It really comes to something when a brand as iconic as Gibson Guitars cant stay afloat!

I wonder if Bezoz would have published the WP article if Gibson and Fender sold directly to amazon?

@jond "Did anyone read the article I linked?"

Yes, I read it when it came out last year.  Makes a lot of sense, as culture evolves, where people spend their time, focus, talents, and money shifts.

The consumer electronics elements of Gibson pulling the company downward likewise makes sense.  The shift from both Japan to China and to a different sort (web-centric) of product has turned the market on its head.  This seems like the same road as Oppo.

I remember when I worked as an R&D chemist / materials science engineer.  Obviously, I went about constantly seeking out and acquiring all manner of chemicals.  Initially, it came as a shock when I used to make inquiries, the questions centered around our anticipated needs, with the quantities they dealt in being things like rail cars.  For me, a kilogram, gallon, or bag would usually wind up something I'd soon need to dispose of, and oftentimes, the sample quantities they sent out for free were 100 pounds or a 55 gallon drum.

While we feel disappointed in Oppo getting out of the disc business, our sad reality remains minuscule number of high-end audio consumers cannot justify the R&D, tooling, production, transportation, and marketing / sales costs involved

My son works at a boutique guitar shop. Fender and Gibson make unreasonable demands for the number of guitars they (smaller shops) must stock. Also, the line extensions from these guys over the years have been crazy. I mean $24,000 For A 'Blackie' Replica, Cigarette Burns Included?  It's gotten more into marketing and accounting and less about the quality these guys use to turn out. My son tells me more players are starting to switch to smaller, true quality products at better prices. He sees so much of this because this shop has the best reputation for guitar repair. They fix a lot of stuff that Guitar Center screws up, 

@jond  Yes, Taylor Swift is almost singlehandedly responsible for keeping the acoustic guitar business still relevant to the under-18 crowd!

Gibson reminds me of Harley or Margaritaville or similar brands created by and marketed to the over 50-crowd. Shite's changing; music's changing, but they still cater to an image.

Bad ideas and bad management can sink any business...I used to like Saabs.