Rock On
The lack of a busy schedule creates a need to fill up your day with hobbies, work, family time or simply trying something new. One of the ways consumers chose to spend their corona driven free time this year comes in the form of finger shredding and knee sliding.
Over the past few months, Fender guitar sales have grown 17% and are even expected to reach $700 million this year according to Fender Musical Instruments Corp CEO Andy Mooney. Keep in mind, when the pandemic first attacked the world in March, 90% of Fender dealers’ physical stores had to shut down.
As the company went into “preservation mode”, the company’s main headquarters were shut down and roughly 2000 employees took up to 50% pay cuts to help keep the company alive and running smoothly. By the start of April, it started becoming clear that consumers were looking for new hobbies. Bikes, bread making supplies, and of course, guitar playing were just a few of the places people headed to spend their time.
Fender has been able to attract attention through its Fender Play service. This online video platform was built to help newbies learn guitar, bass, and ukulele and managed to lock in 930,000 subscribers by June of this year.
Consumer data research has revealed that “90% of first-time players who pick up the guitar abandon it in the first year.” Out of the remaining 10% of coronavirus newbies who got strumming this year, is it possible that we may see the reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix anytime soon?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
