Regarding Gibson retailers, and Gibson's new retail policy.
Long term, Gibson's policy of "minimum inventory requirements" might prove to be thesmartest move that Gibson could hame made.

ALL of the large guitar names are committing retail suicide, where most retailers don't even want to market their products. With the internet, outfits like MIRC, and the factt that the manufacturers don't enforce MAPP prices, most of these guitar lines have absolutely no future. The biggest screw-up is Martin. They include Alvarez, Taylor, Takamini, Fender, Yamaha, Ovation, and many others.

Most of these guitars come out of Asia now, and their is no proprietery protection of their production methods.

Gibson saw the "handwriting on the wall," and Gibson tried to protect their product line.