore 5 minutes from the strip in Vegas.
I think that population demographics would drive where B&M stores would be viable. If the population is right and the overhead isn’t too expensive a store should be able to survive. Especially if it is a high markup high end dealer / distributor.
The real high end dealers where I live, have had a banner 3 years. Covid was a perfect storm of demand for cooped up people with money they couldn’t spend on travelling and vacations.
Makes sense to me…
Will be interesting to see how things even out moving forward…
Cheers.
That did not take long:
FYI.
Why not? Looking at my rig, every piece has been purchased via ecommerce with every piece backed by an in-home trial privilege with no-hassle return. I’m delighted with what I’ve been able to assemble without a B&M middleman. I’m looking forward to more top-tier manufacturers offering direct sales, at least as an alternative for those like me who have come to the conclusion a B&M network isn’t necessary for informed decision making. There is no substitute for extended in-home audition. Here’s hoping dCS, PS Audio and other manufacturers are the leading edge of a new paradigm in how we audition and purchase our gear.
FYI, I was trying (and failing, apparently) to allude to the launch of a “new and improved” version so soon.
I take no issue with factory-direct business models.