Luxury Piano Maker Turns To Furniture

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Mar 5th 2009 at 2:02PM

Every morning on my way to work I pass by a piano store that is going out of business. Pianos are a luxury item not selling too well in this economic climate. But one piano maker has found a way to adapt. The Czech piano maker Petrof is switching from making beautiful wood grand pianos to making lacquered kitchen furniture and other home deocr items.

Petrof makes pianos all by hand and have seen their orders plummet over the past year. The company has decided to start making luxury furniture to help diversify. It is currently making equal amounts of pianos and furniture. The brand has outlasted both world wars as well as a communist regime and this isn't the first time Petrof has had to get creative. In the 1930s, it produced wooden railway sleeper cars and in times of war it made grenade boxes.

On the Petrof website the company shows a pictures of a glossy conference table, kitchen cabinets and a wood and glass cigar humidor. So far, according to an AFP article, the business strategy has worked. Orders for the furniture are up and they have found that clients in Russia are willing to spend 70-100,000 euros to redecorate their kitchens.

Tags: furniture, petrof, pianos, recession innovation, RecessionInnovation