First of all, regarding Grotrian. It has been owned by The Parsons Group, Hong Kong since 2015 who added a Chines-made line using the Grotrian name. Here's a link to a story about the bankruptcy (there's a chance Parsons might reopen the German operation after it emerges from bankruptcy). In fact many storied brands both European and American have been bought up by Asian concerns. I think better that than them having disappeared entirely; Bösendorfer comes to mind.
Grotrian is a bit of an outlier in that it represents the 1% of the 1% in terms of production quality and quantity. Closing down the European factory entailed letting off all of 31 employees. So while it's a cultural loss, in the larger industrial scheme of things it's not even a drop in the bucket.
I agree with Wim to an extent, all acoustic instruments historically have been made to be completely disassembled and restored. But again, I see the entry of Asian manufacturers and capital to be a boon to the industry. In my region, the pianos that are going to the landfill the most are post world war II entry level pianos, they are literally coming apart at the seams. America simply lost interest in making highly refined instruments such as pianos. Once they got up and running, Asian manufacturers, following the Japanese lead, are making entry and mid level pianos far superior to what America was producing in the last quarter of the 20th century. At the same time, the growth market for new piano sales is in Asia and has been for quite a while; the market being about 4 times the size of the North American market and by no means saturated with an inventory built up over the last 125 years. When the Chinese market shrunk post-pandemic it sent Yamaha scrambling due to a reduction of revenue, their stock went down by almost half.
More later, I have a piano to tune.
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Steven Rosenthal RPT
Honolulu HI
(808) 521-7129
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2025 15:13
From: Paul McCloud
Subject: Piano industry heading off a cliff
Yes, though I'm not sure the current situation. When I worked at the store, we sold George Steck, manufactured by Sejung. I think they also made the Falcone after the original company went out. It's hard to keep up! Before our store went out, we had Nordiska. They eventually sold the factory to Baldwin, but they aren't Nordiskas. I'm not sure that Nordiskas are made anymore. Who knows, maybe somebody will resurrect that name too. It was originally a company from Netherlands I believe.
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Paul McCloud, RPT
Accutone Piano Service
www.AccutonePianoService.com
pavadasa@gmail.com
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2025 15:02
From: Alan Eder
Subject: Piano industry heading off a cliff
Paul,
Do you know that the Falcone name was bought by the concern in China that now makes pianos under that name?
Alan
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Alan Eder, RPT
Herb Alpert School of Music
California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, CA
661.904.6483
Original Message:
Sent: 02-02-2025 14:21
From: Paul McCloud
Subject: Piano industry heading off a cliff
I entered the piano industry in 1988, as an apprentice in a large piano store. We had Steinway, Baldwin, Kawai and Samick. We were selling pianos like hotcakes. At least a Steinway a month, two or three Baldwins a week, same with Kawai. A couple Samicks a day, all different models. There were 3 apprentices, our mentor and another experienced tech. We couldn't keep up with the tunings. They'd go out in a box, delivered unprepped. After the Gulf War, the whole atmosphere changed. There was a recession. Steinway came out with the Boston, to compete with the KG series. We couldn't sell enough of either one, so they both went to other stores. Since that time, as on a sinking ship, the water gradually came over the gunnels over the following years. Eventually we went out, at least two changes of ownership in between. In my opinion, since the introduction of cheap Korean and Chinese pianos, the American brands have declined. Baldwin had to go to China after Gibson tried hard to keep it going in the US, and finally gave up. I can only imagine that the whole piano manufacturing sector in the US and Europe has taken a hit from all the cheap pianos coming from Asia. Add to that the economic conditions, the Internet booms, real estate crashes, bubbles, bailouts, rate cuts, etc., that have muddied the waters. Piano sales are like the coal mine canary. Pianos are not a necessity, but a luxury item. So when the economy is weak, piano sales go down too. And never mind the rebuilding shops that have gone out because it's cheaper to buy a new Asian piano than to rebuild Grandma's piano. Those shops are where many newbies learned the trade. The store where I worked shed nearly all the full time techs, and my job went away too, except we made an agreement that any outside work I did through the store we would profit-share. But even that didn't work out, and the store ended in a fire sale. With Yamaha's part ownership of Bosendorfer and other arrangements, it's just a sign of the times. Somebody's going to buy the Grotrian name and make them in China, just like the Falconi and other brands that are made there (Baldwin). The tariffs that are coming are too little too late, IMHO, but whatever. Don't want to bring up politics. If these companies are dwindling or going out, there's still enough demand for somebody to make them, even if theyr'e all made in Asia. I don't think it's the end of piano manufacturing, just those makers whose sales are too low to continue. Just wait for Samick corp to start making Grotrians in Korea. Even if every piano maker went belly up, we'd still have enough work and more.
My .02 cents.
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Paul McCloud, RPT
Accutone Piano Service
www.AccutonePianoService.com
pavadasa@gmail.com