@larry said in Piano shopping...:
I'm told that Grotrian Steinweg was bought out around 2014 or 2015 by a Chinese firm, or some group that has ties to a Chinese piano builder. The Grotrian Steinweg are still built in Germany, but they now also offer a cheaper line (Wilhelm grotrian??) Built in China.
Yes, that's mostly right. They are owned by Parsons Music Group, which is located in Hongkong (not mainland China). The regular "Grotrian" pianos are still being built in their factory in Braunschweig, Germany.
I actually wrote an email to Grotrian a few years back to complain about how they advertized the Wilhelm Grotrian - they presented the piano in a dishonest way. They didn't directly lie, but they suggested that they were also built in Germany. I'm sure they didn't pay particular attention to my email, but maybe others complained, too, and they are now honest about it and state directly on their website that these pianos are built by Parsons in China.
If that arrangement gives them a lifeline, I'm all for it. I personally think it would have been strategically smarter to protect the "Grotrian" name by using a completely different name for their cheap line (Bechstein has Zimmermann and Hoffmann, Steinway has Essex and Boston, Blüthner has Hässler, ...).
By the way, Bechstein has also fumbled with a related issue for a while. They have a second tier line, which is however also built in Germany - which they first sold with the brand name "Bechstein", as opposed to "C. Bechstein". Now they put "C. Bechstein" on the second line, too, but they add an "Academy" label to the models.
I really love my Yamaha CF6, but I think Yamaha has a terrible brand name strategy. They put the same brand name on a $100 digital piano than on a $170K concert grand, and then they even change the model names every once in a while (e.g., the CX line used to be just C). I was told that Japanese people are eager to buy a "new model" of something, so in their home market it seems to be an advantage to give new model designations.
