Okay Armchair Head Honchos...for fun, you bought Heritage a few years back, what would you have done?

[deytookerjaabs]

I thought this would be fun, seeing as all the banter back and forth kind of reminded me of being a sports fan where you'd have made this trade...and fired that guy, etc. 

 

 

I guess I'll start. I win the Lotto...circa a few years back, **** it let's lose this money in a guitar company!!

 

I'd have milked the Parson's herd for the grass roots types. You know, that, uhg, "Americana" stuff that seems to be gaining traction. By that, I mean, I'd have let bread & butter models go on back order to focus on introducing an F-5 type mando, an L-3 style axe, a Jumbo, a J-45 style and possibly a banjo while keeping a few key archtops & semi's in the lineup...then suspending solid body production for a period of time to do this, oh the humanity! I'd focus on getting a dealer like Gruhn's on board, really hammering home the old school cool vibe. And, of course, do whatever possible to stay in some section of the main building with a strong focus on apprenticeship and modern underground style hip marketing....i.e...if you make it look cool they will come. 

 

What would you have done? 

 

[bolero]

interesting thread!

I hear you on the roots instruments....especially the banjo/mandolins ( when I was there a few years ago, they had a whole skid of old banjo bodies & necks sitting in the corner )

I would have set up an apprenticeship program, to *preserve and spread the knowledge* of the old timers, who probably want to retire at some point.

Especially focusing on handbuilding archtops: tap tuning, wood selection....mandolins + acoustic guitars too

a Heritage take on the slope shouldered J45 would be pretty neat, IMO

solid body guitars are relatively easy to make, by comparison. skill set would transfer easily

as you say, there is a good revival going on with traditional American folk music. And it would also tie into the whole "heritage" of those instruments at 225 Parson's

I can see that being attractive to a lot of people.

I don't have any numbers, but I would hope that regular solidbody/semi solid production could carry on & support the team, while they released a small amount of these more intricate instruments

( which I would treat as an investment in employee skill development )

A modern tech & social media savvy marketing group, and streamlined ordering/tracking system using a database to log & track orders, possibly with photos of each build at various stages, to pass on to the buyer

it's always a thrill seeing a guitar transformed from raw materials into a musical instrument. I know I cherish the "in progress" pics I have of guitars

but I am probably naive, and looking at the world of guitar production through rose coloured glasses. my forte is not business.

 

 

[rockabilly69]

First, I would have cleaned up the shop, because I wouldn't be able to think with the mess they had there! I would also like to see two different acoustics, a J45 type, and a J200 type, two different mandos F style and A style. I'd skip right past banjo production and save the world from the tin racket! Then it would be on to guitars, first thing first, I would dumnp the ugly headstock, and remove all long scale guitars from the inventory. I would also like to make sure a few good archtops would carry the tradition. And then I would have killed the deal with Tonepros for the hardware, and see if I could have all the metalwork made somewhere in Michigan. Then I would have had Throbak supply all the electronics until I could gear up the company to hire the best winder they could find, and then have them set-up an in-house winding station. I would hire the best fret man that I could find and have him train anybody that would be on final neck setup, or set up a Plek area, and train people how to use it. I'd hire a professional website developer to develop a good lucking helpful website that would provide all the information necessary to potential customers.  Hell this is wearing me out....

[deytookerjaabs]

13 minutes ago, rockabilly69 said:

 I'd skip right past banjo production and save the world from the tin racket!

 

....

 

 

 

[jaywolfe]

6 hours ago, rockabilly69 said:

First, I would have cleaned up the shop, because I wouldn't be able to think with the mess they had there! I would also like to see two different acoustics, a J45 type, and a J200 type, two different mandos F style and A style. I'd skip right past banjo production and save the world from the tin racket! Then it would be on to guitars, first thing first, I would dumnp the ugly headstock, and remove all long scale guitars from the inventory. I would also like to make sure a few good archtops would carry the tradition. And then I would have killed the deal with Tonepros for the hardware, and see if I could have all the metalwork made somewhere in Michigan. Then I would have had Throbak supply all the electronics until I could gear up the company to hire the best winder they could find, and then have them set-up an in-house winding station. I would hire the best fret man that I could find and have him train anybody that would be on final neck setup, or set up a Plek area, and train people how to use it. I'd hire a professional website developer to develop a good lucking helpful website that would provide all the information necessary to potential customers.  Hell this is wearing me out....

