All our stores are indeed closed, Don, but Click & Collect is available at Oxford St (my store) and Peter Jones.
Waitrose and Oxford St Foodhall are open, of course, and C&C items can be picked up from most or all of their stores.
Outside the UK, that the case for the entire range unfortunately.
C&C not available for these items. Delivery only ATM.
Roger
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Good move, a quality UK product available in a reputable store.
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I donāt see a problem with the Musoās and Unitiās (or the whole catalog for that matter) being sold by a department store, what does it matter. A sale is a sale and if it helps Naim stay profitable good on them. They need revenue to remain in business and develop those black boxes that we all seem to love.
Wasnāt long ago purist complained about Porsche making SUVs and a sedans, however the truth is without them there may not have been any 911ās.
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Iām not sure that your analogy hold up. Itās comparable, perhaps, to Naim branching out into the Uniti range, but this is comparable to Porche letting Halfords sell and service their cars instead of using their dealer network.
For me this takes the sale away from the Naim dealer who probably relies on these ābread and butterā sales to make ends meet.
Eventually there will be no specialists around to sell the classic range of equipment.
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I guess what I was trying to say is that companies need to do whatās necessary to survive in a tough market. The comparison is just an example of marketing and how changes can upset an existing customer base.
I definitely get that and I donāt have any answers other than I would only ever purchase Naim from a specialist Naim dealer.
This assumes the buyer would have stepped into a Naim dealer at all. The reality is the person buying from JL will probably never have visited a real Hi-Fi dealer before, but may seek one out after buying from JL.
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Maybe the Atom doesnāt look out of place in a shopping trolley surrounded by underwear.
Search was obviously being updated on the JL website when I had a look and still isnāt perfect. Searching for Naim youāll now see the Atom but no mention of the speakers even as a suggestion. Search for Focal and you see the two bundles, when I searched Focal last night I only saw the 806 and no mention of the Atom.
The bundle with the 826 is great value, Ā£700 less than the two bought separately with some NAC A5 thrown in as well. Impressive.
I have never seen a shopping trolley in JL 
Reminds me of the Father Ted Xmas special 
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As itās John Lewis the correct term is lingerie 
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I suspect if you ask many dealers they donāt sell too many low end devicesā¦ itās the mid and high end they focus onā¦ those are the products many consumers will associate with specialist retailers.
If I was wanting to buy a yacht, I wouldnāt pop down to John Lewis ā¦ Iād go to a specialist boat yard retailerā¦ or using the watch analogy, if I was wanting to buy a Rolex Iād go to (and need to) a specialist retailerā¦ if I wanted a swatch, sure I could pop to JL.
I think the kind of customer likely to buy an Atom/Focal from JL is not likely to be a hifi enthusiast or the type to seek out exhaustive comparative dems, but the more well- heeled resident seeking a lifestyle purchase, minimal boxes but stylish with excellent sound, who are looking for more exclusivity and quality than, say, Bose. Thus, a small number which wonāt (I hope) have much impact on specialist hifi retailersā¦which have a different marketā¦ie, us. And long may the specialist dealers run!
JLās competitors are not hifi dealers, after allā¦more power to us both.
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And, I suspect, may have seen one of the many glowing reviews in the quality press and lifestyle mags.
As you say itās a very different marketplace. I just hope JL are putting some effort in to the merchandising of this kit rather letting it gather dust.
I recollect visiting what was the Egyptian Grocerās corner-store and the Linn area which was there then seemed to be housed in a grotto (of sorts) and was in no way comparable to the inviting sweet-shop nature of a good dealerās store.
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āAs you say itās a very different marketplace. I just hope JL are putting some effort in to the merchandising of this kit rather letting it gather dustā
Absolutely agree @HappyListener. I donāt think the environment of shopfloor is at all the best at showing audio quality - wish we had a small, bespoke listening area like the small salon we have in menswear.
Still, Iāve had good conversations with customers buying Muso and Rega and have lightheartedly said to Bose customers
" see you in a month when youāll be back
to hear a Naim! "
Problem is those dealers are reducing, I can see proās and cons for Naim - but of course the decision may have been made further up the chain than Salisbury ā¦
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