I spoke to someone today & this topic came up. Although I never retailed Audison products, I had the utmost respect for the job Larry (& later on, Phil) did to build this brand in my territory. All the dealers "play ball" & everybody wins.

Therefore it's such a shock to me that this would happen. Karz builds up the brand to where it's hitting on all cylinders now & then they get dumped. From what I heard, the downward spiral happened at CES when Karz didn't get the accessory line.

From my perspective, I would think that the dealers are going to be loyal to the brand & not the distributor in this case. Any Audison retailers care to comment?

AS OF AUGUST 1/05 TRENDS IS NOW THE DISTRIBUTOR FOR AUDISON.

[ July 28, 2005, 10:14 AM: Message edited by: Pioneer Guy ]

there is no question that larry and phil and everyone at karz did a great job marketing not only the product but themselves, something very few reps and distributors do these days. there methods were unique, aggressive and very sucessfull. it does seem like a shame what happened and we may never know the real reason behind the changes happening. if nothing else the door is wide open for karz to move into a new direction with different products. i bet that there will be alot of lines available to them in the near future. will trends get the line, if you read the 2 letters that i got from karz, it seems likely but, you never know, just my 2 cents, i think we are all still allowed to have opinions around here

i think you are right, dealers will be loyal to the product, i know i would, damnit theres my 2 cents again, sorry dukk. a line like audison isnt easliy replaced and if you are a successful audison retialer already, you have probobly spent alot of time developing and creating your market and wouldnt want to change, and if you did want to for whatever reason, what do youi replace a line like audison with

Kinda a bit OT, but related................

Hmmmmmm, I know quite a few dealers that have said openly that they'll stick with the distributor and whatever they do because of the relationships they have developed with them. I think that this statement is really important to distributors in an ever changing and unstable market. Makes them go the extra mile for dealers that support them (there's a funny statement as it's the complete reverse of the norm !!).

Anyways, I'd suggest supporting your distributors if they support you. I know there's dealers whining about the support they get but remember...........it's a two way road.

On the Audison thing, I haven't heard this to be "fact". I think stuff said like this should be kept quiet until things known for sure.


Laterz !!

yep..................good people are hard to find........good reps are even harder........finding one who isn't just looking for a order is almost impossible.................

I like Karz alot, before my own shop I have never dealt directly with them which is a shame cause Phil is awesome...................I wanted Audison before this.................before..............I will wait and see what is on the horizon...........

I've known Phil for 13 years and would give him the shirt off my back if he asked for it. You will not meet a better guy.

Although I am just a backyard scab - my 2cents says to stick with the distributor. The people handling this particular brand seem to be light on principles...

Paul, I agree with you here.(aside from the backyard scab part). In this case I would stay with the distributor and not the line. Karz has been a great distributor for me in the years I have dealt with them and I will continue to do business with them. I will take the wait and see approach and help them build up a new line when the time comes.

Equipment comes and goes........... always changing. Like was said, good people are hard to find. And relationships take time and effort to build. Not something to take lightly.

All I have to say on this topic is that I have to agree that Phil Nease is definately in my top 10 of favorite guys in audio -- he once taught me more about the industry in a 15 minute conversation, than I learned in years otherwise. One thing I can say for certain is that whatever line he picks up to fill the void will do even better than Audison -- What came first, Audison being well known or Karz making it well known ;) What I have learned as both a retailer/sales representative is that good relationships are built on trust, respect and of course profit. There are tons of great brands of gear out there; however, there are only a few good suppiers.

[ July 24, 2005, 11:15 AM: Message edited by: mike bisson ]

If you guys are worried that those l'il nick knacks will stop coming in with your shipments, you're wrong, the tradition continues. I've known both Phil and Larry for a long time, and I know them to be great guys. The way I see it is nothing lasts forever. A contract came to term and a desicion was made, the product hasn't changed, and neither has the great personal service. As a matter of fact so far I feel Phil is doing more than he needs to, in order to placate his clients, like Larry.
Dukk, are you adding backyard scab [img]graemlins/bow.gif[/img] to your title? ;) Or can we make it into a new category between golden toque and dogsleder?
[img]graemlins/dunno.gif[/img]

how does anyone know what the service will be like from the new distributor, without the facts of who it is, who knows. whoever does get it has large shoes to fill, karz is probobly the best 12 volt distributor out there by a LONG shot and could teach alot of other distributors a few things about doing there job better