As the company sale announcement looms......

[ElNumero]

Khrushchev & Kennedy

 

Buffalo Springfield

 

Rowan & Martin

Abercrombie & Fitch

[Millennium Maestro]

As of today the sale has NOT been finalized. All parties will be at NAMM 21st -24th. Straight from THE source!

[ElNumero]

The latest I heard was the sale was completed in December and the buyer is the owner of the building at 225 Parsons and the original owners with be kept on for a set period of time. I do consider my source moderately reliable. Anybody else care to enlighten us?

Never considered they had expertise in guitar building!

[jaywolfe]

As of today the sale has NOT been finalized. All parties will be at NAMM 21st -24th. Straight from THE source!

Yes- accurate. Soon grasshopper.......patience.....

[Gitfiddler]

I don't know anything about the upcoming announcement, but wouldn't be interesting if the other 225 Parsons Street tenant, Pro Co Sound bought Heritage?

 

I dig their mission statement:

 

"To become our customers’ very best partner, by building a world class organization, through continual, rapid improvement in all that we do, and to share in the successes and failures of our efforts."

[ScottFitz]

I am lucky enough to own a 530 and 535, both outstanding guitars. The materials are available to any guitar company. The folks making them are the secret sauce. If the new company keeps the people, we continue to get great guitars. Assuming the same quality of materials us upheld.

[schundog]

I don't know anything about the upcoming announcement, but wouldn't be interesting if the other 225 Parsons Street tenant, Pro Co Sound bought Heritage?

 

I dig their mission statement:

 

"To become our customers’ very best partner, by building a world class organization, through continual, rapid improvement in all that we do, and to share in the successes and failures of our efforts."

 

A couple of years ago, on the company tour, I wandered off, and ended up going up the ramp at the back of the factory, and found myself at the corner of a large hallway. There were very old carts containing large boards of mahogany, presumably for use in solidbody blanks in the factory I had apparently just left. I kept walking down one hallway (curiosity killed the cat!) and stumbled into another business, quite by accident. There, several surprised workers, working on electronic components, looked up at me, wondering how the hell I got in there. I apologized, asked what the business was, and asked if they would be interested in letting us tour THEIR facility, as well. They asked the manager on duty, and, to no surprise, were not interested in letting us invade their business on such short notice. I'm lucky I didn't get shot, haha.

[Jim W]

 

A couple of years ago, on the company tour, I wandered off, and ended up going up the ramp at the back of the factory, and found myself at the corner of a large hallway. There were very old carts containing large boards of mahogany, presumably for use in solidbody blanks in the factory I had apparently just left. I kept walking down one hallway (curiosity killed the cat!) and stumbled into another business, quite by accident. There, several surprised workers, working on electronic components, looked up at me, wondering how the hell I got in there. I apologized, asked what the business was, and asked if they would be interested in letting us tour THEIR facility, as well. They asked the manager on duty, and, to no surprise, were not interested in letting us invade their business on such short notice. I'm lucky I didn't get shot, haha.

 

 

I actually had stopped in there well in advance of one of the PSP and asked if they would be interested in being part of the event. They absolutely did not. I tried to explain that there would be ~ 60 guitar players there with spending cash most likely, but they really couldn't care less.

 

If it is them, I would fear for the future of the PSP.

[jazzbo]

Folks

 

Over the many years that I worked as a management consultant and advisor to small and medium sized businesses that in many cases had been around for many years, and had "heritage" , there is one thing that stood out..the companies that were able to transition from "our stuff is great,we have been around along time, so they will /should buy it" to "lets make sure that folks understand why our stuff is great, and help them make the decision to buy our great stuff"

 

But to do this successfully requires more than just marketing $$$...at the core is the having the savvy to figure out and understand the customer. The companies that did this well invested in the effort to understand their customers, and did so in a variety of ways.

 

Heritage has the story, the quality, the product , and the opportunity to translate this into a compelling and attractive message.. but there is one thing that I suspect that Heritage does not know well - its customer ..And for Heritage to grow, the customer is the person who has not bought a Heritage before , and has probably not heard of Heritage. This is tough to hear for many of us who own multiple Heritage guitars, but we are not the driving force of the future Heritage., however passionate we are about the company and its products. The challenge is to profile the new Heritage customer and then craft the message to attract that individual, and to do so may result in upsetting some loyalists.

