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I opened up my July issue of Music Trades and happened to glance down and there, without any warning was one of the most horrifying images I've ever seen. It was a picture of Piano World members who tookk the Mason & Hamlin tour!

Look guys, if I want to upset by such ugly kinds of images I'll open up my local paper!

Also in Music Trades was a detailed article about the new Prambergers and Remingtons. Also VERY interesting statistic on imports of musical instruments into the USA. Copmpared to last year China is way down and you'll never guess who's up!

I'll start another thread when I get a chance.

Now listen here, we are SERIOUS musicians here, NOT some kind of beauty objects. And furthermore, beauty is only skin deep (though I suspect that some of us are born inside-out).
Maybe I'll join the next tour, that'll make pictures that will send your magazine flying!!

So what country is up in sales? Don't tell me it's Estonia.....

The question is what countries are up?

In verticals...China -45%; Japan + 70%; Indonesia + 214% ; Korea -7.2%.

In grands... China -14%; Japan + 12%; Indonesia +70%; Korea - 19.3%.

No stats on Europe.

Gee, isn't it about time for an Estonia dealer to bump-up or start a new post on how great Estonia's are?

I guess this should show everyone how well Yamaha and Kawai are doing in Japan and Indo.

And/Or Samick.

Pardon my ignorance.

What exactly is samick building in Japan now?

Nothing. But they have been building in Indonesia for over 20 years. They were the 1st, Yamaha and Kawai followed.

I thought their 7' K&C Millenium was pretty nice. Is it Korean or Indonesian built?

Ah, sorry, I forgot that Indo was in this discussion. Pardon me again!

We have a Skg 530S K&C remaining in stock and its a sweet little piano. I love the touch of it, actually.

AAAAWWWW, you're just jealous. And the upswing from Asia must mean that more pianos are being purveyed for the impecunious.

Well - I'm not a dealer, but everyone knows they are great! Why doesn't everyone just *get over it?*

There were 388 pianos built in Estonia last year. At least, I think I read that somewhere. It is doubtful that the number of units imported into the US has changed one year to the next. The dollar value probably has gone up considerably.

Larry,

Good to see you back.

Does that mean that the pianos have been imported but may be unsold? That would change everything. For example, it could mean that there are many Japanese or Indonesian pianos sitting in stock, unsold. Or it could mean something else.

And what about the figures from Europe?

Does that mean that the pianos have been imported but may be unsold?

It means precisely that. Samicks imports the first part of last 2004 were pathetic. Any increase would appear dramatic. Also, the first quarter is when replacement stock is shipped in to replace what was sold during the busy Christmas season. Most of this inventory simply headed to the warehouse, and much of it is probably still sitting there.

China being "way down" for example could simply mean that they shipped a huge stock in prior to Dec. 31, and didn't need to restock much in the first quarter. The data was taken from US Customs records, not from industry sources, and only tracks where the units actually shipped from, not where they were manufactured. That means that any pianos that were built in China and shipped to Korea, then shipped to the US, would appear as coming from Korea. In other words, the data is useless.

Good to see you back.

Thank you. I appreciate that. But I'm not back. Someone called my attention to this bit of subtle spin, and I wanted to correct it.

Thanks, Larry. I appreciate that you're "back" to whatever degree you are. It's amazing what can be done with a few statistics taken out of context and misinterpreted.

Statistics? I don't believe any unless I tweaked them myself

In my humble opinion, the first quarter of a piano manufacturer is traditionally one of ho-hum statistics! Most dealers load up for the Holiday season, making the third and fourth quarters the largest of the year. Manufacturers are busy the first of the year wooing dealers at the NAMM (industry trade) Show. Then the second quarter picks up again shipping NAMM orders out! And the individual piano companies dictate this flow based on the previous year's business.

So, despite figures that would be eye-opening to the novice reader, not much can be read into the Music Trades posted statistics.

What designates "market shipments" is what is ordered. For instance, Yamaha Corporation of America (California) orders their units from Hammamatsu, Japan six months in advance. They may or may not order heavy for the first quarter. It depends on what was ordered/sold the previous year. And, the orders could come out of Japan or Indonesia (in the case of Yamaha).

So, these figures hold no water if one tries to convey that one country (or company) is doing well while another might be floundering. After all, it is only three months out of a full year. As the retail piano business goes, so goes the piano shipments!

First, let me say that I agree about the admonition to be wary of stats, particularly when presented in year-to-year percentage comparisons. Not really possible to get a good view of the big picture, such as comparison between manufacturers/locations.

They still are, however, interesting from the perspective of seeing which countries are sending more pianos our way, comparing the *same* country year-to-year. Generally, business cycles in many industries are similar year-to-year, which is why same-quarter comparisons are often done. Once the change is identified, the next question is: why? Could be a long-term trend for a particular manufacturer, could be a geographic shift in the manufacturing base, could be due to an anomaly such as December product dumping.

Casting aspersions about Steve's intentions (by calling it "spin") is just goofy. He didn't state the stats in his original post--he was just happily pointing out that some PW members are now internationally recognizable and should be prepared to be mobbed when travelling. The stats were a response to a question, and it was just a minor oversight of the questioner's wording that implied these were sales stats(Steve stated these were import stats).

So let me ask a new question: anyone have any thoughts about why the changes, particularly with Chinese and Indonesian verticals?

Alright folks, if you would like to present your interpretation of the statistics, fine -- but please do not insult the people who offers an interpretation different than yours. Please keep it civil.

Axtremus - Moderator

Want to give us some info on the new Prmabergers? You know, on materials, action and the like. I can't find any information on them online, since the official website is not up.