Viking has been "downsizing" many of the independent dealerships for years. The most vulnerable have been any wear there has been a JoAnn's where they can squeeze in a leased space for the Viking dealership. There have been major changes in the leadership at Viking, coupled with a move of their US headquarters. This is a company to keep an eye on for the next year or two. viking is moving toward a dealer exclusive arraingment, in other words sell only Viking.
Bernina has a rather high cost of startup for a dealer .. they require so many machines be at the dealer, acessories , all to the tune of about $30,000. Many dealerships can not stock the mimium required to maintain, so some are being "phased"out. In my area there was an over saturation of Bernina dealers.