 

Secondly, for Heritage to work, its needs a "stock line" and the equivalent of a custom shop line, (in some ways it already has this, but it needs to be clearly marketed and differentiated) and provide the equivalent of a growth path, so that a Heritage customer can 'grow' with Heritage . Victor Baker who built my beautiful 15 inch carved top (after I gave up the idea of trying to get a custom guitar built with Heritage") has now moved to D'Angelico to revive their high end hand builts and he does this using modern technology, production processes, and state of the art equipment and methods. That company now offers a growth path of guitars to keep the customer in the family

 

Thirdly, Heritage needs presence..If Heritage does choose to provide a growth path, then ,as its customer moves up on the $$$ spent on a guitar to $$$$ , presence in the form of local distribution is key..(in addition to media and required storytelling) being able to touch the brand, even though it might be a stock model, and have it explained as to what they will get for the "high end" makes a huge difference.. Otherwise Heritage might have to stay as a super boutique that relies to a large degree on a trust and reputation, relying on "pull" rather than "push"

 

Fourth, underlying all this, and has been well expressed by others on this thread, manufacturing methods will probably have to be updated/improved without sacrificing quality. I recently had a wonderful 15inch carved top built by Victor Baker (who now runs D'angelico's custom shop) and was amazed by the modern technology and innovations that he uses so brilliantly to create his astounding instruments..I was lucky to have #351 finished before he gave up creating guitars under the VB logo and moved to D"angelico guitar creation.

 

Heritage is special, keep it special

[skydog52]

Folks

 

Over the many years that I worked as a management consultant and advisor to small and medium sized businesses that in many cases had been around for many years, and had "heritage" , there is one thing that stood out..the companies that were able to transition from "our stuff is great,we have been around along time, so they will /should buy it" to "lets make sure that folks understand why our stuff is great, and help them make the decision to buy our great stuff"

 

But to do this successfully requires more than just marketing $$$...at the core is the having the savvy to figure out and understand the customer. The companies that did this well invested in the effort to understand their customers, and did so in a variety of ways.

 

Heritage has the story, the quality, the product , and the opportunity to translate this into a compelling and attractive message.. but there is one thing that I suspect that Heritage does not know well - its customer ..And for Heritage to grow, the customer is the person who has not bought a Heritage before , and has probably not heard of Heritage. This is tough to hear for many of us who own multiple Heritage guitars, but we are not the driving force of the future Heritage., however passionate we are about the company and its products. The challenge is to profile the new Heritage customer and then craft the message to attract that individual, and to do so may result in upsetting some loyalists.

 

Secondly, for Heritage to work, its needs a "stock line" and the equivalent of a custom shop line, (in some ways it already has this, but it needs to be clearly marketed and differentiated) and provide the equivalent of a growth path, so that a Heritage customer can 'grow' with Heritage . Victor Baker who built my beautiful 15 inch carved top (after I gave up the idea of trying to get a custom guitar built with Heritage") has now moved to D'Angelico to revive their high end hand builts and he does this using modern technology, production processes, and state of the art equipment and methods. That company now offers a growth path of guitars to keep the customer in the family

 

Thirdly, Heritage needs presence..If Heritage does choose to provide a growth path, then ,as its customer moves up on the $$$ spent on a guitar to $$$$ , presence in the form of local distribution is key..(in addition to media and required storytelling) being able to touch the brand, even though it might be a stock model, and have it explained as to what they will get for the "high end" makes a huge difference.. Otherwise Heritage might have to stay as a super boutique that relies to a large degree on a trust and reputation, relying on "pull" rather than "push"

 

Fourth, underlying all this, and has been well expressed by others on this thread, manufacturing methods will probably have to be updated/improved without sacrificing quality. I recently had a wonderful 15inch carved top built by Victor Baker (who now runs D'angelico's custom shop) and was amazed by the modern technology and innovations that he uses so brilliantly to create his astounding instruments..I was lucky to have #351 finished before he gave up creating guitars under the VB logo and moved to D"angelico guitar creation.

 

Heritage is special, keep it special

Spot on Jazzbo! We have passionate people on this site but the well has pretty much run dry.

For Heritage to thrive it needs new blood and the "push" theory you spoke of is the only way.

[HANGAR18]

Folks

 

Over the many years that I worked as a management consultant and advisor to small and medium sized businesses that in many cases had been around for many years, and had "heritage" , there is one thing that stood out..the companies that were able to transition from "our stuff is great,we have been around along time, so they will /should buy it" to "lets make sure that folks understand why our stuff is great, and help them make the decision to buy our great stuff"

 

But to do this successfully requires more than just marketing $$$...at the core is the having the savvy to figure out and understand the customer. The companies that did this well invested in the effort to understand their customers, and did so in a variety of ways.

