GUERILLA CONCERT BY HEMORAGE
over it . We ’ re a young company , but we ’ ve been blowing up and I think the sky ’ s the limit . Things like this are going to be really , really good for us going forward .”
Meanwhile , at the Boutique Guitar Showcase , three of Canada ’ s finest luthiers were showing off their wares — Pellerin Guitars , Dingwall Guitars , and Sankey Guitars . “ In this this particular area , they did such a good job at condensing the show to keep the density familiar . So , it was very similar to 2020 and years past ,” said Sheldon Dingwall on the Sunday . “ Sales have been good and the response to the show has been really good . For me , half of the value
of The NAMM Show is the stuff you don ’ t expect ; the people you bump into , the things you learn , and you can ’ t predict that kind of thing . This show was absolutely as good as any other show .”
Dingwall also chimed in on the perceived health of the market currently and was notably optimistic . “ I see the market as being more positive than I expected . I ’ m kind of expecting this perfect storm of high interest rates , the economy nosediving , and sales drying up because people have freedom now , they ’ re not homebound , so they have freedom to go spend their money in restaurants or another choice other than guitars . That ’ s what
I was expecting , but what I ’ m seeing is the market be more positive than I expected .”
On the MI dealer front , Mark Hebert , CEO and president of Cosmo Music ( and also a NAMM board member ), told CMT after the show : “ Although there may have been fewer brands presenting themselves with booths at NAMM , as well as lower dealer attendance , the spirit , networking opportunities and general business and marketing tasks generated by the show was as active as any other year . The show floor was buzzing with activity and the conversations we had were essential to fuel our continued growth plans . We ’ re happy we sent a large team to NAMM and always proud to support our industry and our incredible trade organization !”
Lastly for now , a few days after the show closed , I reached back out to Dave Firby , the Western Canada sales manager for a number of companies , including Levy ’ s , Sabian , Launch Music , and Hoshino USA . While chatting over a patio drink one night in Anaheim , he was emphatic about the importance of attending the show this year . And so , I wanted to get his thoughts after some time to reflect on this year ’ s event .
“ I went to NAMM to reconnect . Period . Connect with suppliers , customers , co-workers , and my industry compatriots … I had a fantastic NAMM ; I sold some things I wouldn ’ t have had the opportunity to sell if I wasn ’ t there and my customers bought things they would not have got if they were not there ,” Firby wrote back . “ The celebrations from the companies were amazing , the vibe from the show was amazing , the camaraderie was unprecedented — people were very , very happy to be back at NAMM . The 80 / 20 rule applied here for sure — I do 80 % of my business with 20 % of my customers . Out of those who attended the show , all are customers from my top 20 % of dealers .”
And so , we also can ’ t wait to get back to Anaheim in 2023 from April 13-15 . It ’ s a stepping stone to get back to NAMM ’ s usual January timing in 2024 . It ’ s widely expected to be a bigger show than this year as we all edge back closer to “ normal .”
From here , I ’ m handing it off to our friend Dajaun Martineau to share what grabbed his attention on the product front as he wandered the trade show halls …
Michael Raine is the Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Music Trade .
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