Let me start off with a qualifying statement and that is I am certainly not part of the half-empty side on the field and as such, I don't want to trigger conversations about the state of affairs in SA such as the dreaded Eskom or the ruling party or corruption but the following input of [member=14383]achim[/member] I think is so thought-provoking that it needs to be lifted out of the Onkyo thread and discussed from a strategic perspective on its own merits.
In my view 2/3 of the local Audio/Visual dealers will not survive after the next x mas season. Exisiting brands will give up on South Africa and other 3rd world countries - and Importers here will give up to import volume depending brands. It simply doesnt make sense anymore.
Many dealers here survived so far on a very fragile system which builds mainly on consignment - this got wiped out in Europe since a long time.
In Europe those dealers survived and even could grow their business who ve been able to forecast their business - to forecast here seems almost an insult to the local dealers - but many of them will find out that they will simply dissapear having no goods to sell.....
Volume depending products do not allow any financial hick ups or gap..... taking into account that there is a massive shortage of almost everything - from components to containers and vessels - it makes it very clear - we ll run dry here.
Onkyo is only one of many to follow....
https://www.avforums.co.za/index.php/topic,100183.msg1102229.html#msg1102229
I get similar signals from my network, especially from the supply side. There are shifts happening around the world triggered by geopolitical events that impact supply chains, a restructure of the value chain in the industry with direct marketing models becoming more prominent and also a renewed hunting of companies closer to home rather than driving a global strategy. In Europe, many manufacturers start to market directly into the retail and cut out the importer/distributor which is of course feasible because of proximity. SA is no longer not a market that interests many manufacturers, too low volume and many hassles with guarantees etc.
So where does this all leaves us? What do you think will happen and what shifts do you foresee?
Are we running on empty in the words of Clem Sunter or are there cracks that the light shines through, courtesy of Cohen?
Keen to hear the views from the enthusiasts as well as those that are formally invovled in the industry.
In my view 2/3 of the local Audio/Visual dealers will not survive after the next x mas season. Exisiting brands will give up on South Africa and other 3rd world countries - and Importers here will give up to import volume depending brands. It simply doesnt make sense anymore.
Many dealers here survived so far on a very fragile system which builds mainly on consignment - this got wiped out in Europe since a long time.
In Europe those dealers survived and even could grow their business who ve been able to forecast their business - to forecast here seems almost an insult to the local dealers - but many of them will find out that they will simply dissapear having no goods to sell.....
Volume depending products do not allow any financial hick ups or gap..... taking into account that there is a massive shortage of almost everything - from components to containers and vessels - it makes it very clear - we ll run dry here.
Onkyo is only one of many to follow....
https://www.avforums.co.za/index.php/topic,100183.msg1102229.html#msg1102229
I get similar signals from my network, especially from the supply side. There are shifts happening around the world triggered by geopolitical events that impact supply chains, a restructure of the value chain in the industry with direct marketing models becoming more prominent and also a renewed hunting of companies closer to home rather than driving a global strategy. In Europe, many manufacturers start to market directly into the retail and cut out the importer/distributor which is of course feasible because of proximity. SA is no longer not a market that interests many manufacturers, too low volume and many hassles with guarantees etc.
So where does this all leaves us? What do you think will happen and what shifts do you foresee?
Are we running on empty in the words of Clem Sunter or are there cracks that the light shines through, courtesy of Cohen?
Keen to hear the views from the enthusiasts as well as those that are formally invovled in the industry.
