dCS is starting to go to online sales

Everything Else
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I saw this bit of news today FYI

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dCS shook up their North American distributor. Theyā€™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 donā€™t see direct sales in North America but who knows.

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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.

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Yet some new stores are opening. 3mA of Houston is building out a superstore 5 minutes from the strip in Vegas.

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I think that population demographics would drive where B&M stores would be viable. If the population is right and the overhead isnā€™t too expensive a store should be able to survive. Especially if it is a high markup high end dealer / distributor.

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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 couldnā€™t spend on travelling and vacations.

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Makes sense to meā€¦

Will be interesting to see how things even out moving forwardā€¦

Cheers.

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That did not take long:

FYI.

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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. Iā€™m delighted with what Iā€™ve been able to assemble without a B&M middleman. Iā€™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 isnā€™t necessary for informed decision making. There is no substitute for extended in-home audition. Hereā€™s hoping dCS, PS Audio and other manufacturers are the leading edge of a new paradigm in how we audition and purchase our gear.

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FYI, I was trying (and failing, apparently) to allude to the launch of a ā€œnew and improvedā€ version so soon.

I take no issue with factory-direct business models.