Foreign takeovers of established UK names

britishcomposers

britishcomposers
Wammer
Nov 8, 2017
997
742
148
Shaftesbury, Dorset
HiFi Trade?
  1. Yes
Before I get started with this topic as new member here, I must for the record state that I am not 'in the hi-fi industry' as manufacturer or seller of my own product (anymore) but merely operate as freelance adviser with my own established client base, built from 36 years in and out of the industry from sales through to installation;  the latter now being my present remit, including design with preparing house wiring schematics and furniture design and sourcing random product by putting my client's in-touch with suppliers while I piece together a planned system in their given home, - and that's it.  I will not be talking about anything with regards 'promotion' that is of benefit to this author or any other operation that I have association with on this forum; as is the policy of any such forum as I understand.  

Being fully aware that this forum probably covers every discipline within it's membership that doubtlessly require absolutely no help from what I do, nor the desire to get involved with the likes of any operation of this kind in the first place, then should anyone find the content I write giving cause for issue, then any subsequent complaint will find me a most obedient and compliant newcomer who will respond in kind.  I also have a sense of humour but wished to get that all off my chest beforehand.

Now, my gripe is about certain overseas operations and their loose & fast marketing approach, almost overnight, with long established, reputable and highly successful UK-based hi-fi manufacturers whose ethic was based upon credibility of product, heritage, position in the marketplace, and goals.  Said new controlling arms taking it into their belief that all of that was nothing worth bothering with and simply hiring a firm of web-designer IT-based consultants, (read: barely out of school/Uni or 20-30-something Yuppies/Hipsters - delete as applicable), who proceed to rob the brand of it's identity;  destroying and ultimately alienating decades of goodwill or reputation said brand enjoyed almost overnight to all who see the supposed 'idealised' model of white-teeth shiny people in modern £multi-million riverside high-rise interior shots.  This self-aggrandising model of general all-round BS marketing is not representative of the home UK market, but rather the imagined Manhattan high-life 'dream' existence, - right down to the use of non UK English spelling, and on a UK product.  Frankly, it turns my stomach.

As dear old Tel' used to say, "Is it me?"  -  or am I just sounding old and not moving with the times?   Any feelings on this.  I know that many aren't happy with a certain French take-over in Wiltshire and the ex- Tulse Hill boys in Strathclyde are now having their heart pulled-out.  The web-site is dreadfully wide of the mark!    

 

britishcomposers

britishcomposers
Wammer
Nov 8, 2017
997
742
148
Shaftesbury, Dorset
HiFi Trade?
  1. Yes
Well I take the point of listening rather than reading material, but I do take an interest in how a longstanding brand does as it progresses through the years.  Some have to radically rethink about what they are doing in order to keep up.  Others are lucky enough to be well placed with dedicated teams within their R&D to keep abreast of all things.  But seeing what is happening at Tannoy, looking on-line at the way the web-site is handling this long established and much respected operation is quite depressing.   If I were Rolls Royce, I wouldn't be very happy with this level of marketing.  It's missing the point of what Tannoy are all about and I fear it will fail to continue with representation such as this.

 https://www.tannoy.com/

 
G

Guest

Guest
Before I get started with this topic as new member here, I must for the record state that I am not 'in the hi-fi industry' as manufacturer or seller of my own product (anymore) but merely operate as freelance adviser with my own established client base, built from 36 years in and out of the industry from sales through to installation;  the latter now being my present remit, including design with preparing house wiring schematics and furniture design and sourcing random product by putting my client's in-touch with suppliers while I piece together a planned system in their given home, - and that's it.
This service is free then ? 

 

Ian

Wammer
Wammer Plus
Aug 27, 2008
5,412
3,495
193
United Kingdom
AKA
Ian
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Hi,

I'm certainly with you in terms of clicking on the link and seeing something that doesn't align with my values. I'd have to take time to explain why (you did a decent job) but to be fair I find I just automatically filter out this sort of thing, which is just everywhere. Advertising, obsession with self via social media (also not connected with), fashion, those funny grey painted windows and matching big fences and gates that seem to be cropping up everywhere ;-)  (it can't just be me who's noticed those !).

I sometimes worry I'm becoming a parody of the grumpy old man but not too much. I'm learning that getting angry about this sort of thing is not positive in terms of well being. In summary, I'm with you on your general point but we must learn to look away and look towards the fields and hills. I went for two walks today ;-)  

Anyway, if you're going to click on links that make you cross, you may find an antidote in the Daily Mash !

