That explains a lot. I had no idea that Gibson owned those electronics companies, but they evidently provide a revenue stream that's the main support for the company.
Gibson can afford to mess up its guitar business to some degree and not lose the house on it. The side note in there about their application to trademark the 335 guitar is interesting. If Fender couldn't manage it with the Strat, I doubt Gibson will make it with the 335. Both have been copied endlessly.
You have to understand that this is a puff piece by the local paper. Its purpose is to make Gibson look good, especially in the face of all the bashing Henry has taken elsewhere. The electronics acquisitions are old news, I've mentioned most of them before here (e.g. the Gibson/TEAC Memory cable). They have controlling interest in TEAC/Tascam, not outright ownership, and IIRC most of the others are that way too.
No, they don't rely on the guitar business alone, but the company has been built on the reputation of Gibson guitars. If you piss away that reputation, the other electronics businesses may survive and even thrive, but no one will buy just because they're part of the Gibson family. Some folks may even avoid them in that case.
The company is finding out the hard way what happens when you force unwanted changes on your customer base. It's backfired terribly, and worse yet, many of those who bought anyway have found that the "improvements" don't work, e.g. problems with the zero fret nut and GForce. The only question now is whether Henry will see the handwriting on the wall.
