Companys who you do not want to see bought out by larger companies

How, exactly, does having a business that doesn't make enough money to stay afloat make you a money-HOARDING prick? If it makes you any kind of prick--which it doesn't--it makes you a money-LOSING prick, no?

How is selling a business that isn't working out abandoning your customers? If a business is losing money, or not making enough to be healthy, is it supposed to stay going indefinitely just so you won't feel abandoned? Eden and SWR don't owe it to you to stay in business if they just can't.

 

Glockenklang, Tech Soundsystems, Merlin, Markbass, Sieben Audio Design, Reussenzehn...

 

I don't really care who owns a company, it's the support and products that matter. Selling your small company isn't necessarily a bad thing - it beats bankruptcy at least. Product development and customer support is expensive once you've reached a certain volume. I also think it's good that those who built the company - often sacrificing a *lot* on the way - get to cash in.

 

1. Getting paid for something is not being a money-HOARDING prick (note spelling).

2. Nobody EVER owes it to you not to change. Your need for them to stay the same is *your* problem, not theirs. Eden and SWR don't owe you, or me, or anyone else anything in this regard.

3. No, I don't know how much Steve Rabe may have gotten paid. Do you? If you don't, how can you bellyache about it?

4. No, I don't know exactly why they sold out. From your language (e.g., "I would seriously hope"), I'd guess that you don't know either. It seems presumptuous of you to cast aspersions on their motives if you don't even know what they are. But ask yourself: if the business was going as great as you seem to think it was, what would have been the motivation to sell?

5. I'm sure the workers at SWR would appreciate your wish that the company go under before being bought by Fender.

 

6. You mentioned Ampeg as if it were an independent. Ampeg is *not* a small independent company and hasn't been for years. They were bought by St. Louis Music (who also own Crate) years ago. Does that make their current amps worse now?

 

From other threads here, it would appear that SWR got sucked under (along with a bunch of others) because they had extended credit to Mars Music, and when they went under, a lot of small outfits couldn't absorb the loss. SWR had no choice but to sell.

 

Listen g4, believe it or not, I'm not trying to be a hardass. I think you're right at least to be wary of what this merger *might* lead to. But I also think it it makes no sense for you to take something personally that's *not personal*, and to make assumptions about the motives of people you don't even know in a situation you don't understand completely.

 

From what I read, both SWR and Eden were in some financial trouble. Steve Rabe hasn't actively been involved in SWR for some time now. I don't necessarily think that either company is run by 'money-hoarding pricks.' None of us knows the true dynamics of the situations so none of us has the right to call the people involved anything.

 

I think eden was in serious $$$ trouble. Look at how their development was going. They were not coming out with any new gear. Then they were bought out and boom! tons of new amps and cabs. But you never know...

 

Ask any tech who's worked on both...

 

For one, I'd hate to see QSC sold to a larger company.

IMHO, good customer service is important to a company's viability and profitability. But a company that has great customer service but loses money probably won't be able to afford that great customer for long. And if a company loses money, that usually means that someone--usually the owner--has to funnel money into it to keep it going; either that or cut way back on personnel, expenses, etc. Even if you're a customer, the owner isn't obligated to pay just for your satisfaction that the company has remained independent. If the money hemorrhaging is bad enough, the owner might have to sell to someone with deeper pockets who can withstand the losses or has the necessary resources to turn it around.

And sometimes an owner sells just to cut back on his or her workload and cash in on the built-up sweat equity.

 

dbx is a division of Harman International.

 

Oh, I agree. But I meant something different. What I meant was, if you (generic you) think, say, a 2003 SVT III is a good amp when you're under the impression that it's made by a smallish independent company, do you suddenly start thinking the *same amp* is worse when you discover it's actually made by a conglomerate?

 

There's nothing in this thread that didn't come out of something the original poster said. If you want to talk about the original purpose of the thread, it seems in fact to have been started as much to bash SWR and Eden as for any other reason.

But be that as it may, in principle, I wouldn't like to see *any* small independent company bought up my a big conglomerate. I'd like to see more business diversity overall, not less. But some small businesses--a lot, actually--just don't work out. If such a business has to be sold, then at least I'd hope it would go to a company that can maintain or even improve the brand. A good example is what Kaman has done for Hamer. As someone succinctly put it in another thread, Kaman kept their money in Hamer and their noses out, and Hamer is actually making better guitars now than before IMO. Whether Fender can do anything similar with SWR, or US Music Group can do something similar with Eden, remains to be seen.