Sonus Faber, China & the future

[GaryProtein]

Originally Posted by Freestone

It's where the design is. I don't think of my iPhone as a Chinese product in its soul...

Neither to I.

Originally Posted by Face

Let's not bring back up that ghost thread again...

FYI, comparing the iPhone to SF is doing SF a disservice...do a little research on the iPhone factory and you'll see why.

I don't think saying SF and China in the same sentence is a disservice to SF regardless of what the iPhone factory is like. When I think iPhone and Apple products, I think of California. By the same token, with SF, people will still think of Italy because that is where it is conceived and designed.

[Freestone]

Originally Posted by Face

Let's not bring back up that ghost thread again...

FYI, comparing the iPhone to SF is doing SF a disservice...do a little research on the iPhone factory and you'll see why.

I have followed it closely . But that's the state of labor in Chinese manufacturing - and still better than the average job there.

But my point is different...

[JohnK]

I know it's not quite the same thing here, but let us remember that Fiat, the parent of Ferrari, manufactures it's other models in different parts of the world for a variety of reasons. I've seen a car (in China!) labeled "Polski Fiat", and I believe the 500 on offer here in the US in assembled in Mexico. BMW builds some models in the US, I believe Mercedes has a plant in the South for at least one of its models. The new VW Passat is built in a new plant in Tennessee (but I think that's only for the US market). I'd say most of those brands still trade on "Italian" or "German" across the board.

I think the point raised in the article is an interesting: it's one thing to leverage lower cost labor to build entry to mid level products and offer them at reasonable (whatever that means) prices; something else to move the higher end products to these same locations and keep the prices where they were.

Of course one could argue if the manufacture of those higher end products does NOT get moved, their prices would go even higher.

[new order]

This is a difficult discussion.I have been a Sonus Faber fan for a long time,but this has for me been hard to accept.I do rather agree with another favourite Hifi brand that I have.They say everything I want to say in this video.[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPX0Dvt7XCM]Provenance - YouTube[/ame]

[MyPal]

Who would buy McIntosh "Made in China"? Not me.

GFC has seen many companies restructure in order to remain in business. Look what happened "Wedgwood, Waterford, Royal Doulton"...

Not much China today is made in England.

[new order]

I wonder why Sonus Faber didn´t create another brand name?That would have been a much better solution in my opinion."China Faber" by Sonus Faber for an example...

[GaryProtein]

Originally Posted by new order

I wonder why Sonus Faber didn´t create another brand name?That would have been a much better solution in my opinion."China Faber" by Sonus Faber for an example...

Daimler Benz did that when they came out with the Maybach in the early 2000's.

They didn't want to call it the "Mercedes Maybach" because the "C class" would have cheapened the Maybach that was 10-15 times the price of the C series, and the Maybach would have reduced the "S class" to less than its Flagship position. So Mercedes created a new brand--Maybach. Unfortunately, sales were not what they had expected due to a lack of brand recognition and competition with the already known ultra-luxury cars (RR & Bentley), and production will cease next year. Creation of a new brand name is not always successful.


(For those of you who feel like you missed out, Daimler Benz will begin producing a new long wheelbase S class Pullman like they had until the early 1970's.)

[scarpi]

Great video and I agree completly. Sonus fabers made in China are a big mistake. They are losing that "made in Italy by craftsmen" tradition. I love my real Italian Sonus fabers and would not buy Chinese made Sonus fabers for a number of reasons that I won't go into in this forum. It will be a sad day when I walk into a Best Buy and see speakers with the Sonus faber name on them. Kind of like the day I walked into Best Buy and saw JBL on some cheaply made speakers.

[Freestone]

Originally Posted by GaryProtein

Daimler Benz did that when they came out with the Maybach in the early 2000's.

They didn't want to call it the "Mercedes Maybach" because the "C class" would have cheapened the Maybach that was 10-15 times the price of the C series, and the Maybach would have reduced the "S class" to less than its Flagship position. So Mercedes created a new brand--Maybach. Unfortunately, sales were not what they had expected due to a lack of brand recognition and competition with the already known ultra-luxury cars (RR & Bentley), and production will cease next year. Creation of a new brand name is not always successful.

(For those of you who feel like you missed out, Daimler Benz will begin producing a new long wheelbase S class Pullman like they had until the early 1970's.)

Actually they didn't create a new brand. Maybach was an old brand on the same level as Rolls. But they did try to revive it from nothing so your general point is true as it had been forgotten.

[esteban]

Originally Posted by new order

This is a difficult discussion.I have been a Sonus Faber fan for a long time,but this has for me been hard to accept.I do rather agree with another favourite Hifi brand that I have.They say everything I want to say in this video.Provenance - YouTube

Well said. Great video. Had never seen it before.

"...for less money, but at what cost?"