Record number of visitors?

[kittykat]

I probably would not underestimate a return of traditionalism in the product value sense as well. The group from which Harbeth is associated with in terms of philosophy has actually thinned. in my lexicon of association -cars=german=Porsche* and for loudspeakers it is loudspeaker=british=bbc=spendor/ harbeth/ rogers. The industry has changed and the only one which has really hung on to the original values is Harbeth. Each time I read about the suggestion of Harbeth surround sound, floorstanders, centre speakers, subwoofers or Harbeth amplifiers, I wince. To me, it would be Harbeth selling out and pandering to a majority while diluting the brand value. in my humble opinion that would be the biggest damage that could ever be done to the brand ie. making products which have mass market appeal.

I feel that your UK sales growth is due to your unwavering focus on core issues and realisation by British lovers of music that there is already a high standard set domestically, made locally, so why buy anything else?

it?ll be interesting to hear though, even if anecdotally, market share trends if this hypothesis is true ie. domestics eating into foreign sales.

* Porsche brand philosophy product = 911, then they went into SUV?s and now sedans. The issue is more complex than this but a lot of traditionalists have question marks on their heads.

[EricW]

I think Thanos's and Kittykat's posts are right on the money.

Though I could be wrong, I think the Internet has fundamentally changed the rules of the game by making information much more easily accessible than it used to be and at the same time making empty marketing and hype much easier to spot. Before, you had to rely on marketing to some extent because it was one of the main ways to get information about a product.

I suspect people feel much more empowered to make up their own minds than they did in the past, and as a consequence they are much less inclined to be pushed around by marketing and advertising. And people have become much more media-savvy generally: they not only know when they're being manipulated, they also know what the tools are.

I also think that the fact that people feel they've found a product, and it hasn't been pushed onto them, is also very important - it means feeling like a participant rather than a pawn. Maybe, deliberately or not, Harbeth's marketing strategy turns out to be perfect for the world we now live in: just be really good at what you do, offer real value, and let the word spread. Seems to be working. Maybe you no longer need much more than that.

[kittykat]

Agree with you EricW regarding the internet. It is a "leveller" in a sense, and can prove to be a democratic tool. i feel that net users will become more sophisticated over time, and be able to sift the rubbish from the truth, hence the mention of critical thinking earlier on, and how it was covered by others months ago.

[Will]

Just curious as to why record number of (143) visitors on line yesterday. Any idea why? Thanks!

Maybe because of the post by Alan Sircom on AVGuide.com a couple days earlier.
http://www.avguide.com/forums/harbeth-p3esr

AVGuide readers curiosity has been piqued about the company that is doing so well when others are failing/being bought out.

[kittykat]

residual values are more likely to hold or be up. look after your speakers well everyone!

[nicedoc441]

residual values are more likely to hold or be up. look after your speakers well everyone!

The "Harbeth" badge alone must be worth loads of money - a legendary sign of quality!

[kittykat]

The "Harbeth" badge alone must be worth loads of money - a legendary sign of quality!

surely you dont mean the plastic bit hot-glued to the grille? :-)