November 23, 2020 I Distribution
Hal Leonard Expands MI Products Distribution Division
Some of Hal Leonard’s expanded staff added to handle its increased distribution meets via teleconference.
Hal Leonard CEO Larry Morton has announced further expansion of its MI products distribution division. This comes as the company plans for even more expansion that includes website updates, branding, new product categories, more lines and staff expansion.
Hal Leonard, a publisher and distributor of printed music, is now distributing products for other companies, and has been developing this ability for a while. Starting with a few accessories and gift items in the 1990s and music notation software in the early 2000s, the division grew more substantially in 2009. Since that point, every year has seen new distribution lines, including software and technology relevant to musicians from companies such as Avid and IK Multimedia. Hal Leonard also began expanding into gear and instruments, including Blue Mics, Samson, Line 6, Presonus, Flight Ukuleles, Warm Audio, Michael Kelly Guitars, Cordial Cables, TASCAM and more.
In 2016, Hal Leonard began to develop a full line of drum-related distributed brands as well and started a separate team of sales reps to support these efforts. Hal Leonard now distributes Gretsch, Gibraltar, KAT, Tycoon, Remo, Paiste and Vater products.
Brad Smith, vice president, MI products, who oversees the roster of distributed companies, said, “Our goal from day one was to expand our offerings so that we could support music stores by giving them the ability to consolidate their order to get everything they need for a successful business from one source — with no minimum order requirements — and to have those orders ride along with existing print orders and our existing freight programs. We love hearing from our accounts about how easy and efficient ordering all these lines has become.”
With double-digit growth YOY in 2020, in 2021, the company plans to expand into more product categories and lines, including DJ and lights, live sound, more guitar gear and more digital delivery of software products. To ensure It has also added additional warehouse support for inbound and outbound shipments, quality assurance inspection at the warehouse for fretted instruments, and purchasing agents to work with product ordering and inventory management.
