The Harvard Business Review and the Sonneteer Morpheus.

I had some time, as one does, at the airport so I popped into WHSmiths's to buy some magazines for the beach. Time, Newsweek, Stuff, T3; all the usual’s and then the Harvard Business review caught my eye. To put this into perspective, I also had a book on branding, as well as another on entrepreneurs with me, so I was in that frame of mind. Anyway, the Harvard Business review: I had a flick through and I stumbled upon a report on consumerism post recession and quite interesting too, it was.

Before I elaborate too much, I need to go back a couple of years or so when Credit Crunch was just a little sub-prime bother in the colonies(America) and S&P ratings were still sky high on many a now defunct establishment. In those happier times of consumer madness my business partner and I were crunching over some figures that reflected our own market, the high end hi-fi separates one which we resided and that most of our products under the Sonneteer brand serviced. Although our sales at the time were creeping upwards, the market as a whole was in decline and the new products being touted by our competitors were not growing the market place one jot. It was time for a rethink. No time to panic however and the cause was worthy of some serious thought.

The first couple of things that came to our minds were: 1. Neither of us had any of our own equipment in proper use in our houses anymore and 2. Why were the new integrated products(amp, CD, radio in one) touted by the competition, not actually growing the overall market whilst starting to dominate its turn over?

As you may have noticed, I digressed a little from the Harvard Business review report so I'll get back to that now and here's the link to the full story on our rebirth http://haiderway.blogspot.com/2009/09/you-mean-like-b.html which is just below

Except to say the product that materialised some two and a half years later reflected an important assumption we made: that customers want high quality, ergonomic, sexy, and green (credentialwise) products.

Ah yes, the report! You still with me?

My own interpretation of the review's report was that the post exposure to credit crunch consumer would be a more savvy one who would be thrifty but not afraid to spend money on quality. The report also placed a closer eye on the now under 35s who would be the next drivers of the global economy in this so called post consumerism age. The characteristics I just described, again according to the report's projections, would be more subconsciously ingrained as well as a more natural leaning towards greener, more environmentally aware products and where apt, fair-trade ones. The growth of thrifty brain cells would be counterbalanced by the willingness to spend more on products with all or some of these features.

As I was being hurried out of the newsagents about to miss my flight I breathed a small sigh of relief and allowed myself a gentle smile of satisfaction. Until, that is, I saw the price on the front of the journal! FIFTEEN QUID I gassped. So I paid for the stuff under my arm and ran for the gate. I am writing this after a week of reflection on the beach and I think as soon as I get back I will pay for a copy.

Oh and the product; the Sonneteer Morpheus music centre. Code named project BORO at the time. Hand made in Britain from as many locally resourced, high quality and recyclable bits and bobs as possible and when it works it uses the minimum amount of energy possible for the highest quality performance possible. Easy to use and looks damn sexy to boot.

You mean like B&O?

[The title] The answer I get everytime I say I have a high end luxury hi-fi company!! Yes, it happened again yesterday while at a presentation! Sigh! Anyway:

A couple of years or so ago when Credit Crunch was just a little sub-prime bother in the colonies(America) and S&P ratings were still sky high on many a now defunct establishment my business partner and I were crunching over some figures that reflected our own market. The high end hi-fi separates market in which we resided, to be exact, and the one that most of our products under the Sonneteer brand serviced. Although our sales at the time were creeping upwards, the market as a whole was in decline and the new products being touted by our competitors were not growing the market place one jot. It was time for a rethink. No time to panic however and the cause was worthy of some serious thought.

The first couple of things that came to our minds were: 1. Neither of us had any of our own equipment in proper use in our houses anymore and 2. Why were the new integrated products(amp, CD, radio in one) produced by some of our competitors, not actually growing the overall market whilst starting to dominate its turn over?

We then had a more detailed look at the market overall and particularly in the so called high ticket price items sector. Our attention was grabbed by a little company in Denmark called Bang and Olufsen. You may have heard of them?! And that became just the point! Go out to dinner, attend a party or bump into anyone in a nice English pub in surrey and they ask, ' so what do you do?' and I reply, ' I have a small high end hi-fi company' and nearly every time they say,' oh you mean like B&O?'. Never do they mention, Arcam, Meridian, or even Lynn or Naim for that matter. This was surely a sign. So we went digging deeper.

The numbers game tells a story. At the time, back in early 2007 B&O were turning over approx £450m and growing the hi-fi separates electronics market was a fifth of this at best and declining. We already knew the heyday had long past in this area, but it was also clear that there was still a solid market for people buying expensive music systems. So what was wrong?

To our minds, it was obvious really and it goes back to the point the, we no longer had our own products singing and dancing in our own homes. We were starting to reflect the wider consumer rather than the hi-fi enthusiasts which were and still are deep down, the drivers of our thinking. We wanted all the performance and purity of sound etc. But we also wanted it to compliment our lifestyles. This translates to I want it to grace the living room and not disgrace the wife's mood towards me..ehem.

Back to the integrated products, that were steeling market share from the amplifier and CD player market. Now a strong argument could have been made to simply jump into that boat and shove a whole load of features into a box we already made and hey presto! This would definitely give us a faster time to market. A couple of reasons why not:

1. All these products are, as mentioned already, only replacing market share and not in any way growing the overall, still shrinking market.

2. These products do not fulfill the criteria that bring B&O customers to buy erm, B&O.

So, two or so years down the line and the Sonneteer Morpheus music centre is the result. www.sonneteer.co.uk/morpheus.htm

Diapason Magazine reviews the Sonneteer Morpheus music centre and they love it.

Sonneteer Morpheus reviewed by Diapason, the high brow French classical music review magazine not unlike Gramophone magazine in the UK.

A had a call from our man in France 'Danny' and he said I am about to fax you over the review. He said little else as he was in a hurry, he always seems to be trying to do five things at once. Naturally, moments of anticipation followed with my heart beat fluttering like a drunken sparrow. Moments later it popped up on my screen (fax to email) and my schoolboy level French kicked into overload. They like it. No, they love it. Phew! like I had any doubt!

Well I can't print the whole review out here for copyright reasons but I can give you a few snippets so here goes:

They started by saying that the sonneteer Morpheus is, "a unique 'media centre' that lacks nothing in charm or seductive qualities and is very ergonomic and easy to use". I am translating, you appreciate, so hopefully I have not lost too much of the French eloquence.

They went on to say that the Morpheus was, "a digital amplifier of audiophile quality". Well of course, it's a Sonneteer, what did they expect! And that it was, "a very Avant Garde product in the manner of Sonos" and needless to say a lot more expensive which readers would have noted as it was reviewed on the same page in the magazine which seemed not to detract from the reviewers praise for the Sonneteer one bit.

The reviewer, in summing up also wrote, "it's reproduction [of music] demonstrates an incontestable transparency in the true spirit of digital amplification". Which should have been no great shock as Sonneteer pioneered the adoption of digital amplification into the audiophile arena late last century. Then in conclusion the article ended on saying the sonneteer Morpheus was, "an intelligently conceived product that is very attractive". Well I think I'll pop over to Paris and spend some euros to say thank you for their appreciation. Not too many though. I mean have you seen the exchange rate!

www.sonneteer.co.uk/s-news.htm