Industry-leading United States distributor pursues three Centers of Excellence Strategy focused on musical instruments, pro audio and band & orchestra to serve as the most complete one-stop business resource for retailers.
Supported by dozens of new product introductions, the addition of a number of exciting new lines, and the introduction of a year-long series of promotion programs, KMC Music today opened NAMM 2017 making a strong commitment to the future of musical instrument distribution and its resolve to continue to be the industry’s leading value-added distribution resource.
With the NAMM 2017 introduction of six new series of Washburn guitars, a completely repackaged line of Rhythm Tech products, two new Oskar Schmidt models, the re-introduction of Daisy Rock Girl Guitars, and the re-launch of an all-new line of eight Hamer guitars that feature the industry’s richest dealer margins, KMC is kicking off the new year with a ‘big bang’ approach to the musical instrument market. “And this is just the beginning of a very exciting year for KMC’s musical instrument product marketing program,” said KMC President Mark Terry. “Later in the year, we will be introducing new models from Jasmine, Barcus-Berry, and Hilo as well as more new offerings from Washburn and Rhythm Tech. In fact, we are planning to bring new musical instrument and accessory products to market every few months throughout the year.”
And this represents only what’s new and forthcoming from KMC’s company-owned brands, Terry stressed. The company has been adding new lines to its distributed portfolio at a furious pace over the last several months. New lines include Ernie Ball Strings, Hitman Drums, Novation, P&H Bows, Bullet Guitar Cables, ProLogix Percussion, and Babicz Full Contact Hardware. “More and more brands are turning to KMC because of our unique ability to reach a broader and deeper mix of musical instrument dealers in every market across the country,” Terry asserted. “We provide a completely integrated way to go to market for these brands, an approach that includes solid promotion, field training, field demos, and immediate service support when necessary.”
The strengthening of its musical instrument business comes at a time when KMC is more clearly pursuing a three-prong approach to its business development program, one that focuses in equal measure on musical instruments as it invests additional resources to build out its pro audio and band & orchestra units. “This emboldens KMC’s position as the complete, one-stop business resource on all market fronts for our growing network of resellers,” Terry explained. “We intend to offer them every kind of product they need to maximize their retail sales, across the board, in instruments, accessories, and pro audio. It’s a big initiative but KMC has the brands, products, resources, specialization, and category experts to make it a profitable reality for our retailers.”