Klarinet Archive - Posting 000790.txt from 1998/04
From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com> Subj: Re: Local independent music stores Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 19:16:44 -0400
At 04:47 PM 4/15/98 -0400, Ken Wolman wrote:
>That is another aspect of the problem and I imagine it applies to people
>who are not in "music district" neighborhoods in large cities. I've called
>local stores in Jersey--not the chains like Sam Ash--and when I ask about
>Pomarico crystal mouthpieces, they either have never heard of them ("Poma
>who?") or tell me it's a special order item and they stock low-end stuff
>for kids just starting to play ANY instrument (Tonettes, anyone?). I can
>only imagine walking into the local music store near my apartment and
>telling them the owner want to buy a LeBlanc Opus and Buffet Prestige, then
>dialing 911 so the EMS guys can revive the salesman after he faints....
>
In any store, you only stock what you can sell. Inner-city 7-11's seldom
keep a large supply of Beluga caviar on hand. Instrument manufacturers
want the money up front. You can't afford to stock the horn and have it
sit on the shelf for three years because nobody in your area can afford a
pro-line instrument (or insists on a Buffet when you carry Leblanc or
Selmer), then have someone come in who CAN afford it but doesn't want it
because it is the "old" model. Yes, sometimes it seems like we WOULD faint
if someone called for a good pro clarinet. Yet, paradoxically, we sell a
fair number of Selmer Paris saxophones and Vincent Bach trumpets. Go
figure.
I don't think we stock enough mouthpieces myself. But take a quick peek at
your WW & BW catalog and do a quick figuring of how much it would cost to
stock only 2 or 3 each (in several popular facings, of course) of each of
the ones listed, and then assume you are likely to be sitting on most them
in inventory for quite some time (Remember, WW & BW's customer base is
national so their turnover is great; yours is within a 100 mile radius,
max. How many clarinetists are there within that area, with aspirations of
greatness, who haven't already bought a good mouthpiece?). Now expand your
figuring to include all sizes of clarinets AND saxophones. How many would
you stock, given that resources are limited? How many would you stock that
you had never even HEARD of before? Retail is hell. But we do try a lot
harder than we are given credit for.
Bill Hausmann
BA, Music
MBA, Management
Glad I don't own the store and don't have to make these decisions!
Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265
If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.
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