So who is going to buy a few pieces of Fender?

[Mr 9finger]

They're going public on NASDAQ.

http://www.guitarworld.com/going-pub...-ipo-set-13-15

[ratherdashing]

http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/s...d.php?t=235631

I stand by the comments I made back then.

[Mr 9finger]

http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/s...d.php?t=235631

I stand by the comments I made back then.

You sir, and I, are on the same page.

Better buy the Fender items you want now. In 2 years they may be the new Crate in the guitar world.

[uOpt]

At the very least this is bad news for product lines under brand names different than Fender.

The Hamer example certainly has value.

[Luke Duke]

Holy crap! Wow! I was talking about this with a mutual fund wholesaler a while back and figured this would eventually come.

I'll probably buy a few shares in my IRA since we are talking about a piece of Americana here.

That said, I think this has the possibility to be as big of a "pump-and-dump" as FB....well maybe not THAT big!

[Bfeeney]

In 2 years they may be the new Crate in the guitar world.

Hey!!!!

[ItsaBass]

Thank goodness for all the great parts and parts makers out there at this time. Because of them, we can survive the upcoming nastiness. As the guy said in the other thread, it's gonna be "CBS, The Sequel." And we've already got "Norlin, The Sequel (Only Worse)" going on at Gibson. Great time for other brands to step in and benefit. G&Ls already make a mockery of most Fenders. How great will they look when Fender goes down the pooper? I reckon they'll be able to get more for their product.

[hareek]

I don't know there are plenty of companies out there that are publicly traded and still put out fine products. I think what you are going to see, and we've already seen this taking place, is a shift to making a lot of cheap and entry level guitars. They will still make fine quality American made expensive guitars and amplifiers don't worry. You'll just have to walk past a ton of Fender crap in the music store to get to the good stuff in the back. I think people are making a bigger deal out of this than needs to be. The CBS days are over and no way the company goes back to almost sinking itself like that again. If they are that stupid then Fender has much bigger issues than becoming publicly traded.

Besides read the article, they are talking about taking advantage of Indian and Chinese markets. As I've always said, buy American made Fenders and you have nothing to worry about.

[Left_Hand_Strat]

I secretly hope this means Squier succeeds further...

[Powdered Toast Man]

What you are about to witness is the transformation of Fender from a company that actually manufactures things into a brand that just slaps it's label on things. They've already been moving this direction with all their overseas expansion - the first Chinese made guitars with a "Fender" badge on them. This is what companies do - the value is in the brand, not what they actually make. So they'll increase their contracting out to foreign factories and decrease production in the USA. I could also see Mexico going away and them moving all foreign production to China.

[ImmortalSix]

What you are about to witness is the transformation of Fender from a company that actually manufactures things into a brand that just slaps it's label on things. They've already been moving this direction with all their overseas expansion - the first Chinese made guitars with a "Fender" badge on them. This is what companies do - the value is in the brand, not what they actually make.

That is actually a good point that I had not considered.

I'm reluctant to accept it, but I know it's a good point.

[Left_Hand_Strat]

What you are about to witness is the transformation of Fender from a company that actually manufactures things into a brand that just slaps it's label on things. They've already been moving this direction with all their overseas expansion - the first Chinese made guitars with a "Fender" badge on them. This is what companies do - the value is in the brand, not what they actually make. So they'll increase their contracting out to foreign factories and decrease production in the USA. I could also see Mexico going away and them moving all foreign production to China.

this.

which means they will make s*** up and slap a sticker on it and charge an extortionate amount. this is what p***** me right off about companies, makes me mad, they are making loads of money out of you for sweet naff all... hate it man...

I'd rather buy a Squier with Squier written on it than a Squier or other under brand product with Fender slapped on it.

This is like Gibson, and I'm opening a can of worms here, but god don't they make some bags of crap....

[hareek]

That is actually a good point that I had not considered.

I'm reluctant to accept it, but I know it's a good point.

So just buy American. Fender will never drop their American made line of guitars. I don't see why this really matters, it just means foreign made fenders will still be foreign made fenders, just the weather outside and the color of the workers' skin might be different. Does it really matter if it is made in Mexico or China or Japan or India? At the end of the day, what's being made is still the cheaper and lower quality version of their ultimate signature product which is the American made guitar.

[LesStrat]

I don't have enough faith in people to believe that they would NOT go into another CBS era if it means short-term profits.

Unbridled greed is a dangerous thing.

[ratherdashing]

So just buy American. Fender will never drop their American made line of guitars.

Assumption.

[hareek]

Assumption.

Fact. It would be like Jack Daniels dropping Old No. 7 or Ford dropping the F-150. The product IS the brand. It won't happen. If it does then you will see all of Fender go under completely. You really think they'll stop making guitars that guys like Clapton want to play? It's not going to happen. You guys are applying the stigma of being a corporation focused on profits too broadly and illogically here.

All this IPO means is that they're going to produce more of the crap they already produce, with maybe some new crap products, and they will be doing it in more foreign factories to sell to larger markets around the world. The Corona, California plant isn't going anywhere, and neither are their top of the line guitars and amps. It would be suicide for them to do otherwise.

[JeffB]

The Ford F150 is also made with a lot of overseas and out of country sourced parts. Itis simply put together here.

To think that a guitar company that is peanuts compared to Detroits current strongest, would not drop its MIA operations, especially when it becomes publicly traded, is naive in todays business world. In fact I suspect we will eventually see the ensenada plant take on the role of custom and high end operations. Maybe not next year or two, but give it 5-7 years.

[jcthejester13]

Whatever.

This just means that the value of my currently owned Fenders will go up in years to come.

[ratherdashing]

Fact. It would be like Jack Daniels dropping Old No. 7 or Ford dropping the F-150. The product IS the brand. It won't happen. If it does then you will see all of Fender go under completely. You really think they'll stop making guitars that guys like Clapton want to play? It's not going to happen. You guys are applying the stigma of being a corporation focused on profits too broadly and illogically here.

All this IPO means is that they're going to produce more of the crap they already produce, with maybe some new crap products, and they will be doing it in more foreign factories to sell to larger markets around the world. The Corona, California plant isn't going anywhere, and neither are their top of the line guitars and amps. It would be suicide for them to do otherwise.

Now you've made an entire post of assumptions.

Have you ever worked for a publicly-traded company? I have worked for three, including one that has a $60 billion market cap. It sucks. The shareholders are king, and the execs only job is to make the shareholders happy. CEO's who make too many decisions that result in less profit get axed, which means every high level decision is made with the goal of increasing profits. Anything and everything will be put on the chopping block if it means the company makes more profit that quarter. That, sir, is a fact.

Shareholders don't give a crap about product quality. They only care about one thing: return on investment. They will happily sacrifice product quality in the name of profit. ROI is the reason we have everything made in China, tech support in India, and huge, impersonal chain stores everywhere.

The only way we will see Fender maintain their current level of quality is if the current ownership group maintains majority control, and even then it's not a given (heck, they probably want to make money too). The whole point of going public, though, is to give up control of your company in exchange for cash money.

I hope I'm wrong. I really do. I just don't see this going well for guitarists at all.

[ratherdashing]

Whatever.

This just means that the value of my currently owned Fenders will go up in years to come.

Hmm, good point.