Guest Joshua Ryan Hall Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 bruinsrme: I can address these issues. Additionally, I have talked with the Klipsch sales representative from MA so that he can speak with the dealer to make sure they understand that the information they shared with you is incorrect. "I happened to be in a store in the Massachusetts, believe it or not it wasn't tweeter, and the salesman stated they too were dropping the Klipsch line as they were told KLIPSCH was moving the Reference line to on line sales." Tweeter is not dropping Klipsch. Klipsch has discontinued its relationship with Tweeter. This is not intended to be an attack or even to reflect negatively on Tweeter. This has to do with a difference in philosophy and brand strategy, and Klipsch will establish new relationships with A/V specialists that fully support the Klipsch strategy. To be clear, the Reference Series will remain exclusive to the A/V specialists. The Reference Series will not be sold in Best Buy and it will not be sold on the Internet outside of the current authorized dealer agreement, which allows authorized dealers to sell Reference Series products online within their market. --Joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confuseddude Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 "Tweeter is not dropping Klipsch. Klipsch has discontinued its relationship with Tweeter. This is not intended to be an attack or even to reflect negatively on Tweeter. This has to do with a difference in philosophy and brand strategy, and Klipsch will establish new relationships with A/V specialists that fully support the Klipsch strategy." Joshua... What does Klipsch mean by a difference in philosophy and brand strategy? This is cited as the reason for ending your long relationship with Tweeter. Tweeter is noted for their excellent, highly trained sales-staff. They have stores that are designed to give the customer a great audition of home audio products...including Klipsch speakers. Something just does not add-up here. I have a good friend who bought their Klipsch speakers from Tweeter a couple of weeks ago (on my recomendation) and he was so blown away by the shopping experience that he has since told a number of his friends about it. So please tell me what a difference in philosophy and brand strategy means? When I made an inquiry to someone at Tweeter about this they told me that Tweeter was blind-sided by this decision. I suppose I feel betrayed because I told my friend that Tweeter is a great place to shop and told him to check out the Klipsch speakers. He also was told that Tweeter has a 1 year speaker trade-up policy where they get full value of their purchase towards any other speaker in their store. He wanted to trade up to a more powerful subwoofer. Please make more sense of this to me...I do not get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe11 Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 ---------------- On 2/17/2003 4:04:20 PM confuseddude wrote: What does Klipsch mean by a difference in philosophy and brand strategy? This is cited as the reason for ending your long relationship with Tweeter. Tweeter is noted for their excellent, highly trained sales-staff. They have stores that are designed to give the customer a great audition of home audio products...including Klipsch speakers. Something just does not add-up here. I have a good friend who bought their Klipsch speakers from Tweeter a couple of weeks ago (on my recomendation) and he was so blown away by the shopping experience that he has since told a number of his friends about it. So please tell me what a difference in philosophy and brand strategy means? When I made an inquiry to someone at Tweeter about this they told me that Tweeter was blind-sided by this decision. I suppose I feel betrayed because I told my friend that Tweeter is a great place to shop and told him to check out the Klipsch speakers. He also was told that Tweeter has a 1 year speaker trade-up policy where they get full value of their purchase towards any other speaker in their store. He wanted to trade up to a more powerful subwoofer. Please make more sense of this to me...I do not get it. ---------------- Though I doubt Joshua can provide this type of information, as a loyal Klipsch customer, I've had a great sales relationship severed at least with respect to Klipsch products at Tweeter and I'd like to know why as well. ~shoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruinsrme Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Jousha, Thank you for replying. I apologize if I stated Tweeter dropped Klipsch. Here is my concern. I plug in my zipcode of 01520, I get 33 hits, Percy's is listed twice. There are 27 Tweeters listed and 2 Percy's both with decent demo set ups. But neither will be selling Klipsch. This leaves 4 options. When I look in the Yellow pages there are not 27 AV specialty stores in a 50 mile radius that sell mid-high end hifi. I truly hope my uncertainty and disappointment in the decision to cut nearly 85% of the Klipsch supply chain is the right move. I wish Klispch the best of luck and look forward to seeing the products when an AV Specialty store opens in my area. A Happy Klipsch owner, Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joshua Ryan