BRAND PROFILE CARLSBRO
manufacturer Carlsbro was greeted with genuine sadness by much of the UK's MI trade. Under the ownership of the former firework
Carlsbro’s special brew T
hough its final few years were marred by some controversy, the demise, in February 2009, of the British amplification
entrepreneur Andrew Bishop, the brand had endured more ups and downs than one of his sky-rockets and the end, when it came, wasn't an edifying spectacle. But in its golden days, Carlsbro, founded in 1959 by Stuart Mercer, had been one of the most respected names in British amplification and had also gone on to spawn a chain of successful shops. It took from early 2009 to October of that
year for news to emerge that the brand wasn't to be lost after all, but had been purchased from the receivers by Chinese manufacturer Soundking, which had previously scooped-up other British audio brands including Cadac and Studiomaster (see feature on page 24). Rumours suggested that the takeover wasn’t entirely unconnected with debts owed to Chinese manufacturers, who had been producing the vast majority of the company's output since 2002. Trade opinion about the takeover seemed
muted at the time. Though Soundking seemed to have done a god job with Cadac and was busily reinventing Studiomaster, guitar amplification is a more personal product than PA and depends heavily on the manufacturer having a good sense of what guitarists want to hear – a cultural artefact not often well grasped outside of the UK and US (though there are significant exceptions). Above all, had the brand been terminally damaged by its slow collapse? A lot would
32 miPRO JUNE 2011
depend on the choice of distributor. Already one other British manufacturer once written-off as beyond resuscitation, Vox, had not so much been revived as completely reincarnated under the ownership of Korg. so it was possible given the right skills and determination.
Founded in 1959, Carlsbro was held in very high regard by the amplifier community
REPRO MEN The news that Carlsbro's UK distribution had been awarded to CPC, possibly better known among general retailers than in MI specifically, was given a welcome twist by the revelation that the 'new' Carlsbro products were not to be badge-engineered solid state amps, but apparently accurate reproductions of some of Stuart Mercer's greatest hits – and bearing names that may still resonate with end-users. CPC's David Swindlehurst is optimistic as you would expect. “The Carlsbro project started about 12 months ago when we were approached by Soundking. We got the first shipment of products in January this year and our product manager for Carlsbro, Chris Beesley, says they are going very well.” Swindlehurst admits that the manner in
which Carlsbro collapsed caused some upset in the trade, but the brand is still well regarded. “The reaction has been surprisingly positive, but it does depend which part of the industry you're discussing. The MI business has responded very well but other areas – the Disco and PA side, for example – haven't responded quite as well.” How that will translate into sales into the MI
market remains to be seen, and CPC doesn't have reps on the road to sell Carlsbro into
Iconic British amp brand, Carlsbro, has had its ups and downs over the last few years and has now found a UK home at electronics distributor CPC. It may not be a traditional MI distributor, but as Gary Cooper finds out, it’s in safe hands….
shops, though it does have a dedicated salesman, Robert Taylor, meaning dealers won't have to order via the CPC telesales department. As for driving customers into the stores of
retailers who decide to stock Calrsbro, apparently it is too early for CPC to say precisely where they will be marketing the brand, but Swindlehurst confirmed that CPC has a marketing team that will be looking at magazine promotion to MI end-users. "We think retailers can make between 30 and 50 per cent on it, so there is a good margin for them," he says. Less happy may be retailers and end-users with unserviceable product from the previous incarnation. CPC says it will help where it can, but it isn’t offering warranty cover on earlier products, though some spares are available. “We’re helping people as much as we can, as a customer relations exercise, but for the old gear, I’m afraid we can’t make promises.”
AND FOR THE FUTURE? “Carlsbro still has a great name and although it suffered at a retailer level, some still have Carlsbro amplifiers from 20 years ago. People are coming in asking for Carlsbro, so it’s not a push scenario where we are pushing Carlsbro to the retailer, it’s a pull method, where end-users are asking for the name. “Although CPC is known as a distributor to
the trade, music shops can expect a superior service from Robert Taylor, who has extensive knowledge of the range and, being a musician himself, can relate to the needs of the retailer and their customers.”
WWW.MI-PRO.CO.UK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84