excerpt from Global Business section from TIME magazine, march 10, 2008 edition.
Original Title: Life At the Top. A New Tune for High-End Audio. McIntosh, beloved by fans but bereft of strategy, got aremix from its latest owner. By Kristina Dell
Do you know a company name: McIntosh? , I am not talking about Steve Job's brand and that by the way would be Macintosh.
Perhaps many are not aware of the name.
McIntosh is not a generic brand of Macintosh. Then What is this brand and Who owns it?
Well, the owner of McIntosh, is Ivan Messer, and his motto can explain him pretty much thoroughly. "Nothing but the best or why bother?".
As the motto tells us, he is one of those perfectionist guys. He is a bit of a strange person for he had been spending five years for doing nothing but building a home theater worth a million dollars. His setup included 14 speakers, 16 amplifiers and 400 amps of current. (MORE POWER THAN MORE HOUSE HOLD COULD CONSUME IN JUST A SOUND SYSTEM!!!) He described his sound system "You could get seasick watching Master and Commander in my theater."
Messer started accumulating this brand about 20 years ago from now, and as soon as he got some hold of a money he immediately spent 25,000 dollars on his first system containing a steal 7ft tall XRT2K Mac loud $45,000dollar each.
He calls it a big boy toy. He is also very proud of his inventions as he says: "If there wer another brand better, I would get it, but 90% of what McIntosh makes is the best in its class."
However, we all know that being the best, does not exactly relate to high profits.
Yes,the brand has been attacked by Japnese copycat brands, and audio market has become a rough place for niche labels like McIntosh.
The dark years were led to a buyout by D&M holding, a japanese audio company traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, however in the past fiscal year the company had sales of alsost ONE BILLION and earning os 53 Million.
"PERHAPS YOU"VE HEARD THAT TUNE BEFORE?" is the strategy that Bernard Arnault used.
Now they have enough money to do better development and make better products.
What victor Pacor, the president of D&M holdings on the rationale for acquiring mcintosh, was the key to success (I believe)
He told them " HERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE WHAT YOU WANT." YOU CAN'T DO THAT WHEN YOU'RE STRUGGLING TO MAKE PAYROLL."
They said that their strategy was that : they are never the earliest developers of a technology. We wait for the dust to settle, and then the technology is mature enough so we can add to it.
Chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group, stated about McIntosh "I think the average untrained person can hear that it's a smother, silkier sound, a very warm sound that doesn't mistreat the music but enhances it."
the writer mentions the merits and some negative sides of the brand as he mentioned
"I inquired about the cheapest McIntosh purchase and it was $3,500, not so bad, I tohught, but that was just for the power and preamp the $45,000 speakers were extra.
the writer wrote the article very balanced. And it had a clear voice to the readers.
He wrote McIntosh as "the sound of Money. and clearly states the actual customer target.
the components aren't for the casual listener...
Prestigious but yet very pricy, McIntosh definately is special, as it is profiting every year.
If you are still suspicious about their success, then read over there business strategy stated above.
20700775 #1 First Entry
