Elzie, I'd say it's a re-alignment of the store/manufacturer brought on by the megastore/internet-EBay era.
Here in Nashville, we have a huge Sam Ash and a Guitar Center as well. Several local stores have closed over the last five years, just could not keep up. Just like the way you always lose some local businesses when WalMart comes in. The surviving local stores are either specialty (bass, vintage, acoustic) or pro shops that cater to the large 'been there, done that' crowd of pros that only go to a GC for strings or cables, if at all. And for every graybeard like you and me that will support a local store, most people will mail order for $10 less (plus $50 S+H, never figured out how they ignore that part . . .).
A friend of mine who runs a Mom and Pop store outside Nashville was quoted a $175,000 fee to maintain his Gibson/Epiphone franchise. Gibson was NOT willing to Epiphone-only, no custom shop-only, whatever, that would have allowed him to stay in the game. So that was that. Fender at this time seems to let you a bit more freedom and a lower buy-in, so he'll keep that, at least until they get completely unreasonable also.
On the other hand, it's hard to imagine the Gibsons and Fenders turning down the mail order money waved under their nose by the dumpster-full. But they've gotten burned: MARS and the BrookMays crashes have left them and their floor plan financiers holding big losses. And once you're in bed with GC and some others, THEY tell YOU what you're gonna build and sell and how you're going to price it to them.
Music retail/wholesale is just one more business in a different model than the one we grew up with. Like most things in life, change is better/change is worse/change is always.
J o e y
