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JULY 9 I JORDAN KITTS MUSIC I DISTRIBUTION Steinway recently cancelled its distribution to Jordan Kitts Music’s retail stores in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area. This includes Kitts’ locations in Fairfax and Sterling, Va., and College Park, Lutherville and Rockville, Md. Jordan Kitts will continue selling Steinway at Steinway Piano Gallery of Atlanta; its stores in Richmond and Virginia Beach, Va.; and Steinway of Chicago. Steinway Piano Gallery of Washington, D.C., operated by David Slan and Gerry Malzone, will become the authorized Steinway dealer in the Washington, D.C., market. Jordan Kitts executives said they believe acquiring the Yamaha piano brand played a large part in losing Steinway at its D.C.-area stores. “Some months ago, Jordan Kitts Music had an opportunity to replace its mid-level Japanese piano offering, Kawai, with Yamaha after a competitor left the market,” said P.J. Ottenritter, Jordan Kitts’ vice president of sales and marketing. “At the urging of our sales associates and music educators, this substitution was made, and Jordan Kitts was subsequently informed by Steinway that they would be seeking other representation in metropolitan Washington.” Todd Sanders, Steinway’s vice president of sales and marketing, said the changes in Steinway’s Washington, D.C., dealer network were made with “careful consideration.” He added that Slan and Malzone, who run Steinway Piano Gallery of Washington, D.C., “have successfully represented the family of Steinway-designed pianos in the St. Louis and central Illinois markets for over 25 years.” Jordan Kitts is currently hosting a Steinway liquidation sale at its metropolitan D.C. stores. “Having been Steinway’s most trusted retail partner for more than three decades and [the] recipient of its most prestigious awards, including Dealer of the Year last year, we look forward to representing Steinway product once again in metropolitan Washington at the earliest opportunity,” Ottenritter said. | |
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