Now what?

[David M. Porritt]

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Alan:

That story was from Korea.  Their reference to "domestic pianos"=
 was for Korea.

dave

__________________________________________
David M. Porritt, RPT
Meadows School of the Arts
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX 75275
dporritt@mail.smu.edu


----- Original message ---------------------------------------->
From: Alan <tune4u@earthlink.net>
To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
Received: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 10:58:21 -0500
Subject: RE: Now what?

Is this supposed to mean that 92% of all pianos currently sold in=
 America are coming from Korea??? I don't think so ...
 
 
Alan R. Barnard
Salem, MO
-----Original Message-----
From: Kent Swafford [mailto:kswafford@earthlink.net] 
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 5:09 PM
To: Pianotech
Subject: Now what?


Watchdog quashes piano buyout

The Fair Trade Commission stopped a major domestic piano maker=
 from buying out its rival yesterday.
Samick Musical Instrument Co., a domestic piano manufacturing=
 company, has been in the process of taking over its rival and=
 market leader, Young Chang Piano Co., for the past six months.=
 It was told to sell off the 48.6 percent share it bought from=
 Young Chang within a year.
The watchdog said if Samick takes over Young Chang, competition=
 would disappear, and the market would be monopolized.
The commission said that if Samick, which has 33 percent of the=
 domestic market, takes over Young Chang, which has a 59 percent=
 market share, its share would be 92 percent. The high percentage=
 would eventually hurt consumers with high prices, said an=
 official from the commission. Young Chang could survive without=
 Samick, since its high potential market value could attract many=
 other domestic companies, he added. 
Samick, however, plans to file a suit against the commission and=
 take other legal measures regarding the decision. The company=
 views the commission's order as typical bureaucratic red tape,=
 which ignores the commercial reality of the domestic piano=
 industry. Taking over companies on the verge of bankruptcy is a=
 way to restructure industries, but the watchdog made an=
 unreasonable decision based purely on market share figures, said=
 an industry source.
Kim Jong-seop, president of Samick, said that the commission did=
 not seem to know the reality of current domestic business=
 conditions.
"If another company takes over Young Chang, the possible growth=
 would not be as dramatic," he said.
A legal expert said that the domestic piano market is fully open=
 and sales are decreasing, making it impossible for prices to go=
 up. "The Fair Trade Commission seems to have overly exaggerated=
 the negative effect of monopolies and oligopolies."
The idea of an acquisition was actually suggested by Young Chang=
 in March. Young Chang graduated from a debt workout program in=
 June 2002, but its debt increased by 600 percent last year=
 because it claims it had to make excessive retirement payments=
 while cutting its workforce. It has run in the red for three=
 years. 
When its workers went on strike, management decided to sell the=
 company, and notified three domestic companies, including=
 Samick, of its intention. 
Currently, domestic piano makers are going through a deep slump.=
 
Young Chang's sales for the first half are only 60 percent of its=
 sales a year ago. People are selling their pianos rather than=
 buying new ones. Used pianos take up around 70 percent of the=
 domestic piano market currently, worsening the condition for=
 piano makers. 
The commission's decision has discouraged the domestic piano=
 industry, which is already in difficulty, said an official of=
 the industry.


http://tinyurl.com/4usk2


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