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Fender's weaknesses?

#42
RobCobain1994 said:
Ok so as part of a college assignment I need to conduct a swot analysis. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
And I chose to do Fender. The thing is, I'm having trouble trying to come up with weaknesses, so I'm wondering if anybody can help out.
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Looking through this thread, how many mentions of their bass amplification line do you see? ;)
 
#45
Toyota did a great job excellent product really opened GM,Ford and Chryslers eyes their sales prove it well done Toyota nothing but respect.There are NO Toyota,s of the bass world zero and sales prove it period.There are alot of Kia,s and Hyundai,s out there but ZERO Toyota,s.Marketing didnt sell Toyota,s word of mouth and proven quality did.Fender is fair game its not there fault nobody can beat them. Sales prove it....THE END...for the record GM/Ford Fender ...Chrysler Musicman/Gibson....Toyota /Fender Custom Shop
 
#46
stonewall said:
Toyota did a great job excellent product really opened GM,Ford and Chryslers eyes their sales prove it well done Toyota nothing but respect.There are NO Toyota,s of the bass world zero and sales prove it period.There are alot of Kia,s and Hyundai,s out there but ZERO Toyota,s.Marketing didnt sell Toyota,s word of mouth and proven quality did.Fender is fair game its not there fault nobody can beat them. Sales prove it....THE END...for the record GM/Ford Fender ...Chrysler Musicman/Gibson....Toyota /Fender Custom Shop
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I would not buy a Toyota bass.
 
#47
I see what you're getting at, knock Fender. Okay, I have an '04 MIM FSR J, an '08 MIA rosewood P, and a '79 maple neck P. I modified everything on the MIM J because it was built so bad: it had sharp fret ends, 1/8" gap between the PF and control plate, low output and noisy PUs -- now its perfect and flawless but I changed everything but the wood. The '08 MIA P was perfect out of the box. Fit, finish, sound were all great. The '79 maple neck P was/is my dream bass. I grew up on 60's/70's classic rock when everyone played Fender P and Js... The only 'flaw' I'd say is the weight. It is a boat anchor, BUT it is a tone monster, so easy to play and the best looking bass, imo (burst maple/black PG). There's a reason everyone ripped off the Fender design - just routing the head stock 1/16" differently so they can slap their name on it and call it their own...They may be superior built instruments since they are "boutique" and not "mass made", but those copy cats will always be just a Fender knock-off in the end.
 
#48
lfmn16 said:
I don't know what you are looking at, but I quoted the whole paragraph.
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Oops. Sorry, that would be the entire point "5" directly above the line you quoted:

Major Softie said:
5. They have taken what appears to be a disadvantage (their dependence on their historical past) and made the most of it for the past couple decades with a business model that has been very successful, but appears destined to hit a wall. Predictions of when that wall may be hit continue to be premature, but the threat of that wall continues to hover out there.
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#50
stonewall said:
Toyota did a great job excellent product really opened GM,Ford and Chryslers eyes their sales prove it well done Toyota nothing but respect.There are NO Toyota,s of the bass world zero and sales prove it period.There are alot of Kia,s and Hyundai,s out there but ZERO Toyota,s.Marketing didnt sell Toyota,s word of mouth and proven quality did.Fender is fair game its not there fault nobody can beat them. Sales prove it....THE END...for the record GM/Ford Fender ...Chrysler Musicman/Gibson....Toyota /Fender Custom Shop
Click to expand...

Toyota would be Yamaha or Ibanez. They are better made for half the price but it isn't the original but at least they have the gust to try many different thing.

In my part of the world Ford almost completely disapear, they only thing they still sell is their truck line and well in the city you don,t see them very often while Kia, Toyota, BMW are everywhere
 
#52
stonewall said:
Toyota did a great job excellent product really opened GM,Ford and Chryslers eyes their sales prove it well done Toyota nothing but respect.There are NO Toyota,s of the bass world zero and sales prove it period.There are alot of Kia,s and Hyundai,s out there but ZERO Toyota,s.Marketing didnt sell Toyota,s word of mouth and proven quality did.Fender is fair game its not there fault nobody can beat them. Sales prove it....THE END...for the record GM/Ford Fender ...Chrysler Musicman/Gibson....Toyota /Fender Custom Shop
Click to expand...

If you are using an auto analogy, Fender P-bass would be a Model-T.
 
#53
RobCobain1994 said:
Ok so as part of a college assignment I need to conduct a swot analysis. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
And I chose to do Fender. The thing is, I'm having trouble trying to come up with weaknesses, so I'm wondering if anybody can help out.

I also need to carry out a survey, I'd appreciate if you guys could help out [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
thanks
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Hey Rob, you should check out Invalid Link Removed that they submitted to the SEC when they almost went public. It discloses their market risks. Very insightful.
 
#54
I think, business wise, that one of Fender's mistakes was basically throwing all their goods at the big box stores. I know quite a few mom & pop stores that no longer sell Fender because the minimum order is so high before they get a decent discount. If you have to pay almost street price to buy less than a dozen instruments for your store, and have to buy two dozen to get to the point where you are making enough $$ on the instruments to make it worth while to sell them in your shop, well, you stop selling instruments made by that company. I guess that's fine when Sam Ash, Guitar Center, and other big box music stores are doing well. But when those big box stores start to go under? And you've thrown away the rest of your market? Well, you are probably going to be in big trouble yourself.