Hall Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 These are tough questions guys, and it's not that they aren't good questions or valid questions, but they just aren't questions that Klipsch is willing to address in an open forum on a web site. Again, Klipsch believes that Tweeter and Magnolia Hi-Fi are great retailers and we wish them both success in the future. In every business relationship, new or longterm, there is a degree of confidentiality enjoyed by both companies, and Klipsch simply won't enter into an extended dialogue publicly outside of the reasons already listed for discontinuing its relationships with Tweeter and Magnolia(See the press release at: http://www.klipsch.com/newscenter/newsdetail.asp?id=649 for these reasons). For anyone who is a Tweeter employee: I encourage you to contact your management team and as employees of the company they lead, ask them your questions. This forum has hosted detailed discussions of complex and even "touchy" topics for over two years without censorship by Klipsch corporate (except for vulgarity and pornography). I think the fact that we have not edited nor removed the emotional reactions posted by Tweeter employees is proof of our dedication to keeping this Forum pure. Don't worry. There is no bombshell or clandestine secret waiting to leak out. The fine details of our distribution agreements, continuing or severed, are simply off limits from an ethical standpoint. I want to express a couple of extremely important points that I think will bring some added perspective to this search string: Specialty Audio Distribution is our CORE BUSINESS. Yes, we are #1 in multimedia with our ProMedia line. Yes, we are #1 in professional cinema in the U.S. and Mexico. Yes, we are on our way to being #1 in commercial audio as the official loudspeaker of the Hard Rock Cafe and a major supplier to Muzak. But Klipsch is #1 in specialty audio distribution by a large margin (17.8% market share), and maintaining this position is our primary focus, above all other market segments. We simply do not make decisions that negatively affect the viability and future success of our core business. Yes. Klipsch discontinued its relationships with two key dealers (Tweeter and Magnolia Hi-Fi), and this does represent large geographical areas. But there are still hundreds of highly successful A/V specialists nationwide carrying and fully supporting the Klipsch Reference Series, and new specialists will be added in areas where Reference is no longer represented at all because of the discontinued relationships. Yes. It will take some time to establish these new relationships and conduct trainings with their sales forces. But the very reasons given for respecting Tweeter salesmen is true for other A/V specialists. They are knowledgeable, professional, and with a line that has been in business for 57 years, they will be certainly know the brand and its unique attributes. Wow! This was a long post and I hope you stayed with me to this point. This is major news concerning major changes and it is understandable that there are many, many questions. I will absolutely do my best to answer every questions I can, with input and counsel from our senior management team. Additionally, please feel free to contact me off-line if you are not comfortable posting in the Forum. --Joshua Ryan hall joshua.hall@klipsch.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joshua Ryan Hall Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Scott: You and DougDrake ask really good questions. "Here is my concern. I plug in my zipcode of 01520, I get 33 hits, Percy's is listed twice. There are 27 Tweeters listed and 2 Percy's both with decent demo set ups. But neither will be selling Klipsch." I don't have a good answer for this question, yet. But do give us a little bit of time to figure out how we will address areas such as yours that may be trickier to resolve. Most markets affected by the changes had multiple stores offering the same Klipsch products, or at least had/have additional qualified A/V specialists doing business in the area. Please feel free to contact me off-line and I will supply you with the name and contact information for the Klipsch sales representative for MA, who may very well already know how he plans to address this issue. "I truly hope my uncertainty and disappointment in the decision to cut nearly 85% of the Klipsch supply chain is the right move." I'm not sure how you came up with the 85% figure (Unless ... is that the percentage specific to Worchester?), but Tweeter and Magnolia together represented a figure that was closer to 25% overall. Regardless, it is a major change that obviously was not made without great thought and debate. There are many issues to resolve, but please remember this: the changes were made to bring order to our CORE BUSINESS of specialty distribution. The short-term disruptions and hopefully limited confusion will eventually give way to a consistent brand story across all channels of distribution in every market. --Joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMcGoo Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Joshua, Thanks for keeping the forum open to such questions. This forum has been a class act. Klipsch makes a fine product that many enjoy and will continue to enjoy in the future. We can only hope that you make up the 25% lost contribution margin on the Reference line with new relationships sooner rather than later. I doubt that your fixed costs will decline much in the meantime. Hence there will be a reduction in profitability for Klipsch Reference in the short run. The nearest remaining Klipsch dealer to me is about 100 miles away in a different state. There is only one other specialty audio dealer worth shopping at in this city. Their staff and facilities do not compare favorably to Magnolia although they do excellent volume. