The butterfly effect
Mike, I really think youāre trying to conflate two very different things here. I know you want Naim to say something concrete about NZ, but as I have said to you before and in the earlier thread about NZ, Naim and Focal can likely not say anything yet until matters are resolved for all parties. Conflating that with Charlieās departure will not give an answer any time sooner. Sorry I canāt give you what you want here.
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Even for me itās not a good news. I hope, at minimum, that Naim components will be still hand made in UK Salisbury.
I am proud to own something made and designed in UK.
Today itās french direction, tomorrow it will be probably Chinese. Sad world. The economy is run by shareholders.
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Of course we all have the option to buy a load of new Naim kit now if we are really concerned, and there will be pre-loved gear out there for many decades. And of course the future may be bright
Moved on or moved out !! Iāve seen it all when private equity companyās involved
As someone has pointed though maybe storm in teacup
Just because one post in the management structure is removed does not mean that ownership and control passes to China. Thatās just silly. Companies grow and evolve, otherwise they stand still and wither away. So long as they continue to make great products it really doesnāt matter who runs the company. This anti France, anti China xenophobic sentiment isnāt very nice at all.
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Yes, HiFi made in Salisbury is one of the key attractions of Naim in most markets, so I think you can rest easy there.
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Any sneaky hint on when new products might see the light of day Richard?
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Patience Bevo. Current demand is sky high and Naim have their hands full just fulfilling that. But youāll find out soon enoughā¦
(I am of course still very hopeful for the return of the ARO and the eventual - better late than never - launch of the Naim cassette deck)
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An nda (non disclosure agreement) would prevent such comments and perhaps impact marketing plans. My lips are sealed.
Yes, I was rather surprised to hear the news, but I really shouldnāt be. I guess I felt that Charlieās appointment was a long term one, which apparently is not the case.
As has already been said, companies have to change and evolve in dynamic markets. Even the change from CD to streaming has significant ramifications regarding R & D, product development and the changing skill-sets Naim need to recruit and retain. The alternative to change is an inexorable decline.
Letās face it, Naim have already been through significant change in recent years/decades. Changes of MD, the link up with VerVent/Focal, transitioning from CD to streaming, launch of Lifestyle (MuSo) and entry (Uniti) product lines, production of MuSo in China, the development and launch of Statement are just some of the massive changes Naim have achieved in a relatively short period of time.
Naimās product quality and reputation has never been so high IMV, and none of this could have been achieved without change. In the scheme of things, a change in MD is rather small beer in comparison, even if the vertical structures might alter going forward.
VerVent are not daft, they now what makes Naim tick and they know what has made Naim successful. It is not in VerVent/Focalās interest to do anything that might harm that. Stakeholder (shareholders, customers and staff) management is king, if you want to continue on the path of ever-greater success in your chosen market.
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I feel you havenāt understood my post. How can I be anti french? Itās non sense. Not anti Chinese neither.
I am for example proud of french cheeses. They are made in France, ruled by french people, managed by french people.
Naim is a uk product. I prefer that the leadership is made by a British director, because itās a British product, with its uk characteristics, uk historyā¦
Each product has its identity. A french direction for the Naim company is not the best. Be it french or Chinese or Italianā¦
Stop looking at people down your nose! Who said the ownership passes to China. Not me. I just said one day it may be the case.
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Private equity will typically run a business to generate the highest return in the time that those individuals are in control.
This can lead to very short timescales of trying to wring profit out of a brand so the top few financiers can get as many millions as fast as possible.
There are exceptions e.g. Buffet and other long term value investors.
I know nothing about Vervent so we can only hope that they do the right thing, I.e. put a CEO in who has excellent technical knowledge and love of Naim, and is a good manager of his people and can build a stable core and culture of audio excellence.
And not milk the business.
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Yes I hear you re current demand Richard , Iāve just ordered the Superline through Harry and naturally none available in Australia, so itās back to Salisbury HQ to manufacture. No hurry happy to wait.
I have the ARO on one of my TTās, what a beauty that is and even better with the Linn Krystal cartridge Harry installed last week
Happy days
Thanks for all your insights on Naimās future Richard, itās very reassuring
Bevo
āHoly Blueā as they say in Franceā¦ or āWTFā as we say in the good olā USofA!
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I understand and can even agree. But there are some iconic products which are the proud of a country. There is french excellence for some products and British excellence for others. And those products have a history too. I personally prefer that they stay entirely french or entirely British, from the factory, to designers to the Directory.
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I agree that itās not good to have a managing board based in Paris with production and the operating company in Sailsbury.
Focal is a French company and Naim is an English one.
And they should steer clear of trying to link the Focal brand to the Naim brand.
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Surely thereās a billionaire Naim fan out there who would love to own the companyā¦or we could all pitch in and purchase it ourselves?
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Isnāt Jaguar and Land Rover owned by TATA Motors?
Seems thatās worked out pretty well.
Iām pretty sure Richard isnāt lying, yāknow. And anyway, these types of changes happen all the time in healthy businesses; people just donāt like change, even if itās for the better, long term.
However, the NZ dealer situation is a certainly disheartening.
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