So, a bit off your topic but, y'know, welcome to the 'wam.

 
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britishcomposers

britishcomposers
Wammer
Nov 8, 2017
997
742
148
Shaftesbury, Dorset
HiFi Trade?
  1. Yes
Yes, I understand.  I am generally upbeat on all things and don't get embroiled with anything that is downbeat or liable to spoil the day.  I'm off out for a run myself in a bit, but that's just for keeping good circulation going through winter as I'll be walking in Dorset or over the local Hadleigh Downs when it's warmer.  That plus old cars.  

However, I've always had a lot of time for old British companies that kept going and succeeding, and when I see how well Quad is doing today under Chinese ownership, I'm sure Peter Walker, a most pragmatic man, and his son Ross, would both be reasonably satisfied with how the name is being managed today.

 

SergeAuckland

Certified Measurist
Wammer
May 6, 2008
18,607
1,915
173
Bury St Edmunds, UK
AKA
Serge
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Well I take the point of listening rather than reading material, but I do take an interest in how a longstanding brand does as it progresses through the years.  Some have to radically rethink about what they are doing in order to keep up.  Others are lucky enough to be well placed with dedicated teams within their R&D to keep abreast of all things.  But seeing what is happening at Tannoy, looking on-line at the way the web-site is handling this long established and much respected operation is quite depressing.   If I were Rolls Royce, I wouldn't be very happy with this level of marketing.  It's missing the point of what Tannoy are all about and I fear it will fail to continue with representation such as this.

 https://www.tannoy.com/
Tannoy have been taken over by a group mostly involved in Live Sound, with little background in Home HiFi. Tannoy have always had the two sides to their business, PA, from station announcements upwards including studio monitoring, and of course what we best know them for here, home HiFi.

Given Music-Group's background, it's not surprising they choose to promote Tannoy as they have done, as I expect they neither understand nor care much about the old bloke in his slippers listening to Beethoven on a pair of Lancasters. 

I think it's the Way of the World, and our little niche is now like stamp-collecting.

Sad, but I'm not at all surprised.

What does irritate me, are those HiFi ads with no cables visible, and the 'speakers arranged completely unsuitably for listening. 

S.

 
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Pete the Feet

Wammer
Wammer
Mar 9, 2010
11,216
5,221
173
Rochdale, , United K
AKA
Mr Feet
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Whether we like the naff oily marketing of something that interests us or not. We must consider the reason that British Hi-fi brands have died out or been taken control over. Lack of interest basically. This forum and many others is full of beardy, bald middle aged overweight men with income to spare. This market is very limited if you are trying to shift a volume of product that by and large no one is really interested in these days. That marketing and so called lifestyle products are aimed at the younger aspirational buyer rather than the diminishing pipe smoking Werther clientele.

 
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dudywoxer

Looking for a bigger stirring stick
Wammer
Jul 19, 2005
10,222
1,256
0
sunny scunny
AKA
colin
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Whether we like the naff oily marketing of something that interests us or not. We must consider the reason that British Hi-fi brands have died out or been taken control over. Lack of interest basically. This forum and many others is full of beardy, bald middle aged overweight men with income to spare. This market is very limited if you are trying to shift a volume of product that by and large no one is really interested in these days. That marketing and so called lifestyle products are aimed at the younger aspirational buyer rather than the diminishing pipe smoking Werther clientele.
Unfortunately, spot on. Even worse the majority of forum troglydites buy used, probably from the very people these adds are aimed at. The hifi industry, with few exceptions is trying to extract ever increasing amounts of money from the pockets of the reducing number of baby boomers, which seem to be the only market sector with any interest at all in hifi. A few companies do seem interested in supplying less well healed new comers but very few.

 

General Factotum

Just the basic facts
Wammer
Mar 7, 2016
1,979
627
148
Lancashire
AKA
You can call me Al
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
     Tannoy are doing what all businesses do i.e. make money. That is their raison d'être after all, so we can hardly blame them for that. We live in an ever evolving worldwide community with values which may no longer parallel our own. Maybe we should accept the inevitable changes and look forward to whatever the future holds.

     My father is still on the go at 96 and he felt much the same in the past. Although he kept up with developments in technology and lifestyle up until VCRs etc. the advent of the home computer and the changes they brought really didn't interest him. I remember my grandmother (who was 31 when WW1 broke out) bemoaning the 'new fangled' things that had put paid to her view of life, things like the motor car, aircraft, television, radio etc.. I suppose it's rather like the way that I, and a good few others on here, think of mass social media and the 'look at me!' world of selfies etc.. To reduce that to a four word paraphrase, we are getting old. Like every generation before us we think our ways were better and more meaningful.