 

Heritage has the story, the quality, the product , and the opportunity to translate this into a compelling and attractive message.. but there is one thing that I suspect that Heritage does not know well - its customer ..And for Heritage to grow, the customer is the person who has not bought a Heritage before , and has probably not heard of Heritage. This is tough to hear for many of us who own multiple Heritage guitars, but we are not the driving force of the future Heritage., however passionate we are about the company and its products. The challenge is to profile the new Heritage customer and then craft the message to attract that individual, and to do so may result in upsetting some loyalists.

 

Secondly, for Heritage to work, its needs a "stock line" and the equivalent of a custom shop line, (in some ways it already has this, but it needs to be clearly marketed and differentiated) and provide the equivalent of a growth path, so that a Heritage customer can 'grow' with Heritage . Victor Baker who built my beautiful 15 inch carved top (after I gave up the idea of trying to get a custom guitar built with Heritage") has now moved to D'Angelico to revive their high end hand builts and he does this using modern technology, production processes, and state of the art equipment and methods. That company now offers a growth path of guitars to keep the customer in the family

 

Thirdly, Heritage needs presence..If Heritage does choose to provide a growth path, then ,as its customer moves up on the $$$ spent on a guitar to $$$$ , presence in the form of local distribution is key..(in addition to media and required storytelling) being able to touch the brand, even though it might be a stock model, and have it explained as to what they will get for the "high end" makes a huge difference.. Otherwise Heritage might have to stay as a super boutique that relies to a large degree on a trust and reputation, relying on "pull" rather than "push"

 

Fourth, underlying all this, and has been well expressed by others on this thread, manufacturing methods will probably have to be updated/improved without sacrificing quality. I recently had a wonderful 15inch carved top built by Victor Baker (who now runs D'angelico's custom shop) and was amazed by the modern technology and innovations that he uses so brilliantly to create his astounding instruments..I was lucky to have #351 finished before he gave up creating guitars under the VB logo and moved to D"angelico guitar creation.

 

Heritage is special, keep it special

 

 

Spot on Jazzbo! We have passionate people on this site but the well has pretty much run dry.

For Heritage to thrive it needs new blood and the "push" theory you spoke of is the only way.

 

Agreed.

[JohnCovach]

I'll be at NAMM on Saturday and I'll pay the Heritage exhibit a visit.

[Blunote]

Folks

 

Over the many years that I worked as a management consultant and advisor to small and medium sized businesses that in many cases had been around for many years, and had "heritage" , there is one thing that stood out..the companies that were able to transition from "our stuff is great,we have been around along time, so they will /should buy it" to "lets make sure that folks understand why our stuff is great, and help them make the decision to buy our great stuff"

 

But to do this successfully requires more than just marketing $$$...at the core is the having the savvy to figure out and understand the customer. The companies that did this well invested in the effort to understand their customers, and did so in a variety of ways.

 

Heritage has the story, the quality, the product , and the opportunity to translate this into a compelling and attractive message.. but there is one thing that I suspect that Heritage does not know well - its customer ..And for Heritage to grow, the customer is the person who has not bought a Heritage before , and has probably not heard of Heritage. This is tough to hear for many of us who own multiple Heritage guitars, but we are not the driving force of the future Heritage., however passionate we are about the company and its products. The challenge is to profile the new Heritage customer and then craft the message to attract that individual, and to do so may result in upsetting some loyalists.

 

Secondly, for Heritage to work, its needs a "stock line" and the equivalent of a custom shop line, (in some ways it already has this, but it needs to be clearly marketed and differentiated) and provide the equivalent of a growth path, so that a Heritage customer can 'grow' with Heritage . Victor Baker who built my beautiful 15 inch carved top (after I gave up the idea of trying to get a custom guitar built with Heritage") has now moved to D'Angelico to revive their high end hand builts and he does this using modern technology, production processes, and state of the art equipment and methods. That company now offers a growth path of guitars to keep the customer in the family

 

Thirdly, Heritage needs presence..If Heritage does choose to provide a growth path, then ,as its customer moves up on the $$$ spent on a guitar to $$$$ , presence in the form of local distribution is key..(in addition to media and required storytelling) being able to touch the brand, even though it might be a stock model, and have it explained as to what they will get for the "high end" makes a huge difference.. Otherwise Heritage might have to stay as a super boutique that relies to a large degree on a trust and reputation, relying on "pull" rather than "push"

 

Fourth, underlying all this, and has been well expressed by others on this thread, manufacturing methods will probably have to be updated/improved without sacrificing quality. I recently had a wonderful 15inch carved top built by Victor Baker (who now runs D'angelico's custom shop) and was amazed by the modern technology and innovations that he uses so brilliantly to create his astounding instruments..I was lucky to have #351 finished before he gave up creating guitars under the VB logo and moved to D"angelico guitar creation.

