Many markets have suffered from the consequences of the pandemic and the current general state of the world, but Fender is doing well.
According to an article in The New York Times , the company has been seeing interesting results. The publication states that guitar sales are increasing due to the so-called "Generation Z," who are taking advantage of the quarantine to learn to play the instrument as a hobby and/or therapy.
The news is surprising, since Gibson filed for bankruptcy after almost 120 years in the market. The boom is a consequence of social isolation, but many professionals did not expect the force to be so strong.
“I never could have predicted that we would be dealing with a record-breaking year. And we broke so many records in 2020,” Fender CEO Andy Mooney the New York Times. “It will be the biggest year in sales volume in Fender’s history, with record-breaking double-digit growth days, e-commerce sales, and beginner-level gear sales all in one.”
But the result wasn't just organic. Fender capitalized on young people's interest in learning to play and invested in its online lesson app called Fender Play. The tool saw a jump from 150,000 users to almost a million between the end of March and the end of June.
Besides Generation Z, women are also responsible for the boom. According to the article, they represented 30% of the audience before the pandemic and have now risen to 45%.
“In a world of digital acceleration, time is always your enemy. Suddenly, time has become your friend,” perfectly summarized Gibson's CEO, James Curleigh.
