Recent price jump in new Uniti product range

Consider yourself lucky, the price of the atom went up 25% in the UK.

That is just Naim doing what Apple did with the new iPhone X. Charge a premium, sell less units and still make a profit.

Interesting comparison, Tony. I hear that Apple may be withdrawing the iPhone X because its high price has (unsurprisingly) led to lower volume of sales than they hoped for.

Mike, I'm sure they will come up with some bit of clever marketing to dispel any misfortunes. Their shares rose up just over 3% today adding  a few more millions dollars to the coffers and appeasing investors  discontentment.

I'm sure you're right, Tony. Apple's cash reserves must be envy of many countries, and their marketing is second-to-none.  

dave-mac posted:

Consider yourself lucky, the price of the atom went up 25% in the UK.

$3000 up to $3750 also equals a 25% price increase, or it did when I went to school !

Don Atkinson posted:

dave-mac posted:

Consider yourself lucky, the price of the atom went up 25% in the UK.

$3000 up to $3750 also equals a 25% price increase, or it did when I went to school !

Haha, I completely mis-read the original post, carry on as you were, everyone

Hi David,

Your pain is my pain. Naim has made an unbeatable product and it has caught the World's imagination. This sadly has caused a painful issue in that however hard they try demand is outstripping supply. As the local distributor I have worked hard with Naim to understand the scope of this problem and it's ongoing effect. To this end in November 2017 I placed a substantial order for the entire year of 2018 in an effort to get our part of the world in the queue and assure us of a steady supply.

Sadly I have not been able to hold the price at 2017 levels as the recent price increase from Naim was too great. This increase reflects their actual understanding of what it costs to make Uniti and their need to make money while doing so. In 2017 I had encouraged dealers to ask interested customers to place firm orders to ensure they secured the old price. Sadly this time has now passed and the new pricing has taken effect.

I hope this helps you better understand the recent change.

Thanks

Chris Murphy

@Chris, thanks very much for the insight. As said, I was holding out for Nova and would be willing to pay the money for that. It was never available. Perhaps it is my lack of faith, I do not pre-order. I reckon the wise thing is to buy after a unit has been released, put through the paces by reviewers and consumers. Frankly I don't even like reviews from magazines and alike for a variety of reasons. I prefer user reviews. In fact, it I can help it, I prefer long term user reviews. 

Therefore, it was never an option to buy Nova before it is available. I toyed with the idea of getting Atom and now it is at $4000. It is a pain for everyone involved and I even said that to a local store. Thank God Naim Uniit is not the only product they sell. Anyway, thanks again and I hope there is a price drop some time into the future. 

I am actually thankful in a way how this has made me look hard into what I really want and need and how things really work. By no means I am claiming my system sound as well as Naim, but I have at least managed to lift my feature capabilities close to what am after and I am pleased with the SQ and overall experience from my system. That's what I was after from Naim Uniti - SQ, experience such as user interface, etc. 

Chris Murphy posted:

This increase reflects their actual understanding of what it costs to make Uniti and their need to make money while doing so.

BTW, as stated, Atom as already available in store last year. Unless it was priced wrongly, it should be kept at the same price adjusted for currency exchange and inflation, etc. On the other hand, it is the unit with the most price jump. Why won't the same increase or greater increase apply to Nova and Star? Nova's price increase is under 9%. As a survey, I wonder what is the last thing anyone in the community has purchased that has jump over 25% in price. Not even talking about audio or electronics. Bitcoin maybe?

So I think your second statement is probably closer to reality. Release is late, sales are therefore behind. Naim is trying to make up for lost ground in terms of revenue. Would have been more amicable to try to sell more units or even drop price to attract more buyers. Buyers who might not otherwise be in the market in the first place. It is just unfortunate that vision appears short sighted. 

David

Tony2011 posted:

That is just Naim doing what Apple did with the new iPhone X. Charge a premium, sell less units and still make a profit.

You forgot built-in obsolescence

surely production costs are the reason prices boom, and the only solution is to send production east ,the muso  went there ,will the uniti go the same ,leaving the classic units made in uk

audio1946 posted:

surely production costs are the reason prices boom, and the only solution is to send production east ,the muso  went there ,will the uniti go the same ,leaving the classic units made in uk

I can’t imagine that Naim would do that, other than as a last resort if they were in dire financial straits. They built a whole new production area from scratch for the new Unitis, apparently to make the process more efficient, and as the Classic range changes, I imagine that will make the same move. 

audio1946 posted:

...., and the only solution is to send production east ,the muso  went there ,will the uniti go the same ,leaving the classic units made in uk

I am not so sure these days... it was interesting talking to Naim about this. As production construction  method, approach, stage test and technique is such an intrinsic quality and method associated with the mid and higher end Naim devices, outsourcing production was not considered cost effective and had big risks associated it.... not with standing an important part of the Naim brand apparently is ‘made in England’ ... which for most of the portfolio is the case. Naim devices for the most part are carefully hand-built by craft technician employees , and not mass produced .. it’s a different model and process to mass producing iPhones, or TVs....

I completely agree, Simon. 

M

audio1946 posted:

surely production costs are the reason prices boom, and the only solution is to send production east ,the muso  went there ,will the uniti go the same ,leaving the classic units made in uk

If Naim had considered moving the production east they would probably not have made a special production line for the Uniti range like they have done. If east means China the cost savings is not what they used to be, and there are quality control issues. It is always funny for  a non non British person to look at the value people here place on something being British as a quality in itself.

