World recession and Hifi

[admin_exported]

So its all doom and gloom out there at the moment and I wondered what this will mean to the Hifi makers we all know and love. So What Hifi heres my 101 questions:
Are sales falling significantly?
If demand is falling what will happen to pricing - more deals or increases to cover overheads?
How financially secure and what kind of turnover do Companies like Cyrus, Naim and Arcam have?
Can we expect more new releases / upgrades to stimulate interest or will everyone be holding back on Investment?
Ok that was only 3 questions - nice and easy!!
Thanks!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Just look at the amount of new products that are out there and that will give you your answer, people will always want music and will need something to play it on, you should never stand still even in a recession or you'll get left behind, don't tread water, keep on swimming and you'll survive!!

 

[Anonymous]

Trouble is, those new products were in manufacturing before the recession hit. I would imagine that this will see the end of some smaller companies, and the cutting back by larger ones, as has happened with Sony and Pioneer already.

On the plus side, companies in the UK who don't farm out their products to China, Taiwan, Thailand etc should be better off if the exchange rate of £ vs other currency continues its downward spiral. That's assuming the rest of the world recovers from the recession first and can afford to buy the now cheaper UK manufactured product.

 

[Andrew Everard]

silly:Just look at the amount of new products that are out there and that will give you your answer

Well, that and the number of people on these forums buying, thinking about buying or about to buy...

 

[Andrew Everard]

pretts:Are sales falling significantly?
If demand is falling what will happen to pricing - more deals or increases to cover overheads?
How financially secure and what kind of turnover do Companies like Cyrus, Naim and Arcam have?
Can we expect more new releases / upgrades to stimulate interest or will everyone be holding back on Investment?

Ok that was only 3 questions - nice and easy!!

Hope those companies have better maths than you - that was four questions, actually.

pretts:Are sales falling significantly?

Yes, sales have declined, but not equally in all market sectors.

pretts:If demand is falling what will happen to pricing - more deals or increases to cover overheads?

Prices are increasing, but not to cover overheads. It's more to do with the vagaries of world currency markets, affecting everything from the landed cost of products from the big overseas manufacturers to the components the UK companies use to build their products.

pretts:How financially secure and what kind of turnover do Companies like Cyrus, Naim and Arcam have?

That's one for those companies and their annual reports to answer.

pretts:Can we expect more new releases / upgrades to stimulate interest or will everyone be holding back on Investment?

No shortage of new products emerging.

 

[Anonymous]

Any equipment coming from America or Europe is going to be more expensive as the currency fluctuates, time to buy British methinks.

 

[the record spot]

As one of the guys in Loud and Clear said a few months back, not long after he'd sold the second DCS Scarlatti CD player of the year with some Wilson speakers, the people with money still have money. Everyone else cuts their cloth accordingly.

I think the biggest growth area - or one of them at least - will be the rise in the secondhand market. I made a significant improvement in my speakers by getting some Mission 752's in superb condition for £75 in November. Great speakers at their original RRP (circa £600 in the mid-90s) and still great now.

There's a lot of dross in the used market, but buyers can get some terrific deals, either on Ebay, or on sites like the BADA Marketplace which means you can still support retailers on the ground going down this route.

 

[batonwielder]

I've recently made big purchases, and it's only because of the flexibility in prices at some dealers.

So far I've stayed away from brands that are overpriced and dealers who are unwilling to negotiate. It's only fair, I guess?

 

[seasiders rock]

who needs dealers !

2cnd hand is the way to go.....

i have about £3200 worth of kit sitting in my rack, £1250 buying 2cnd hand...

do the math....