The Favorite Noble Big Toy - The Piano! Why Has It Collapsed?

    The most beloved noble big toy, the king of kings in the musical instrument circle - the piano, why has it suddenly collapsed? The once glorious piano industry chain is now full of wailing. Is it because of the plummeting price or because children's exams no longer give extra points for playing the piano? How bad is it exactly? It's probably that as long as it's related to the piano, none can make money. The price has plummeted, almost all businesses have closed down, and teachers have lost their jobs. The piano, which was once placed on the altar,
Why has it ended up like this today?

Before 2023, a piano teacher who was highly competent in teaching never lacked students. But after 2023, the number of students declined. No matter how capable the teacher was, they could only manage to make a living. If individual businesses are having such a hard time, the situation for enterprises and capital is even worse. Helen Piano, one of the three famous piano brands in China, had an annual revenue of 297 million yuan in 2023, and its net profit decreased by approximately 78 million yuan. Up until the first quarter of this year, it still couldn't stop the trend of losses. The revenue was 46.23 million yuan, a decrease of 38.87%. And Yamaha, the world's largest musical instrument manufacturer, had a net profit of 1.37 billion yuan in the fiscal year 2023, a year-on-year decline of 22%. Not to mention Pearl River Piano, whose debt ratio has been increasing year after year. The entire piano industry has entered a cold winter. How did the once flourishing piano industry suddenly change? The answer is simple: consumers are no longer buying.

The piano was born in Italy in 1709. After more than 300 years of evolution, it gradually became a symbol of elegance and nobility in the eyes of the world. After all, the middle class, having accumulated wealth, was no longer satisfied with struggling for food and clothing, so they began to actively seek a way to show their superiority, and thus the piano caught their attention. Official statistics once showed that as early as 2002, China had become a major producer and consumer of pianos in the world. Under the brainwashing of exquisite lifestyle and Western concepts, ordinary families couldn't resist joining in. Even if it meant going bankrupt, we had to buy a piano.

But what happened more than 20 years later? The elegant and noble image of the piano began to shatter, and consumers came to their senses. The piano is just so-so. So what if you reach level 10? Those who should do manual labor still do it, and those who should deliver food still do that. The piano - it is destined not to be everyone's ladder to success. So the middle class stopped pushing their children too hard, and parents became calm. The piano market became less heated. But does this necessarily mean it's a bad thing? Not necessarily. As professionals say, the inevitable cycle is not a destiny but a new journey. For example, Steinway, the Hermès of pianos, saw its net profit increase instead of decrease even when it was on sale. Even, it is preparing to go public on the NYSE. In the end, it's not that the piano industry has declined but that the piano market, after getting rid of the various filters imposed by the times, the piano is just a musical instrument.

So sometimes the decline of an industry is not a bad thing for the product itself. After staying away from the chaotic market price wars and sales traps, the piano becomes a piano again, and music becomes music again. The world-famous piano master Czerny once said: If you ask me how to become a good pianist? Then tell me first how many scales have changed?