Hi everybody,

I'm from Canada and I have been a (successful, yes successful!) Technics rep for the last 15 years. Previously worked in MI stores for 12. I came on this wonderful forum many times to keep me informed on what the arrangers hobbyists and pros are thinking, etc...
Having worked as a rep for so long, has allowed me to build and maintain good contacts, even from competitors. Why was Technics not expanding its line?
Why is Roland doing this? Why isn't Yamaha doing that? So many questions that I have asked myself over the years, the same as you, guys...
Since Matsushita's decision to shut down the MI division, I have some free time to be part of this forum for a while.

Questions? I'll do my best to give the most accurate answers.

NB: I'm from Quebec and french is my first language, so, please forgive the syntax mistakes that I could do.

Free Agent ... WELCOME... If you have not already done so, you might want to also introduce yourself to the 'technics discussion' page ...
t.

We heard from another forum that Technics was going out of business. Could you update us? Thanks!

Let's clarify things. Matsushita (Panasonic, Technics, National which is a popular brand name In Malaysia, Indonesia, etc..., participation in JVC, etc...) has decided to eliminate the Technics brand name from their "line-up" most likely to put Panasonic up front, and eliminate production costs related to multi-branding. (You have probably noticed the progressive disappearance of Technics mass-market products over the last few years.) They have also decided to stop manufacturing musical instruments. The MI business is pretty small compared to the mass market products, and musical instruments were most likely like a pain to take care of for Matsushita, especially considering the sales that this division was bringing. Don't get me wrong. Sales were good in certain countries, but not high enough for Matsushita to pursue the efforts in expanding this division.
So, we can't say that Technics is going out of business... It is purely a rational business decision, as any big company does once in a while.
NB: there's a funny glitch about the Matsushita decision to stop manufacturing musical instruments. They own a certain percentage of Kawai!!!