D’Addario has always supported the philosophy that accessories should be accessible,” comments Vice President of Sales, David Via. “However, that does not remove us from our responsibilities of proper channel management. As the marketplace has changed a proliferation of supply outlets has emerged. This has occurred at a time that overall demand has remained modest. The result is that reselling desperation enters the market. Selling on the unique and differentiating value-added proposition that each retailer can provide has been diminished, if not all together extinguished in many cases. Our dealer authorization program will enable D’Addario to exercise its unilateral right to determine who is authorized to sell our products, and within what outlets they are authorized to do so. We look to work with those who bring value to the presentation of our products. We offer a number of assets from in-store signage and merchandising, to online photography, detailed content databases, video links, etc. We want dealers to utilize these assets making it easy to present D’Addario in an attractive and compelling manner whether presented online or in a store,” Via added.
To identify dealers who are authorized, D’Addario is working with Channel IQ, an online market monitoring company. Channel IQ has the ability to compare D’Addario’s authorized roster versus those that have a presence of D’Addario products online. This process will be monitored across the top 1,000 D’Addario SKUs.
U.S. Sales Manager, Peter D’Addario, mentioned, “Our dealer authorization program is just the latest in a series of actions we have taken to improve the presentation of our products both in-store and online. As a result of a more professional presentation, we have seen our products sell for higher average prices over the past year as confirmed by data from online sources, as well as data received from MI Sales Trak, the primary source of retail sales information for accessories. We have four dedicated Regional Sales Managers to meet the needs of independent dealers in the U.S. These professionals are supported by five inside sales representatives, and dedicated customer service representatives, all in place to service the independent dealer network. These sales professionals are equipped with the resources and the responsibilities to assist dealers in the presentation of D’Addario products online and offline. We recognize the importance of accessories to the dealer and want to make sure we do all we can to maximize the attractiveness of the presentation of our products, enabling accessories to meet the contribution expectations of our dealers,” D’Addario concluded.
Dealer Authorization Applications will be sent to existing retail accounts with who D’Addario is currently conducting business. Dealers are asked to complete the application so as to not risk any disruption in their ability to purchase and resell D’Addario products. If you have not received an authorization application, or you do not presently have an account with D’Addario, but would like to apply for authorization, please contact sales@daddario.com.
