Klarinet Archive - Posting 000203.txt from 2003/03

From: "R. Williams" <rwilliams@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Re: More corporate shenanigans, Another View
Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 07:48:06 -0500

Its been interesting reading the views on the corporate takeovers and since
I'm a dreaded MBA, I own a corporation, which I suppose makes me one of
those "SO#'s" in my plush office here in Newburgh, Indiana, here's my take
on all this.

Dr. Lacy is correct when he says that competition typically is a good
thing. But, the reduction of competition doesn't necessarily mean that
quality will fall. There are equally powerful forces at work that can and
do influence quality; primary among those forces is consumer expectation.

There is an old saying in the business world that I think applies
here. "High High Quality. Low..Low Price. Fast Fast Delivery. Pick
Two!" There are a lot of complaints about the quality of instruments here
on this list and listening to the comments in this thread, it appears that
it is the evil MBA SO-Whatevers in their plush New York Offices that are to
blame, but is that an accurate assessment? Maybe the people responsible
are closer at hand than New York. Maybe you should consider looking in the
mirror?

Just two weeks ago I posed a similar question to Linda Brannen. She sees a
lot of clarinets pass through Brannen Woodwinds and she's pretty well
connected with several of the bigger manufacturers. She said that
clarinets are the most deeply discounted instruments on the market. "The
manufacturers are shooting themselves in the foot." She said, "they cannot
cut costs on materials, it has to be blackwood. They cannot cut costs on
the keyworks, so they save money on assembly."

Now, do we know the additional cost involved in producing an instrument
assembled to the quality standards of say the Brannen's? Yes, just call up
Brannen Woodwinds and ask what they charge. Could the manufacturers
duplicate what the Brannen's are doing? Maybe, but for the manufacturers
the issue is, will y'all pay for it? IMS, did an experiment where they
took new instruments, sent them directly to Brannen Woodwinds and then
offered them for sale. Didn't work.

If you want to see Leblanc and Buffet and the rest producing finely tuned
instruments out of the box, here is how you do it. Quit buying them! But,
also don't expect to get the new improved models at the same low ball price
either! The economic reason that Wallmart exists is because you the
consumer are willing to put up with lower service standards for a lower
price. It is that simple..really. If you stop shopping at Wallmart
because there aren't enough trained salespeople to help you and you don't
like the shopping experience, then Wallmart has problems!

So what happens if the dire predictions come true and an evil company like
Steinway decides, "to heck with quality," we will milk the brand names
until they are dry and then sell off the burning hulks of those
companies? I mean, listening to the comments, a company like Steinway has
no musical authority and doesn't care about quality of its products, right?

Seriously though, every time I hear someone go on a rant about "big
corporations" I have to wonder what that person thinks makes up those
corporations. It's people. Do some corporations lie cheat and
steal? Sure because there are people who lie cheat and steal. Do those
corporations exist to serve the interests of their employees? No, they
exist to produce profits and earnings for their stockholders. Who are
those stockholders? Us!

I realize that I will not overcome the sentiments espoused in many
universities today that corporations exist to provide jobs for the masses
and do good for the community, but if you buy into that nonsense, the world
is going to appear much more sinister than it is. Case in point.

A company located near Dr. Lacy and myself is Kimball International. They
are a multinational firm. I'm sure they have a few MBA's running around
and they do/did produce musical instruments, pianos and organs. Around
1966, there was this Austrian prestige manufacturer of pianos that you may
have heard of, Bosendorfer. Bosendorfer had problems in marketing and
distribution. Kimball did not have those problems and the idea of adding
one if not the premiere piano brand to their stable was attractive. The
public may think Steinway, but pianists think Bosendorfer. So Kimball
bought Bosendorfer.

For 36 years Kimball owned Bosendorfer and it worked pretty well until the
evil multi-national corporation decided it needed to focus on its core
products, so Bosendorfer had to go. Did Kimball do the financially smart
thing and sell to the highest bidder, being the greedy corporate types that
they were? Perhaps a corporate raider, which would rape and pillage the
company? No, for about 5 years they looked for and worked to assemble a
group of Austrian investors who were dedicated to preserving
Bosendorfer. Interestingly enough, the biggest outcry about the sale was
by Kimball employees who were really attached and fond of Bosendorfer.

There are a lot of reasons for mergers; distribution, money, manufacturing
expertise so I think the concerns about the demise of Buffet are
premature. Of course if your really interested, call them up and ask.
Best
RW

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