Most of this has been accomplished, including- new arriving Heritage's no longer have TonePros and have a nicer bridge & stop bar. I have submitted a proposal to Heritage management concerning a slope shoulder Dreadnaught & J185 style acoustic.  I believe we won't see anything like that soon, but one can hope. Agree about Banjos.

[Millennium Maestro]

Had I bought the company... OOh.

First off, I would have gotten in my NEW car and started driving by each and every music store, especially the mom and pops. I would find out exactly how much they know and if/what issues were the reasons for the Dealerships from not carrying my US manufactured products. Educating the dealers would be mandatory because for 30 years many dealers have not been presenting the products the way I expect them to, many of these dealers would be an excellent gateway to artists so... at the same time I would spend time exposing working artists to the products putting as many of my guitars in public eyes as I could.

Basic painted headstocks would be gone, as with 1/2 or more of the Hollow body lineup, knowing CITES is coming I would work on developing a product that is more compliant without restricted species and without changing the products tonality signature.

My business philosophy... Old school tone, modern setup standards

[Conneazoo]

4 hours ago, Millennium Maestro said:

Had I bought the company... OOh.

First off, I would have gotten in my NEW car and started driving by each and every music store, especially the mom and pops. I would find out exactly how much they know and if/what issues were the reasons for the Dealerships from not carrying my US manufactured products. Educating the dealers would be mandatory because for 30 years many dealers have not been presenting the products the way I expect them to, many of these dealers would be an excellent gateway to artists so... at the same time I would spend time exposing working artists to the products putting as many of my guitars in public eyes as I could.

Basic painted headstocks would be gone, as with 1/2 or more of the Hollow body lineup, knowing CITES is coming I would work on developing a product that is more compliant without restricted species and without changing the products tonality signature.

My business philosophy... Old school tone, modern setup standards

Modern artists. They had a giant. Alex Skolnik. Both a solid and semi player. Gone. With ESP now I believe.

[Conneazoo]

If I did?

I would not have moved the factory out of 225. There would have been a hiatus (which would not have been advertised) while 225 was cleaned, remodled, and modernized. with no CNCs at all.

Apprentice program. Keeping workers and training others.  With safety and benefits being key.

I would cut the model line up. Sorry, solidbodys sell. The only "fat" semi to stay would be the Eagle The other would be the 535. 357 would be there.

I would NOT cut wood selection or EVER cancel an order once it had been agreed upon.

I would not stop trying to mix new colors to create one offs. (For custom orders) Plus would use black binding and Pelham blue.

I would take care of my dealers and not allow myself to become pigeonholed by one or two. You buy guitars from me for MY price. If you wanna sell them for 5 dollars? Who cares, It's your loss. I'm the factory, your ideas are moot.

I would CAPATALIZE on the HERITAGE. This is where these guitars CAME FROM. WE ARE STILL DOING IT!!

Artists. Modern, pop, metal, country, all. Let's talk.

But this is all just fantasy. Aldo Nova. Fun to talk about, but will never be. Then again, I don't have walls of axes that I've already paid for and need to recoup. If that were the case, I'd be scared and on the forums bigtime.

[ElNumero]

All you guys have way too much time on your hands !!

[DetroitBlues]

Perhaps working with Western Michigan University and offering courses in Luthiery and apprenticeships...

[Spectrum13]

11 hours ago, DetroitBlues said:

Perhaps working with Western Michigan University and offering courses in Luthiery and apprenticeships...

So the student gets in debt for a $15 an hour gig?

[DetroitBlues]

23 minutes ago, Spectrum13 said:

So the student gets in debt for a $15 an hour gig?

Not exactly, but the University would help fund a program to teach about manufacturing processes and history that would help keep the doors open at Parsons Street.

No different that Student Teachers who pay tuition to a University and teach an entire semester for free at a local school; the school and the supervising teacher receives funding from the University and the Student Teacher gains experience and prepares them for the world.

Something similar, even if it was just an elective would be nice.

Unfortunately, when we talk about apprentices that implies journeyman, which encourages organized labor.  Something that will run the company out of business if it went that route.

[houndhome]

Doesnt organised labor i.e, trade unions fall into politics which should be a no/no for this forum ?

[JeffB]

13 hours ago, houndhome said:

Doesnt organised labor i.e, trade unions fall into politics which should be a no/no for this forum ?

Yes.

I'm a proud supporter of unions and workers rights

 

[deytookerjaabs]

Who said anyone's vision for Heritage needed to be viable?? At least my toddler still knows how to play pretend 

 

 

Back on Topic, Banjo Time:

 

 

[DetroitBlues]

15 hours ago, houndhome said:

Doesnt organised labor i.e, trade unions fall into politics which should be a no/no for this forum ?