Claus  

I talked to my dealer this week. My gear finally arived back from Naim after a 10 weeks stay there for dr and service. My dealer was frustrated with the Uniti availability. It is at least 3 months wait here in Denmark, and as he said it is hard to demo a product and then tell the buyer that you have to wait at least 3 months and you are not even  able to get a specified date when the gear will arive. for loyal Naim customers this is something we can or have to live with, but new customers have other hardware choices.

Of course not being able to meet demand is good for Naim and hopefully we will not see these problems when new streaming products will be announced in the future. 

Claus

Well Claus at least you can buy them still ... the delay for the VW Golf GTE is so long now due to demand that VW have temporarily with drawn them from sale (at least in the UK) .

i think we are so produced to mass production supporting our ‘I want it now’ consumerism, it perhaps comes as a surprise to some when there is a product of true intrinsic quality, craftsmanship and associated demand that one has to be patient and wait... or buy a lesser alternative..

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Well Claus at least you can buy them still ... the delay for the VW Golf GTE is so long now due to demand that VW have temporarily with drawn them from sale (at least in the UK) .

i think we are so produced to mass production supporting our ‘I want it now’ consumerism, it perhaps comes as a surprise to some when there is a product of true intrinsic quality, craftsmanship and associated demand that one has to be patient and wait... or buy a lesser alternative..

I think part  my dealer's frustration is that it seems as supply is much better in Germany and other European countries compared to the Nordic countries. VW  seems to have worse problems than Naim. After deeselgate, there is something about monkies against them currently, and a strike just  started as I understand it.

Claus

[@mention:71962434858914765] Have you asked retailers if they'll offer a discount? I spoke to half a dozen or so, and some said they couldn't possibly or they'd be making a loss (yeah right), and others were extremely generous with what they knocked off the price. 

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

audio1946 posted:

...., and the only solution is to send production east ,the muso  went there ,will the uniti go the same ,leaving the classic units made in uk

I am not so sure these days... it was interesting talking to Naim about this. As production construction  method, approach, stage test and technique is such an intrinsic quality and method associated with the mid and higher end Naim devices, outsourcing production was not considered cost effective and had big risks associated it.... not with standing an important part of the Naim brand apparently is ‘made in England’ ... which for most of the portfolio is the case. Naim devices for the most part are carefully hand-built by craft technician employees , and not mass produced .. it’s a different model and process to mass producing iPhones, or TVs....

My recollection is that Naim outsourced Muso and Qube to China.

I also seem to recall that these products enjoy a two year guarantee and then..........nothing, zilch, kaput !

No after-sales service, no repairs, nothing !

I could be wrong, in fact I hope I am wrong. But somehow, I seem to recall this, or something similar, being the case.

You are correct Don, the best thing to do would be to approach a Naim/ dealer........as they are still liable for 6 years under the EU directive for goods. I think they will offer a deal against something new.....or hold out for a replacement.

dave-mac posted:

[@mention:71962434858914765] Have you asked retailers if they'll offer a discount? I spoke to half a dozen or so, and some said they couldn't possibly or they'd be making a loss (yeah right), and others were extremely generous with what they knocked off the price. 

@dave-mac, thanks very much for your suggestion. I haven't tried that avenue yet. Spoke to several dealers before, some have said people are buying units full priced and demand is great (so little they have to do in terms of giving discount). Others said they will look after me but non-committal about amount and no quote is provided. Sure I understand they don't want me to get a quote and then run to another shop to price match or to haggle. I get that. But I believe it is a relationship with the manufacturer and with the store a customer builds and that lasts. After all, a system consists of many components, even for the all-in-one Uniti range. 

On a separate note, as much as I admire and love hand-built things, personally I reckon that is more appropriate in art and craft where not one item is the same as another and we actually appreciate the difference or uniqueness. With electronics on the other hand, I expect robust design, reliable operation with good level of resilience against fault and failure built into the design and the unit. Manufacturer should be confident that every unit are identical as per design specifications within acceptable tolerances, and that is not by luck or because they have super heroes working for them. Instead, manufacturing process is marked by good tooling, automation  and quality control, along with well trained technicians so that consistently building a good product is easy and therefore can be time and cost efficient.

God forbids that we put Naim in the same sentence with VW, famous for their dieselgate disaster. 

Gazza posted:

You are correct Don, the best thing to do would be to approach a Naim/ dealer........as they are still liable for 6 years under the EU directive for goods. I think they will offer a deal against something new.....or hold out for a replacement.

Doesn't look like there is a straight-forward fixed number of years of period in Australia. But it is proportional based on type of item / service, price and quality claims.

audio1946 posted:

surely production costs are the reason prices boom, and the only solution is to send production east ,the muso  went there ,will the uniti go the same ,leaving the classic units made in uk

I already stated my view about the reason for price boom. It is a pricing strategy. There is demand for Atom, people might pay the $4000 price tag and forget or didn't know how much it were once upon a time. I don't believe and hope Naim won't move its production east. How will they justify the premium they charge then? How will they keep the Naim magic from leaving UK shore? Many companies have moved premium products back onshore or kept flagship product and tech onshore. I hope Uniti is the future and a platform for greater things to come, not a cheapy spin off core values and market. Muso maybe and I am not even happy about that.