Naim in Currys
Posted by: jon h on 06 October 2017
"So do you want tweeters with yer woofers mate? And how many watts do you want?"
(cue rest of Not The Nine-Oclock News sketch)
I'd post the URL, but go to the Currys website and search for Naim. Yup, the muso is in currys.
I cant wait to engage with a "sales executive" youth and, through the clouds of his Lynx deoderant, have a discussion about the directionality of interconnect cables.
The shepherd's pie wasn't bad either
David Hendon posted:tonym posted:i had a curry in Naim once.
Now you mention that, so did I!
best
David
Indeed David, and I did too... and I seem to remember we were sitting at the same canteen table for a while discussing ‘stuff’ whilst enjoying the gastronomic delights of Salisbury...
.......just after listening to Core/Atom/Star/Nova.....
Aye, t'was a good day!
Ah right - I thought this was a long way to go for a curry Tony.
John.
I quite enjoyed Naim being a more obscure brand. Now when people come around they are just as likely to ask 'did you get that in the Curry's Bank Holiday sale?' Still the idea of 25% off of a 500 is quite appealing especially if I can also use Quidco to obtain a further rebate...
On a more serious note, the only Naim product in Curry's is the Muso. Their separates are still sold exclusively through speicalist retailers. Selling through service-providing specialists is reflected in the price (the mark-up is roughly 30%, give or take, to "pay" for the service). Now, the Muso is specialist retailer-priced but sold through (basically) a service-less mail order network. The numbers don't add up.
They add up superbly if you're looking at profit margins. Shareholders gotta be paid. That's the reality.
What about Tesco ? I could buy one with my clubcard points.
iam happy with Qb FOR background listening the main reason I like is the portable/wireless nature......... when naim started supplying jLEWIS in sheffield the muso was just stuck on a shelf and nobody had a clue to demo it.... what happens when the unit range ends up in those places ,and I think it will.
I think the dealer network will have a view on that. It's a balancing act. Suppose the Uniti range does end up in more mainstream outlets? Does it matter? The people who would buy their Bose or Marantz or whatever, wouldn't expect Naim equipment to be demonstrated in any more depth than what else is on the shelves. Many of them won't want demos at all. And it's not like it's difficult to unbox and set up. It's not more complicated.
The equipment will more likely be chosen to fit in with its surroundings, with an emphasis on the visual. Getting optimal performance out of it, fine tuning, positioning, quality of source material- all meaningless for this customer group. People who really care will go to dealers. If the dealers object to such a model, I hope Naim will pay appropriate attention. If the dealer network doesn't mind or care, neither should anybody.
Has it fundamentally changed that much? Back in the 80s when I was poor but hopeful, some friends and colleagues with higher credit limits bought Linn Naim systems for brand/snob/bragging value. Not many were optimally set up, even to a casual glance. They spent more time talking about them than listening to them. Many of them sounded bloody awful.
Harry posted:Has it fundamentally changed that much? Back in the 80s when I was poor but hopeful, some friends and colleagues with higher credit limits bought Linn Naim systems for brand/snob/bragging value........They spent more time talking about them than listening to them.
Some things never change.
TOBYJUG posted:What about Tesco ? I could buy one with my clubcard points.
You would die of obesity and/or alcohol poisoning long before you got enough points to buy a Muso!
ChrisSU posted:TOBYJUG posted:What about Tesco ? I could buy one with my clubcard points.
You would die of obesity and/or alcohol poisoning long before you got enough points to buy a Muso!
Harry - the difficulty comes if there's differential pricing between dealers and the stack-em-high merchants.
This will be for Naim to manage. So far I haven't seen offers outside the traditional dealer network that a dealer couldn't/wouldn't match. Rogues would be cut off, no doubt.
Harry posted:This will be for Naim to manage. So far I haven't seen offers outside the traditional dealer network that a dealer couldn't/wouldn't match. Rogues would be cut off, no doubt.
Easier said than done, if that 'rogue' is a giant like Currys, especially as the law says that suppliers can't tell retailers what to charge, they can only give recommended retail prices. That said, Currys is hardly famous for it's bargain prices, so probably not much to worry about there.
I think Naim know how to manage their business and their supply chain. It's not something unique to audio and manufacturers and distributors seem to manage it effectively when there is a will to. If Naim turn out to be wanting in this regard, on their heads be it.