Is Sonor Germany running at full production capacity?

[Jules]

Sonor in Germany has always had an attitude that differs from many other drum builders. An example is that HSS had to convince them to go with full/multi color retail boxes for things like hardware and snare drums. That culture just didn't see the value in the extra expense.

There are other things that will hit me later when my mind is totally elsewhere that I will wish I had thought of.

The point is this...

Sonor doesn't really seem like a company aggressively angling for market share, or trying to be the king of the mountain. They seem more like a company confident and content with their position in the drum/manufacturing world. And to take that a step further, while still evolving and innovating where possible, they either aren't taking big risks like they have in the past, or maybe there just aren't the great strides left in drum building that they pioneered in days gone by.

[Syncopated_1]

Old company, probably free of debt. They can be choosy and move slow, adding to the allure of 'the best of the best.'

Music instrument market is terrible right now. I have been trying to sell a Star Maple kit for 8 months at a VERY good price. Not moving.

Sonor doesn't chase the crowd, their product sells itself and they don't have to.

[krusher74]

The way geopolitics and the American econemy is going. European companies know it's crazy to invest in the direction of the USA currently.

[Syncopated_1]

So then we should just allow EU to keep tariffs in place that were put in place after WW2 to aid reconstruction? The whole world can tariff us but it's not OK to tariff them? I have a novel idea - how about ALL nations drop tariffs and compete?

[Scott_M]

I have a novel idea - how about ALL nations drop tariffs and compete?

No - All that would encourage is a "race to the bottom" for the cheapest possible pricing for pretty much everything. While bringing costs down sounds great, it will also have the affect of driving the overall quality down to achieve it (and that doesn't even get into the ethical discussions about worker exploitation, etc..).

That said, I do not have any specific suggestions to make tariffs more even, equitable, and fair for different things from different countries.

[Syncopated_1]

Baloney. Compete. Exchange rates handle anything else.