GOLIATH - Music Inc. Magazine

Allegro Pianos
Opens high-end showroom
PAGE 16
> Jordan Kitt’s Music
Liquidates HQ, prepares to move
PAGE 18
> Gist Piano Center
Hosts physicians’ charity concert
PAGE 19
> Noble Art Pianos
Donates instrument for art exhibit
PAGE 20
KURT SAPHIR PIANOS I BY JENNY DOMINE
DESTINATION BUILDER
There was a time when
customers walked
into Kurt Saphir
Pianos in Wilmette,
Ill., quoting the slogan
they’d heard on the radio,
“If it sounds good to the ear, it
came from Saphir.”
Today, owner Dennis
Saphir no longer uses radio
spots, TV promos or newspaper
ads to promote his business.
And even with virtually
no prospects wandering in
from the street, Saphir is still
able to maintain a steady business
by marketing his company’s
name and reputation in
high-end piano retail.
“I hear customers say, ‘Oh
yeah, my neighbor has something
like this,’ or ‘My mother
bought a piano from you,’”
Saphir said.
THE VALUE OF A NAME
While Saphir said he
enjoyed the economic
boom of the 1990s, he had the
foresight to shift his family’s
business from a five-store,
high-volume piano dealership
to a more niched, high-end
business model.
“We’ve made huge manufacturer
changes,” Saphir said. “It
was pretty obvious this whole
economic situation that we
enjoyed during the dot-com era
wasn’t going to last forever.”
Dennis
Saphir
Kurt Saphir
Pianos
markets its
reputation in
the high-end
piano market
He reshaped the main store
into a destination location and
closed the dealership’s last
auxiliary store in 2005.
Without a large marketing
budget, Saphir said customers
find his business through its
Web site or a manufacturer
reference. Kurt Saphir Pianos
carries exclusive brands,
including Bechstein, Blüthner,
Bösendorfer, Charles Walter,
WM Knabe, Kohler &
Campbell, Mason & Hamlin
and Schimmel.
In addition to its unique
products, Kurt Saphir Pianos
has a long history going back
to the 1800s in Vienna. The
name provides a marketable
brand that most referred cus-
Inside RETAIL
tomers already recognize.
“We tend to sell the name
of our company and what we
stand for, in additions to our
products,” Saphir said.
Location is another important
key to Saphir’s success in
the high-end piano market.
Chicago’s North Shore region
is a wealthy suburb that supports
music and arts education.
Saphir has also built strong
relationships with local teachers
who are part of his store’s
teacher referral network.
“We’ll screen the customer
JUNE 2010 I MUSIC INC. I 13