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruinsrme Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 Joshua, Using the dealer locator I did a search for Klipsch dealers. In the 50 mile search Removing Tweeter and Percy's from the equation leaves 4 small dealer that have small store front and not enough room to display the range of the reference series. Using the 50 mile search I received 37 stores, 85% of those listed will no longer carry Klipsch. In the 100 mile search 84% of Klipsch dealers will be no longer. In the New England area you have Circuit City, Best buy, and Tweeter as you major electronics retailers. We do not have SA, good guys or other hifi stores. There are a very small number of "specialty stores" in the New England area and most can't support to display a full line of anyones speakers. Its tough to make a $1000-3000 purchase from a catalog. Enough of that ... You mentioned we are asking tough questions. When your clients/customers believe in a product and the product is removed from the major resource of course some avids will be a little upset and want to know why.... I can tell you the sales staff at the Tweeter I shop at are not happy with Klipsch. As shoppers in New England visit Tweeter they will no longer see the Klipsch name. Now removing the Klipsch product from "the hi end" stores and moving it into BEST BUY, people will start may start to think that Tweeter dropped klipsch because of a quality issue. Moving into Best Buy will prove to be a challenge. Best Buy seems to specialize in the all inclusive Home Theater in a box. The Klipsch product will be presented buy less technically inclined sales people. Also it will face the challenge of competing with Bose. Yes I know how most of us feel about Bose but they have demo stands in all the major malls and stores (including Best Buy, Costco, BJ's and SAMs club)through out this region giving their products get a lot of exposure. Removing the Klipsch Reference series from 48 stores out of 57 stores in a 100 mile radius doesn't seem to be a profitable move or good for future market presence. I realize we may be challenging the decisions and you and Phil are the receipients of our flying daggers but I can't imagine knowing the full story and not being able to share your knowledge to appease your customers. Have a great day and thank you for taking the time to keep us up to date, Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruinsrme Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 See Kilpsch does have a number of loyal and concerned customers. After a mere 4.5 days there are nearly 1500 hits on this topic. The other similar post has almost 800 hits. Whew..... That is a lot of looking. scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe11 Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 ---------------- On 2/18/2003 9:27:28 AM bruinsrme wrote: See Kilpsch does have a number of loyal and concerned customers. After a mere 4.5 days there are nearly 1500 hits on this topic. The other similar post has almost 800 hits. Whew..... That is a lot of looking. scott ---------------- And I would imagine that the vast majority of us are less concerned about the entry of the Synergy line into Best Buy, than the termination of the Magnolia/Tweeter relationships that is leaving alot of Reference customers high and dry. ....But nothing we can do about it. ~shoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joshua Ryan Hall Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 Scott: "In the 50 mile search Removing Tweeter and Percy's from the equation leaves 4 small dealer that have small store front and not enough room to display the range of the reference series. Using the 50 mile search I received 37 stores, 85% of those listed will no longer carry Klipsch. In the 100 mile search 84% of Klipsch dealers will be no longer." The Klipsch sales rep for your area has personally spoken with Dave Levine, president of Percy's, and it is NOT true that Percy's is ending its relationship with Klipsch. In fact, Mr. Levine confirmed the opposite. He said that without competition from Tweeter, he plans to do MORE business with Klipsch. Klipsch will have to look very closely at understored areas to see how we continue to serve those loyal to the brand. I don't believe this is the norm. Most areas across the country have significant competition for high-end customers. In your area, Percy's will continue as a Klipsch Reference dealer, and if the market will support it and not create new conflicts, additional A/V specialists may be added. I don't know who said it, but this saying is quite appropriate: "A rumor is like a bad check. Don't endorse it unless you're sure it's genuine." In this