 

Heritage is special, keep it special

 

 

Spot on Jazzbo! We have passionate people on this site but the well has pretty much run dry.

For Heritage to thrive it needs new blood and the "push" theory you spoke of is the only way.

 

Over the years I've developed the sense that the Heritage Guitar company was a way for the the owners and employees to maintain a status quo they were happy with. And, for many, a small business is a way to buy a job; not necessarily a vehicle for building an empire.

 

So, I think finding out who the new buyer or buyers are will be quite edifying. For all we know, it could be an employee purchase for reasons stated above, or maybe a current Heritage distributor would like to capture the company to better drive marketing.

 

Regardless, the new owner will not only have to keep the bills paid, but no doubt also have to make enough extra to pay off the sellers.

[Jim W]

Yes- accurate. Soon grasshopper.......patience.....

 

So, with NAMM underway; no updates?

 

(Hmmm. Thought that would also grab the quote about all parties being at NAMM)

[ElNumero]

 

So, with NAMM underway; no updates?

 

(Hmmm. Thought that would also grab the quote about all parties being at NAMM)

Wasn't there a ghostbusters type company occupying one of the floors of 225 Parsons? A paranormal exterminating type of company? I wonder if they are the prospective buyers.

[High Flying Bird]

Wasn't there a ghostbusters type company occupying one of the floors of 225 Parsons? A paranormal exterminating type of company? I wonder if they are the prospective buyers.

No, but the people they study are the new owners.

[PunkKitty]

Any news on this? Inquiring minds want to know.

[jaywolfe]

Any news on this? Inquiring minds want to know.

Not yet done. foot draggin'.....

[Millennium Maestro]

Any news on this? Inquiring minds want to know.

This kind of purchase could potentially take a good amount of time to complete. I don't believe it to be a foot draggin event,from what I have seen I believe bother parties are excited and ready to go. It would not surprise me at all if we are doing PSP with the original owners and the potential buyers.

[tbonesullivan]

You have to remember that the owners/founders of Heritage are very old school. After all the crap they got put through with Gibson getting sold, sold again, and moving out, they are right to be cautious.

 

You also have to remember what Heritage guitars is, and why it was started: so that they could continue to do what they love doing. I know many have said "well if they did this then they could do this and get big" but maybe they don't want that. Maybe they want to stay the size they are, and not get caught up in the BS that comes with trying to "expand" ones business. They kinda remind me of Di Fara's pizza in Brooklyn. The same guy has been making pizza's there for decades, with the SAME OVEN. His kids and his grandkids have worked there. It's just what he loves to do.

 

So with that in mind, think of what exactly selling Heritage means to those guys.

[jaywolfe]

This kind of purchase could potentially take a good amount of time to complete. I don't believe it to be a foot draggin event,from what I have seen I believe bother parties are excited and ready to go. It would not surprise me at all if we are doing PSP with the original owners and the potential buyers.

definitely "draggin' of feet & some trepidation. If I were them I'd go have a cold one & forget about it. Life's too short.

[Polo]

Oy veh, I certainly hope that the fellas at Heritage have retained an above average legal consul to help represent themselves thru this potential acquisition!

 

I see them as having less than zero leverage in this deal, why would an investment firm who already owns the building where the company that they're interested in buying want to rush this purchase along? To get the ball rolling on instantly acquiring a significant amount of debt/risk?

 

In all reality the purchaser would be best served to drag things out as long as possible considering that they already know the vital details (IE- age, cash flow and health) of the purchasee.

 

No matter what happens with the potential deal the owners of 225 Parsons St will still be getting a rent check in the mail each month....until the don't.

[jaywolfe]

Oy veh, I certainly hope that the fellas at Heritage have retained an above average legal consul to help represent themselves thru this potential acquisition!

 

I see them as having less than zero leverage in this deal, why would an investment firm who already owns the building where the company that they're interested in buying want to rush this purchase along? To get the ball rolling on instantly acquiring a significant amount of debt/risk?

 

In all reality the purchaser would be best served to drag things out as long as possible considering that they already know the vital details (IE- age, cash flow and health) of the purchasee.

 

No matter what happens with the potential deal the owners of 225 Parsons St will still be getting a rent check in the mail each month....until the don't.

Been over a year so I don't feel they're rushing. Hoping for the best of course.

[jaywolfe]

Meeting this week. Perhaps by month end.

[Polo]

True Dat. Word on the street says that folks have even been interviewing for an honest to goodness real life Marketing position!!!!!!