Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Surprised no one here is talking about this.

https://guitar.com/news/industry-news/h ... bankruptcy

Bankruptcy, of course ≠ going out of biz, necessarily. I hope it's simply a debt restructure thing.

While there are a lot more factors in operating and maintaining a healthy business, it’s hard to ignore that Höfner has been riding the Beatle wave for the past 60+ years. And how long can that possibly last? Name one notable player or model since the 500/1 and Paul McCartney.

It’s a cautionary tale to any MI company that has built its legacy around being “Beatle gear” and that certainly includes Vox and Rickenbacker. While the latter two have certainly branched out with relevancy to other, newer artists, the Beatles have been a substantial part of the brand story & product strategy for decades. Höfner’s demise is a reminder that no matter how big the Beatles were, it’s not enough to sustain a large scale business indefinitely.

I hope that either the company restructures, or somebody buys the Höfner brand and continues production in a reduced capacity (hopefully still in Europe) since there is still brand equity there. Just not enough to keep a big business going.

I'd like to see Warwick/Framus pick up the company.

We’re most familiar with Hofner basses but the company also makes orchestral instruments. It’s not hard to imagine that Chinese companies are eating into Hofner’s market in that area as well. Forty years ago school systems bought Hofner double basses, now it’s Shen.