management
Case study 1.4 Steinway & sons
Internationalizing the piano business
Steinway & sons(www. Steinway.com)
remains one of the best-
known producers of concert pianos in the world . throughout the course of its 150-year history the company has shown a distinctive talent for innovation and quality workmanship as evidenced by its 120patents .in an age of mass production Steinway continues to build a limited number of handmade pianos .
Steinway & sons was founded in 1853 by German immigrant Henry
Engelhard
Steinway in Manhattan . Henry was a master cabinet maker
who built his first piano in the kitchen of his Self home in Germany .By the time Henry established Steinway & sons he has built 182 pianos .The first piano produced by the company , number 483 ,was sold to a New
York family for $500.It is now display in New York City’s Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
By 1860 Steinway & sons had built a manufacturing facility at 52nd
Street and Fourth Avenue. Here 350 men produced 30 square pianos and five grand pianos per week . In 1864 the firm opened a showroom on 14th
Street, In 1865 sales topped $1,000,000.
From the beginning Steinway & sons faced intense competition from rivals such as Chickering & Sons and Mason & Hamlim in the United
States competition ,the firm sought to highlight not only the unique construction of the Steinway piano but its superior sound .
Music historians consider the competition at the 1867 Paris Exhibition the turning point in the piano industry because it was there that the
‘American’ system of cast-iron frames ,heavier strings, solid construction and more powerful tone took the competitive honours from European pianos .The jury awarded Steinway the prestigious Grand Gold Medal of
Honour ‘ for excellence in manufacturing and engineering .With this recognition , Steinway’s domestic piano sales and exports grew rapidly. requiring greater production capacity .In 1870 the firm purchased
400acres of remote
Internationalizing the piano business
Steinway & sons(www. Steinway.com)
remains one of the best-
known producers of concert pianos in the world . throughout the course of its 150-year history the company has shown a distinctive talent for innovation and quality workmanship as evidenced by its 120patents .in an age of mass production Steinway continues to build a limited number of handmade pianos .
Steinway & sons was founded in 1853 by German immigrant Henry
Engelhard
Steinway in Manhattan . Henry was a master cabinet maker
who built his first piano in the kitchen of his Self home in Germany .By the time Henry established Steinway & sons he has built 182 pianos .The first piano produced by the company , number 483 ,was sold to a New
York family for $500.It is now display in New York City’s Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
By 1860 Steinway & sons had built a manufacturing facility at 52nd
Street and Fourth Avenue. Here 350 men produced 30 square pianos and five grand pianos per week . In 1864 the firm opened a showroom on 14th
Street, In 1865 sales topped $1,000,000.
From the beginning Steinway & sons faced intense competition from rivals such as Chickering & Sons and Mason & Hamlim in the United
States competition ,the firm sought to highlight not only the unique construction of the Steinway piano but its superior sound .
Music historians consider the competition at the 1867 Paris Exhibition the turning point in the piano industry because it was there that the
‘American’ system of cast-iron frames ,heavier strings, solid construction and more powerful tone took the competitive honours from European pianos .The jury awarded Steinway the prestigious Grand Gold Medal of
Honour ‘ for excellence in manufacturing and engineering .With this recognition , Steinway’s domestic piano sales and exports grew rapidly. requiring greater production capacity .In 1870 the firm purchased
400acres of remote