GEWA acquires Gretsch from DW

striker said:
This is a quote from the musicradar article that I posted today:
"The Gretsch Drums factory in Ridgeland (SC), previously managed by DW, will be taken over by GEWA music USA."

What does "managing the Ridgeland factory" mean? What do they do and what decisions can they make about Gretsch drums produced there?
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"Managed" certainly connotes something beyond just distribution.
 
No one told me it was up for sale or new management. Dagnabit I call foul.
 
Rattlin' Bones said:
"Managed" certainly connotes something beyond just distribution.
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It does, but who knows if they even got the verbiage right. Maybe it means managing payroll and paper clips. IDK. I remember the same sorts of worries when DW took over distribution. I remember Steve Maxwell posting a video on what DW's distributorship meant when DW took over and fears of the end of Gretsch were rife.
 
As of this announcement, I'm officially done buy anything Gretsch that is new, or DW for that matter. At this point... I say, just move all production to CHINA already and let A.I. buy their products. It's time for these companies to be honest and openly state they are no longer American brands.
 
don't insult my Broadkasters Man....

😁
jan19 014.JPG
 
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...and just when I was finally getting used to those round lugs on the new Gretsch drums.
I wonder if Sonor will suddenly start sounding like Gretsch, or visa versa now? :unsure:
 
T_Kauff said:
As of this announcement, I'm officially done buy anything Gretsch that is new, or DW for that matter. At this point... I say, just move all production to CHINA already and let A.I. buy their products. It's time for these companies to be honest and openly state they are no longer American brands.
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Me too. Except I had no plans to get either one in the first place. My set does me just fine ;)
 
T_Kauff said:
As of this announcement, I'm officially done buy anything Gretsch that is new, or DW for that matter. At this point... I say, just move all production to CHINA already and let A.I. buy their products. It's time for these companies to be honest and openly state they are no longer American brands.
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I think no drum brand is no longer not Chinese, except for highest level series.
 
T_Kauff said:
As of this announcement, I'm officially done buy anything Gretsch that is new, or DW for that matter. At this point... I say, just move all production to CHINA already and let A.I. buy their products. It's time for these companies to be honest and openly state they are no longer American brands.
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As it stands right now, this agreement really doesn't seem much different than when Gretsch was under Baldwin, KMC, then Fender, and on and on...this is their business model, and it's never destroyed them yet. Wouldn't make sense to have the highly profitable "USA" customs made in China, and I don't expect that to happen. Also important to note that Gretsch Drums is still technically American owned. This is a distribution and manufacturing agreement, not a sale of sole ownership.
 
GEWA will be at NAMM, will see to what they are up.
 
Still don't really understand the entire 'marketing arrangement' but don't believe that the great Gretsch would put themselves in a position where they no longer had control over the product.
 
Syncopated_1 said:
Still don't really understand the entire 'marketing arrangement' but don't believe that the great Gretsch would put themselves in a position where they no longer had control over the product.
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Not this particular Gretsch, But they did sell it to Baldwin in n the 60s.
 
GEWA booth, half Gretsch, half e-kits. My understanding is that they are the new Gretsch distributors in the US (probably Canada, and I assume Europe.) Not sure if the manufacturing would be affected.

gewa_namm.jpg
 
lovely..
 
Tamboreter said:
It's really sad to see that great Gretsch logo dwarfed by the GEWA Music sign.
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no it isn't
nor was it when it was KAMAN (90s) FENDER (00s)

Tamboreter said:
So from a practical standpoint, we really don't know anything yet.
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Moves like this sustain in this case Gretsch
You don't want Ridgeland instead of sanding and drilling edging and spraying booths
full of office space do ya?
...let GEWA computers and offices handle distribution paperwork.

This as always Frees Gretsch to be Gretsch drum builders
and leave the bean counting to their new bean counters I say that in total respect to bean counters

a business always has bean counters
the days when it was the owner counting the beans --are long gone--it's work that is subbed out to professional conglomerate firms (so they can report, monitor sales, &make a buck in the process too (that's fair) too) when you're a global company
 
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