case, you received bad information from a trusted source who either misunderstood the situation or or simply got the story wrong. Please keep asking questions and talking about this. I'm very pleased that we have cleared up a serious miscommunication regarding Percy's and I hope we can eliminate any others if they exist. --Joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joshua Ryan Hall Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 Shoe11: Again, while there are some unanswered, we will not leave customers "high and dry." If you have specific concerns about your area, please contact me off-line and I will work with the sales rep for your region to make sure we are working to add new representation of the Reference Series. --Joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 I have noted that everybody is all strung out on this subject...with alot of worry centering around the reference series...and just who is gonna end up carrying it. Also...when many purchased through Tweeter, they liked the concept of a 100% value trade-up to another Klipsch model of speaker being thrown into the deal...and this change will obviously invalidate that previous agreement between Tweeter and its past customers. Is this being addressed by Klipsch in its changeover to other dealers? My big question is this: Everybody is worried about the dealers that will be carrying Klipsch's high-end home speakers...with the reference line being noted continuously. What about the Heritage line? I am aware that Klipsch is currently in the process of playing "catch-up" on the production of orders they have received for heritage speakers...but here is my question: Is there any intent by Klipsch to offer the Heritage Series speakers in the dealers' showrooms? Or is this just gonna be a case of providing speakers that have been ordered, and once the orders are caught-up on...the line goes out of production until enough more new orders are placed???...OR...Does the company intend to market these in dealer showrooms alongside the reference series? Generally speaking...it has been awhile since dealer showrooms have had any Heritage series speakers in them for the most part...just how does the re-issue of the Heritage line fit into the big picture here? Historically, high-end dealers were able to "get the attention" of prospective buyers by having a sound room with at least a pair of k-horns in it...to audition...and VERY MANY Klipsch speakers that WERE NOT k-horns were sold because of hearing properly set-up k-horns to begin with...so...are the high-end dealers gonna actually carry any of the Heritage models?...or are they just gonna take orders for them by customers who walk in already knowing what they want, without hearing them in the dealers' showrooms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 I agree with HDBRbuilder... I am very interested in hearing some heritage, however, there is absolutly nobody in my area that has them on display. I already know KHorns would not be a good match for my living room, however, the belles very well could be. But without having a chance to hear them, I am very reluctant to want to purchase them. And as far as the Reference line in Magnolia HiFi. I spoke to a dealer about it, he didn't sound too thrilled about Klipsch's decision much like Tweeters. It's too bad too because Magnolia HiFi has very nice sound rooms and professional salesmen. But now if I want to hear reference I have to go to The Good Guys, where they have about 900 speakers packed into a tiny room. The sales staff is full of a bunch of right out of high school kids that don't know there a55 from a whole in the ground and try to sell you crap you don't need (no offence to the younger guys). I absolulty can not stand The Good Guys. Klipsch, is that who you really want representing your speakers? Me myself? I think your going to loose a lot of sales by dropping Magnolia Hi Fi. There just is not a very good selection of stores here in the Portland Oregon area... And people are not stupid, they pick on on dipsh1t salesmen trying to blow one over on them. People are not going to like it and walk out the store and go across the street to Magnolia and buy something from them, but it won't be Klipsch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruinsrme Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 Joshua, Thank you for the positive feedback regarding Percy's. Well I will have to go visit them and establish some sort of relationship. My next HT is about a year away. scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoiled brat Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 Bruinsrme, I just picked up a set of RF7s from Tweeter at an unbelievable price. Send me an email if you want the details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruinsrme Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 Spoiled, Thanks for the info, I ordered mine today but will be calling and seeing if I can get that extra $125 taken off. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Accountant Posted February 19, 2003 Share Posted February 19, 2003 Spoiled Brat: Can you send me the details on the RF7s you purchased? Thanks Accountant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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