I see a lot more support for the move than I would have imagined on this highly dedicated hobiest forum. For all those spewing the free market Regan era text book rhetoric I offer a dose of reality. In principle we want to believe that a company grows indefinitely as its profits do, focusing on efficiency and marketing to a wider audience. The problem is there is a limited target audience for any good or service. When a company blindly charges in on growth, it risk alienating its loyal following while banking on the idea that nothing will impede progress.
The problem is that in most cases the larger market is already served by someone else. I read a posting referring to the general lack of brand awareness by the public. Are there any other high-end competitors that these people may know (B&W, Focal, Wilson), more than likely (from extensive personal experience) ML has the greatest brand exposure of any Hifi manufacture domestically within its niche (lets say speakers in price 2k to 20k), all accomplished with limited advertising. To expand beyond these boundaries requires significant cost cutting to make unit cost manageable, stretching R&D to cover a greater spectrum of product, and a bump in advertising to increase awareness among non-hobiest consumers. Yet this potential audience already is entrenched with value brands such as klispch, JbL, and the reigning marketing king of the audio arena BOSE, are we supposed to believe that Martin Logan can out BOSE, BOSE.
I give you the case of my former employer Sound Advice. With penetration only in the Florida market they where the largest international B&W and Martin Logan dealers and where regarded as one of the premier custom instillation and Hifi outlets in the united states. Profits where sustainable within its niche market, but management wanted growth and brokered a merger with Tweeter, that saw a more retail focused model to market to a greater audience. This made Best Buy a direct competitor forcing prices down to match the new competition and subsequently many of the entrenched brands cut ties with the outlet. Lower margins meant lower pay and many of the experienced staff (installer and sales) left the company. This was hasted by pay cuts to appease what a publicly owned company thought employee services where worth. With less experienced staff and less exclusive product the premium clientele that drove the company evaporated leaving only low margin retail clients. Despite attempts at increased advertising, volume did not rise and after years of net losses a company that had endured for 30 years vanished. This happens in every industry when individuals with power are driven by greed. Need I remind you that the CEO of JP Morgan chase sat before congress and declared that he thought housing prices would rise forever at accelerated rates.
P.S. I apologize for the numerous typos. I've been on a Mass Effect 2 kick for the last 2 days and the excessive visual stimuli is screwing with my contacts.
The problem is that in most cases the larger market is already served by someone else. I read a posting referring to the general lack of brand awareness by the public. Are there any other high-end competitors that these people may know (B&W, Focal, Wilson), more than likely (from extensive personal experience) ML has the greatest brand exposure of any Hifi manufacture domestically within its niche (lets say speakers in price 2k to 20k), all accomplished with limited advertising. To expand beyond these boundaries requires significant cost cutting to make unit cost manageable, stretching R&D to cover a greater spectrum of product, and a bump in advertising to increase awareness among non-hobiest consumers. Yet this potential audience already is entrenched with value brands such as klispch, JbL, and the reigning marketing king of the audio arena BOSE, are we supposed to believe that Martin Logan can out BOSE, BOSE.
I give you the case of my former employer Sound Advice. With penetration only in the Florida market they where the largest international B&W and Martin Logan dealers and where regarded as one of the premier custom instillation and Hifi outlets in the united states. Profits where sustainable within its niche market, but management wanted growth and brokered a merger with Tweeter, that saw a more retail focused model to market to a greater audience. This made Best Buy a direct competitor forcing prices down to match the new competition and subsequently many of the entrenched brands cut ties with the outlet. Lower margins meant lower pay and many of the experienced staff (installer and sales) left the company. This was hasted by pay cuts to appease what a publicly owned company thought employee services where worth. With less experienced staff and less exclusive product the premium clientele that drove the company evaporated leaving only low margin retail clients. Despite attempts at increased advertising, volume did not rise and after years of net losses a company that had endured for 30 years vanished. This happens in every industry when individuals with power are driven by greed. Need I remind you that the CEO of JP Morgan chase sat before congress and declared that he thought housing prices would rise forever at accelerated rates.
P.S. I apologize for the numerous typos. I've been on a Mass Effect 2 kick for the last 2 days and the excessive visual stimuli is screwing with my contacts.
Yeahh ... what of it ?? SOMEONE has to ! if we don't .. no one does ! HA !