Also, much as I love my Fender P, it's pretty darn heavy. You don't get the contoured, lighter bodies until you spend a lot more money. So you are also throwing out part of your potential market when your cheaper models are mostly heavy, slab bodies.
 
#55
Passinwind said:
Looking through this thread, how many mentions of their bass amplification line do you see? ;)
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I guess not many here use (or have used)?

I did...and I will go to my grave believing my '74 Bassman 100 (4x12) cab with my Music Man 65 (which replaced a '64 Bassman amp) was the best sounding amp/cab I ever used. In a 10-piece horn band, my stage volume was fine at about "3" on that 65-Watt head. Every so often, someone would ask me turn down...so I went to about "2.5". :)
Past 20 years? Have gone through SWR & then Eden...great monitor amps, but...?

Current rig = Bergie 322 + Aggie 500SC...which I do like.
 
#56
lfmn16 said:
Just like some idiots mindlessly hate Microsoft, some idiots mindlessly hate Fenders. Contrarians that just love to hate the bass so many people love.

Talk about the basses you love and stfu about the ones you don't. I don't know why some people get a kick out of raining on everyone else's parade.
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Exactly - Talkbass is filled with kids and bedroom players that don't know squat - but *think* they do... You don't see actual working musicians wasting their time worrying about the gear choices of others...


- georgestrings
 
#57
Fender was poised to offer an IPO a few years ago. This did not happen and some speculated that Fender has become too dependent on big box retail like Guitar Center for orders. Retailers like GC can leverage the prices paid to Fender which negatively impacting manufacturing margins.

Personally I believe Fender's Brand is their strength. How many companies can make still the same products they did 60 years ago?
Between their plants in Corona and Ensenada, Fender makes thousands of instruments per day and sells all!
 
#58
I haven't read every comment, so this may be a common response. I think one drawback for Fender is that they make too many versions of the same instruments in various quality levels. You can buy a Jazz bass from Korea for a couple of hundred bucks, or a Custom shop Jazz for a few thousand. Unless you know what to look for, they both seem the same and have the same name on the headstock. I don't think it has hurt them by having cheaper instruments in the hands of discerning pros, but it can be confusing for potential customers who aren't familiar with their product line.
 
#59
Lady Kayri said:
I think, business wise, that one of Fender's mistakes was basically throwing all their goods at the big box stores. I know quite a few mom & pop stores that no longer sell Fender because the minimum order is so high before they get a decent discount. If you have to pay almost street price to buy less than a dozen instruments for your store, and have to buy two dozen to get to the point where you are making enough $$ on the instruments to make it worth while to sell them in your shop, well, you stop selling instruments made by that company. I guess that's fine when Sam Ash, Guitar Center, and other big box music stores are doing well. But when those big box stores start to go under? And you've thrown away the rest of your market? Well, you are probably going to be in big trouble yourself.

Also, much as I love my Fender P, it's pretty darn heavy. You don't get the contoured, lighter bodies until you spend a lot more money. So you are also throwing out part of your potential market when your cheaper models are mostly heavy, slab bodies.
Click to expand...

What do you mean slab bodies? Fenders only slab body basses are the 51-53 p a and tele basses. You have to spend extra money to get the slab bodied basses. My squier bass and my fender are fairly light, no extra cost. In fact I walked into GC and immediately chose my squier classic vibe p bass and bought it without playing it. It's turned out to be one of the nicest playing and playing basses I've played. Same with my 62 avri jazz. Oh well I guess this just isn't my thread being that I'm a diehard fender guy. I just can't ever imagine myself playing any other bass. I'm honestly lost when I play a bass without ashtrays, so I guess i'll stick to fender and let the trolls hate and miss out on a truly wonderful instrument.:scowl::rollno::eyebrow:
 
#60
Lady Kayri said:
I think, business wise, that one of Fender's mistakes was basically throwing all their goods at the big box stores. I know quite a few mom & pop stores that no longer sell Fender because the minimum order is so high before they get a decent discount. If you have to pay almost street price to buy less than a dozen instruments for your store, and have to buy two dozen to get to the point where you are making enough $$ on the instruments to make it worth while to sell them in your shop, well, you stop selling instruments made by that company. I guess that's fine when Sam Ash, Guitar Center, and other big box music stores are doing well. But when those big box stores start to go under? And you've thrown away the rest of your market? Well, you are probably going to be in big trouble yourself.
Click to expand...

This is true about Gibson, but I'm not sure about Fender. Several of the local shops around here sell Fender, and two of the owners have told me they love being Fender dealers because the instruments sell relatively easily.

I wonder whether Fender's image might eventually get damaged by all the bar stools, coffee mugs, and other "collectibles" they're peddling these days. If they look like they're just selling nostalgia instead of serious instruments, it could catch up to them. Then again, the margins on that stuff must be huge.

As for opportunities -- Plek machines. Fender's quality has been very high lately, and if they add boutique grade playability to the mix on their U.S. instruments, I think they could increase their sales.

Another opportunity -- Carvin style on-line ordering with options for finish, neck, pickups, etc. The customer would still buy through an authorized dealer, but have more flexibility than is currently offered. This might take a bite out of the Custom Shop's business, but that's probably pretty low volume anyway.
 

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