Not necessarily.  I can mention President Trump has weird looking hair and a fake spray on tan.  Just because he is a politician, my comments have nothing to do with politics.  

My comment above, more or less implies why Gibson left Michigan for Tennessee.  Michigan had Union Labor but Tennessee does not.  

[Yooper]

2 hours ago, JeffB said:

Yes.

I'm a proud supporter of unions and workers rights

 

+1

And to be fair, it is not politics to say unions advocated labor bargaining rights, grew our middle class, expanded healthcare, increased workplace safety, and provided for pensions. For better or for worse, it is history.

[Polo]

[Genericmusic]

I'd sell the company to Meng and retire to Hawaii. 

[tonedeaf]

I would do exactly what my plan to purchase the company indicated I should do.

 

Really, I would pluck the best of the best guitars and put them in my closet for a rainy day.

[davesultra]

On 6/8/2018 at 10:50 PM, Genericmusic said:

I'd sell the company to Meng and retire to Hawaii. 

This for the win! Who in the heck would want all the headaches associated with running a business anyway?!

[pro-fusion]

If I had the first idea about how to run a profitable guitar business...I'd be doing it already!

Tough business, especially these days.

I can't say I like everything the new Heritage regime is doing, but it's not tough to understand why they're doing it.

[unikh550]

Profit, while paying people enough to raise a family, would be a priority. Differentiating products from the competition by having features that the others don't, would be an emphasis. Ex: EVERY guitar would have the most flame, curl, or whatever as possible. Make all pickups in-house, or at least use the best boutique pickups. Bare Knuckles, Lollar, Biltoff, and similar pickups, instead of Schallers and SD's. Emphasis on models that have the highest % of profit margin. Surrender the under $1,000 market to the Asian market, and just build the best you can while having a 30%-50% profit margin. The idea of cleaning up the shop was especially good. Also, the mom and pop's, especially those still around within 600 miles of KZoo, is a great idea. Don't ever cheapen the brand. Have at least two company rep''s at every guitar show with at least 1,000 visitors. Have the factory open five days a week.  Have one artist from every genre endorse the brand, while not paying them ridiculous amounts of money. Getting a free guitar every three years or so should be good enough... possibly as much as $25k for each artist.

[Gitfiddler]

Some really great ideas in this thread!  Too bad we don't have a Way-Back Machine and a Genie in a bottle for our wishes.

For me it would be a CEO 'punch list' of top 10 business objectives.  Some of these steps have been done by the new owners, but unfortunately with a major gut punch to the original founders, dealers, workers and its greatest fan base (the HOC).

1.  Conduct a massive market survey of guitar supply and demand by type/model/options;

2.  Search for and obtain multi-million dollar enterprise funding/capitalization;

3.  Streamline production/Clean up and modernize 225 Parsons Street shop;

4.  Hire/train the best and brightest (luthiers, builders, craftsmen, sales and management) available from Michigan and other regional areas;

5.  Commit to building the best guitars to ever come out of Kalamazoo, and establish protocols to sustain this objective;

6.  Establish a loyal dealership network, with no minimum order requirements.  Initiate dealer bonus programs and incentives for high sales volume;

7.  Only sell specified "Limited Edition" models from the factory.  ALL other sales made via Heritage dealers;

8.  Provide above industry standard customer service and warranty support;

9.  Creation of a dynamic website with integrated, targeted customer outreach;

10.  Repeat steps #1 though #9 above.

[HANGAR18]

A few years leading up to the Heritage guitar 30th Anniversary, I had become convinced that the guitar industry was in a death spiral and that relatively no one was buying guitars anymore. Not only that but I came to realize that I have no heirs for which to hand down my $48,000.00 instruments & gear collection.

So, if I had been the one who was stupid enough to invest in a guitar manufacturing company, and in this case, let's say that I was the one to actually buy Heritage Guitars, there would be a lot of things that I would do, but two things in particular would be at the top of the list.

1. Let computer driven precision tools do the time sensitive heavy lifting and fire anyone who wants to bitch & moan about how wasting time hand carving necks and dressing frets is a tradition of imperfection which should be continued.

2. Treat the dealer network like GOLD and do everything in my power to HELP THEM make a LOT of MONEY selling the product I manufacture instead of stabbing them in the back. I know how to market stuff the right way.