Northern Irish instrument-maker Lowden Guitars has partnered with Amazon to sell its ‘Sheeran by Lowden’ line of guitars, a collaboration with pop star Ed Sheeran, in the United States for the first time.
Launched in 2019, the collaboration came about after Mr Sheeran was gifted a Lowden guitar by Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody. Sheeran by Lowden guitars were previously available only through a small network of distributors and merchants. A small number of the guitars were available to purchase via Amazon in advance of Mr Sheeran’s recent tour, becoming “a top seller within weeks of launching”, said Lowden managing director David Ausdahl in a statement on Thursday.
Now for the first time, the full range will be available to Mr Sheeran’s fans in the US through Amazon in advance of the singer’s upcoming 25-date North American tour.
The partnership with Amazon was a result of Lowden’s attendance at an Amazon Selling Workshop event organised in conjunction with the UK’s department of business and trade.
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“The workshop made everything so clear and simple to understand, from getting the brand registered, building our listings, managing all of the details like exporting paperwork and taxes and how to handle shipping,” said Mr Ausdahl. “For a small business like Lowden it has really educated us to the scale of the opportunity globally by working with a partner like Amazon. The whole experience has been seamless and so positive.”
He said: “One of our key considerations has been the capability to store the guitars in a climate-controlled environment and ability to ship them without damage. We need to know our guitars are in a safe location and we are very reassured by the Fulfilment by Amazon service. In addition, it’s also very reassuring when you sell on Amazon, you know that your brand will be protected globally.”
“Lowden Guitars is another brilliant UK export success story,” said Dominic Johnson, UK minister for business and trade. “Musicians across the United States will be delighted that Sheeran by Lowden Guitars are now available on Amazon and I look forward to seeing how the company continues to expand globally.”
Founded by George Lowden 50 years ago, the Saintfield, Co Down-based company has made guitars for Eric Clapton, Damien Rice and Niall Horan, among others.
“We are looking to expand our relationship with Amazon globally as we see it as an opportunity for growth,” Mr Ausdahl said. “There are many regions we don’t even exist in, like Brazil and India. We get a lot of traffic to our site from India so those regions seem so much more accessible now through Amazon.”
