I found this article pretty interesting, not because of the brand in question which seems to be some high end 'audiophile' company I have never seen, let alone heard of, but how they deal with the changing circumstances for selling these types of products and what the effect of it is:
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/news/neodio.htm
"French manufacturer Neodio has announced its intention to dispense with the traditional distribution model and the high prices that result from its three-tier structure." (With three tier I assume they mean manufacturer - importer/distributer - dealer)
"[...] the electronics will be sold through dealers (domestic and international, with whom Neodio will deal directly) or through two showrooms [...] Despite a reduced margin, Stéphane Even says that no dealer in France has so far opted to close their account. All of which is interesting, in an academic, changing-face-of-the-business sort of way, until you stop to consider how it impacts end users -- and that’s biggest news here. The Neodio Origine S2, a player that used to sell in France for €35,000, will henceforth cost €15,000 within the Euro zone, including sales tax, and €13,750 plus tax outside. Same machine, same stellar performance, but less than half the price."
Just goes to show how much of the money spent is due to an antiquated business model, and not due to the advanced high tech inside these products.
Thinking about it, why not sidestep the dealers as well, since you would want to demo any component in that price range in your own four walls anyway, before making any decisions?
Continues HERE
