Steinway & Sons
1 What are the important operational aspects of Stenway’s piano making that differentiates it from the other manufactures?
² Best-known producers of concert pianos in the world.
² Manufacturing a limited number of handmade pianos in a unique testament to individual craftsmanship in an age of mass production since 1853
2 Are any of these aspects becoming liabilities for the company?
² It's factory today still uses many of the craftsmanship techniques handed down from previous generations even with increased competition
² Every grand piano takes over a year to complete and incorporates over 1,000 details while other competitors adopt mass production to cut down cost, so it would lower the entrance barrier to the competitors like Yamaha, Kawai.
3 Why does Steinway & Sons feel threatened by the Japanese competitors who are practically in a different market in terms of price, reputation, and available models? ² Japanese competitors like Yamaha, Kawai has sold pianos in the United States since 1960 and remains the preferred brand for top jazz and pop artists. But in the late 1980s, Yamaha chose to enter the concert piano market in direct competition with Steinway. Developing grand pianos which are comparable with such as the Steinway’s, Yamaha provided the product offering to attack Steinway's 95 percent market share in concert sales. Yamaha created its Concert and Artist Service - similar to Steinway's - to supply pianos across the country.
4 What are the risks and advantages of introducing Model K? Will the introduction of Model K ultimately abate the concerns of Steinway’s management?
<Advantages>
² Model K will do no damage to our sales of grand pianos.
² It will attract customers who wouldn’t buy Steinway grand pianos because they are either too expensive or too large.
² Model K have little impact on existing production process (separate piano-making operation)
² No trouble in making Model K due to excessive capacity in the
² Best-known producers of concert pianos in the world.
² Manufacturing a limited number of handmade pianos in a unique testament to individual craftsmanship in an age of mass production since 1853
2 Are any of these aspects becoming liabilities for the company?
² It's factory today still uses many of the craftsmanship techniques handed down from previous generations even with increased competition
² Every grand piano takes over a year to complete and incorporates over 1,000 details while other competitors adopt mass production to cut down cost, so it would lower the entrance barrier to the competitors like Yamaha, Kawai.
3 Why does Steinway & Sons feel threatened by the Japanese competitors who are practically in a different market in terms of price, reputation, and available models? ² Japanese competitors like Yamaha, Kawai has sold pianos in the United States since 1960 and remains the preferred brand for top jazz and pop artists. But in the late 1980s, Yamaha chose to enter the concert piano market in direct competition with Steinway. Developing grand pianos which are comparable with such as the Steinway’s, Yamaha provided the product offering to attack Steinway's 95 percent market share in concert sales. Yamaha created its Concert and Artist Service - similar to Steinway's - to supply pianos across the country.
4 What are the risks and advantages of introducing Model K? Will the introduction of Model K ultimately abate the concerns of Steinway’s management?
<Advantages>
² Model K will do no damage to our sales of grand pianos.
² It will attract customers who wouldn’t buy Steinway grand pianos because they are either too expensive or too large.
² Model K have little impact on existing production process (separate piano-making operation)
² No trouble in making Model K due to excessive capacity in the