St. Louis Music, (a division of U.S. Band and Orchestra Supplies Inc.) announced today a strategic alliance with LOUD Technologies Inc. Under the terms of agreement, St. Louis Music (“SLM”) will serve as the exclusive sales, marketing and post-sales support agent for LOUD’s Alvarez brand of guitars in the United States starting February 1, 2010. Distribution of the Alvarez brand outside the U.S. remains unchanged.
While LOUD will retain brand ownership and lead ongoing brand and product management, SLM will assume responsibility for all domestic Alvarez inventory, distribution, pre-sales guitar shop work, sales, marketing and post-sales warranty support and service.
“SLM is perfectly suited to partner with our existing Alvarez dealer base to grow the brand in the United States,” remarked Ernie Lansford, LOUD’s Director of North American Sales. “SLM has a very seasoned sales team with broad and strong MI dealer relationships – many of whom have first-hand experience selling Alvarez. Most importantly, SLM will back Alvarez with a dedicated marketing and support team that will significantly increase brand awareness and demand.”
“We are thrilled to add Alvarez to the roster of brands we distribute,” remarked Mark Ragin, CEO and Founder of SLM’s parent company, U.S. Band and Orchestra Supplies. “We look forward to continuing the strong Alvarez tradition of creating unique dealer-oriented programs, such as our new 6-months, interest free financing through GE Capital, as well as building sales through the strong base of existing dealers LOUD has supported in the past.
Stan Morgan, President of SLM, added “We will partner closely with LOUD and devote significant resources to build the Alvarez brand domestically. I am proud to be involved in this alliance and know it will benefit Alvarez and its dealers and players across the U.S.”
About U.S. Band and Orchestra Supplies, Inc.
U.S. Band & Orchestra Supplies Inc. is a leading distributor of musical instruments and accessories and the corporate owner of St. Louis Music, Knilling® Stringed Instruments, Perfection® Pegs, Austin® Guitars, Zonda™ Reeds, and Apollo™ Drums. St. Louis Music distributes 10,000 products from over 200 of the music industry’s leading brands and manufacturers. www.stlouismusic.com
About LOUD Technologies Inc.
As the corporate parent for world-recognized brands Alvarez®, Ampeg®, Blackheart®, Crate®, EAW®, Mackie® and Martin Audio®, LOUD engineers, markets and distributes a wide range of professional audio and musical instrument products worldwide. Our product lines include sound reinforcement systems, analog and digital mixers, guitar and bass amplifiers, and acoustic and electric guitars. For more information, please see our website: www.loudtechinc.com