     As a desktop computer user I can find some websites a tad irksome to navigate but I also appreciate I'm probably on a site deigned for the swippy swipey demographic, so I tend to just ignore it. Mobile devices are, after all, in a substantial majority now and the Hipsters and Lifestyle browsers are the target, not us. If aiming their wares at younger people keeps Tannoy et al in business, I'm all for it. 

     I can't help but wonder what our children/grandchildren/great grandchildren will be grumbling about when their turn comes, and more to the point, what huge changes they will see.

     Ye gods, I think I overwound my Waffleometer.

 
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britishcomposers

britishcomposers
Wammer
Nov 8, 2017
997
742
148
Shaftesbury, Dorset
HiFi Trade?
  1. Yes
Very well covered GF and I take your point.  Actually, the mere mention of waffle has made me want one now for elevensies!  

I was entirely overlooking that 'stroking' aspect.  That, combined with the attention span deficit so true of a good many youn'uns today perhaps, - and who of that generation would 'get' the stately home aesthetic of a Canterbury or Westminster Royal these days?  Probably think they're French antique furniture.  Quite possibly why they're tucked right away at the back of the site;  in-line for being phased-out if the sales drop-off sufficiently, - and probably what they want.  An independent Prestige dealer I know said that the operation is less than helpful than it was before the take-over, so perhaps the writing's on the wall for this arm of the operation and as another contributor has already observed, the parent company's remit is with studio-based kit, so high-end domestic is quite probably the Elephant in the room of their canon.

Your father must have an interesting story or two to tell from his longstanding background in the business which must've covered much of the interesting decades from the days of Hartley Turner through to Rank and EMI take-overs.   

 

General Factotum

Just the basic facts
Wammer
Mar 7, 2016
1,979
627
148
Lancashire
AKA
You can call me Al
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Your father must have an interesting story or two to tell from his longstanding background in the business which must've covered much of the interesting decades from the days of Hartley Turner through to Rank and EMI take-overs.   
     Apologies for any ambiguity regarding my father. The mention of technology was general rather than audio specific. Audio, and indeed music, holds little interest for him on account of the fact he's stone deaf due to the close proximity of unsilenced aircraft engines. He does though have some good stories to tell, as I'm sure you can imagine, as he fell in for both WW2 and the Korean War .

 
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George 47

Subjectivist
Staff member
Jan 1, 2006
8,423
6,070
193
United Kingdom
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Guys, cheer up Christmas is nearly here.

Tannoy wanted to manufacture their Prestige range in China. They have now reversed that decision as Scottish manufacture is the main reason for significant sales in Asia. As a company they have always been progressive. Sometimes it did not work and others times it was a success. They have obviously realised that the pipe and slippers brigade (tribe) will not be a sustainable market although it contributes to company profits. So widen the appeal and update the web page. As far as I know no range is being discontinued but no doubt anything that does not sell well will be discontinued, they are not a charity. They are obviously trading on the name and if the whole range changes to pure lifestyle products then maybe that will be a change that some here will not welcome. BUT Naim marketed a Muso lifestyle product that made a cracking profit for them. Its appeal was not to the more modern pipe and slippers men. But they continue with their range and got enough cash to develop a super pre/power amplifier. Not all bad news.

My worry is companies/finance houses that take over a company, trade on their name and then leave behind a shell making a weak sounding product.  What happened at Krell? Exposure?  

 
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notevenclose

Wammer
Wammer
Aug 31, 2007
2,557
923
158
Perth, Scotland
AKA
Miles
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Yes, I understand.  I am generally upbeat on all things and don't get embroiled with anything that is downbeat or liable to spoil the day.  I'm off out for a run myself in a bit, but that's just for keeping good circulation going through winter as I'll be walking in Dorset or over the local Hadleigh Downs when it's warmer.  That plus old cars.  

However, I've always had a lot of time for old British companies that kept going and succeeding, and when I see how well Quad is doing today under Chinese ownership, I'm sure Peter Walker, a most pragmatic man, and his son Ross, would both be reasonably satisfied with how the name is being managed today.
Matter of perspective I suppose. If we've got to the point where we're holding up IAG as an admirable example of foreign ownership then I'm afraid we must agree to differ.

 
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