Taylor Baritone 6-String User Manual page 4

4
Sizing Up a Down Market
I'll start the new year with a
confession: I really enjoyed the chal-
lenges and problem-solving of last
year. While we didn't start the year
anticipating that the economic issues
would be as dire as they were, we
shifted gears and changed our game
plan to adapt, and we came out on
top! It felt great to meet the chal-
lenges head-on and win.
While other guitar companies
retreated from higher-end guitars and
focused on going down-market to
pacify dealers, asking for lower price
points (and in the process abandon-
ing the high-end customer), we took
our message on the road and sold a
whole order of magnitude more high-
end guitars than ever before.
Taylor increased its market
share last year and was the top-
selling acoustic guitar brand in
terms of retail revenue generated.
Interestingly, Taylor guitars gener-
ated higher retail revenue at U.S.
cash registers in 2009 than we did
in 2008. This is despite the acoustic
guitar market being down from the
prior year.
Early in the year we had to lower
our production, as we were building
too much inventory. We had to cut
back and reduce the work hours of
the majority of our employees. We
retained nearly everyone and paid
Kurt' s Corner
their benefits, and we were able to
take advantage of a work-sharing
program, which paid people unem-
ployment for the hours not worked.
This lasted for several months while
we sold down our inventory, and
we've been back at full production
since early November. We're now
very lean on inventory, and have had
to increase our projections for 2010
several times. This was a painful pro-
cess to go through, but we're now
While other guitar companies
focused on going down-market,
we took our message on the road
and sold more high-end guitars
than ever before.
in great shape and well positioned
for 2010. Moreover, we've put bet-
ter controls and planning in place
to keep sales and production in bal-
ance.
Working with others on a team to
solve problems can be very reward-
ing and fun. It can also be not very
much fun at all when you don't have
the right group chemistry. I've expe-
rienced it both ways. In fact, one of
the biggest disappointments of my
career was in assembling a group of
talented people that were dysfunc-
tional as a team. This completely took
the fun out of doing business. Life
is too short to not have fun or enjoy
your work. When you have a group
of people who like and respect each
other, have fun working together,
are talented and can each handle a
large area of responsibility, it can be
really enjoyable. That's how I would
describe the great group of execu-
tives we have now at Taylor,
and is the biggest reason why I'm
really enjoying business, even when
it involves managing through a tough
year and a tough economy.
Here's wishing you a successful
and prosperous 2010!
— Kurt Listug, CEO
Publisher / Taylor-Listug, Inc.
Produced by the Taylor Guitars Marketing Department
Vice President of Sales & Marketing / Brian Swerdfeger
Director of Brand Marketing / Jonathan Forstot
Editor / Jim Kirlin
Senior Art Director / Cory Sheehan
Art Director / Rita Funk-Hoffman
Graphic Designer / Angie Stamos-Guerra
Photographer / Tim Whitehouse
Contributors
Bob Borbonus / Jonathan Forstot / David Hosler / David Kaye / Kurt Listug
Shawn Persinger / Shane Roeschlein / Bob Taylor / Corey Witt / Glen Wolff
Chalise Zolezzi
Technical Advisors
Ed Granero / David Hosler / Gerry Kowalski / Andy Lund / Rob Magargal
Mike Mosley / Brian Swerdfeger / Bob Taylor / Chris Wellons / Glen Wolff
Contributing Photographers
Rita Funk-Hoffman / David Kaye / Steve Parr
Printing & Distribution
Circulation
Woods Lithographics - Phoenix
Katrina Horstman
©2010 Taylor Guitars. 300 SERIES, 400 SERIES, 500 SERIES, 600 SERIES, 700 SERIES, 800 SERIES,
900 SERIES, Baby Taylor, Big Baby, Bridge Design, Doyle Dykes Signature Model, Dynamic Body Sensor,
Expression System, GALLERY Series, K4, Liberty Tree, Peghead Design, Pickguard Design, PRESENTATION
Series, Quality Taylor Guitars, Guitars and Cases & Design, T5, T5 (Stylized), Taylor, Taylor (Stylized), Taylor
ES, Taylor Expression System, TAYLOR GUITARS Taylor Guitars K4, Taylor K4, TAYLOR QUALITY GUITARS
and Design, TAYLORWARE, and WOOD&STEEL are registered trademarks of the company. Balanced
Breakout, Dynamic String Sensor, ES Blue, Grand Symphony, GS, GS SERIES, T5 Thinline Fiveway, Taylor
Acoustic Electronics, ES-T, Thinline (T5) Fiveway, T3, T3/B, and T-Lock are trademarks of the company.
Patents pending.
2010 Taylor Factory Tours & Vacation Dates
If you plan to tour the Taylor Guitars factory in 2010, please note that we've
added Fridays back to our tour schedule. A free, guided tour is given every Mon-
day through Friday at 1 p.m. (excluding holidays). No advance reservations are
necessary. Simply check-in at our reception desk in the lobby of our main build-
ing by 1 p.m. We ask that large groups (more than 10) and school-supervised
groups schedule special tours in advance by calling (619) 258-1207 and asking
for the Factory Tour Manager. We kindly request at least two weeks' notice for all
group tours.
While not physically demanding, the tour does include a fair amount of walk-
ing. Due to the technical nature, the tour may not be suitable for small children.
The tour lasts approximately one hour and 15 minutes and departs from the main
building at 1980 Gillespie Way in El Cajon, California.
Please take note of the weekday exceptions below. For more information, includ-
ing directions to the factory, please visit taylorguitars.com/contact/factorytour.
We look forward to seeing you!
Holiday closures:
Monday, February 15
(President's Day)
Monday, May 31
(Memorial Day)
Monday-Friday, July 5-9
(Independence Day / company vacation)
www.taylorguitars.com
Volume 62
Winter 2010