Fender is going public . . .

[sunvalleylaw]

Hmmmm. http://marketday.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/09/12644060-riff-on-this-fenders-going-public?lite


Don't know what I think about this. Having to answer to shareholders through quarterly reports, hmmmm. . . . Bet we see more Fender branded stuff, kinda like Harley Davidson has done. Fender leather jackets, fender hats, headbands, bras, bikinis, prophylactics, beer, coasters, etc.

I like my Fender and Squire guitars. I hope it works out ok.

[Robert]

Hope it doesn't turn out like the Facebook fiasco!

[Tig]

Ah, what's the worst that could happen?
A CBS era flashback, but with pandering to stock holders and Sarbanes-Oxley (which I'm all too familiar with) regulations?
http://failuremag.com/images/uploads/articles/hindenburg.jpg

[guitarhack]

My main concern would be that quality will suffer as top management and the board of directors will want costs cut to maximize profits.

[Katastrophe]

My cynical guess is that materials quality will go down, and prices will go up across the board.... Like guitarhack said, the corporation's sole goal will be to maximize profit.

[Stig]

Yup. Stockholders are the death of any company's product quality.

So now we'll have another era of Fender.
Pre-CBS
CBS
Post-CBS
Whatever you call the current era - the Renaissance?
The Stockholder Era - which I imagine will be it's last.

[poodlesrule]

..yet the market gets a bit crowded these days, no?
Even a "marquee" brand should watch what's going on behind...

I vote for fewer models, so one can make some sense out of the product line.

And Facebook wasn't a fiasco, just a well-orchestrated play... at least to some (A decade+ ago, I saw an IPO up-close, lots going on, some only vaguely legal).

[Katastrophe]

The Stockholder Era - which I imagine will be it's last.

That's an excellent point, Stig... It's highly doubtful that we'll ever see an employee buyback of Fender like was engineered in the early 80s, to rescue it from CBS. More likely, if Fender isn't profitable, it will get sold off to another corporation eager to add a storied brand to its portfolio.

I really hope that whoever is manning the ship over there that he/she isn't in any way like Henry J. of Gibson.

And yep... Fender really, really needs to streamline it's products. A pickup swap and a different color doesn't make a Strat a different model.

MIM:

Standard
Classic (50s, 60s and 70s)

American

Special
Standard
Select

China:

Move the Modern Player Series to the Squier line.

It would be really cool to see menu pricing for the different models like Carvin does.

[MAXIFUNK]

IT IS A MONEY GRAB BY THE NUMBER 1 GUITAR COMPANY IN THE WORLD.
This also a way to protect itself if G.C. goes under. Maybe will get some real R&D out of them. ok never mind I was laughing as soon as i typed the R&D line. lol

[progrmr]

Interesting...I predict the end of the American made line so prices can go down and sell more product to satisfy stock holders.

Makes me want to buy a gibson to prevent this sort of thing!

[NWBasser]

Oh snot. Fender has really stepped up their game in making basses in the last several years. Approaching boutique quality.

Now, I'd expect all that positive momentum to be wiped out by profit maximization.

OTOH, there will still be a whole lot of pre-IPO instruments available on the used market. Those may go up in value. Buy now!

[duhvoodooman]

My main concern would be that quality will suffer as top management and the board of directors will want costs cut to maximize profits.
+1. This is bad news.

[sunvalleylaw]

Better set my eyes on one of the lower cost but decent quality jazzmasters that have been interesting me lately, before they screw them up!

[oldguy]

Better set my eyes on one of the lower cost but decent quality jazzmasters that have been interesting me lately, before they screw them up!

Good idea! I think I'll be hanging on to my Am. Strats and Tele.

[Tig]

Good idea! I think I'll be hanging on to my Am. Strats and Tele.

Also worth mentioning...
When I was feeling out possible trade ins with my local shop, they mentioned that the best value holding Fenders are American made (not exactly news, but you get the picture). The MiM's and CV Squiers lose about 60% of the new price in a trade in.

[Tig]

They changed their mind :D
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/20/why-fender-pulled-its-ipo/?hpt=hp_c3

[MAXIFUNK]

They woke up and smelled the coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!

[progrmr]

Yea - saw their stock was over valued and bailed on the idea. Smart move short-term and long term frankly.

I should buy an American made fender...although I just bought a Gibson when this article came out to buy American and homey ain't made of cash lol!!

[NWBasser]

Reading the CNN article looks like sort of good news. At least they won't be beholden to stockholders seeking maximum profit.

Bad news though is their current debt load. Potentially just as bad as an IPO since they may have to cut corners and seek whatever cost-cutting measures that they can in order to make enough money to pay their debt and interest. And, as the article stated, accomplish all this in the face of declining demand.

Why the declining demand?

One factor mentioned by the article is lack of interest in electric guitars by younger people who are making music with their computers.:thwap

Another, obvious one, are people who have lost their jobs and/or reduced income.

Less obvious, is the percentage of personal budget being spent on gasoline (or heating fuel) due to high energy prices leaving less discretionary spending.

I like Fender guitars and basses and hope that they find a way to succeed.