phatsolid wrote:
Yeah, word is that Premier got kinda screwed over by Yamaha in the late 90s. I guess Yamaha had wanted a bigger presence in Europe and Premier had wanted a bigger presence outside of Europe, so they inked a deal where they would share technology and marketing. If you notice all the Premier cymbal stands in the 90s were made by Yamaha (or with re-labeled Yamaha parts). And I guess Premier learned how to "bake" their shells and do the cross seam thing or whatever Yamaha was doing did to keep their shells so stable. But after Yamaha got what they wanted out of Premier in Europe, they said bye bye to the deal and Premier was left with some great looking and sounding drums, and still no market outside of Europe to sell them in.
And they didn't have whatever Sonor had (business sense? brand loyalty? whatever?) to stay alive on their own, so they sold themselves a few times to some lame "Music Company Distributors" that only care about profit margin on beginner music store crap.
- D.
Something's not clicking. Premier's marketing system, anywhere, had a value to the big Y? I confess to ignorance of the situation, but let me pose at least a possible alternative view:
In the late 50's, Daimler-Benz realized they needed a market in the US. They made a deal with Studebaker, who had a large network of dealerships, and Studebaker saw the potential of selling Mercs, just as Studie sales were failing. Two companies, each hoping the other would save its bacon.
Trouble was, Studebaker dealerships and salesmen used to hawking low price vehicles had no idea how to deal with Merc clientele. Daimler-Benz, after two years, realized the fatal flaw and purchased themselves back for 2.5 milliion, which was a lot of dough at the time, but considering later history, a rare bargain.
Point is, corporate cultures and markets are not necessarily amenable, and ruthlessness is not necessarily the reason they divorce. Viewing the Brit culture (rate of business failure, general work ethic, socialistic tendencies, etc.) it's at least reasonable to suppose it may have played some part in the breakup, and it goes without saying, particularly in a mindset that sheds personal responsibility, that those left behind would blame... the crab that somehow managed to climb out of the bucket.