Case Study - Pearl River Piano Company
History
Pearl River Piano Group (PRPG) was established in 1956 by bringing together
six small piano shops in Guangzhou. The group of 100 employees produced
only 13 pianos that year. After many attempts, Guangzhou technicians were
finally satisfied with the tone color and quality of its first manufactured piano, and
in a short time it was sold in Hong Kong. It would be twenty years before the
factory was able to prove its potential.
As a State -owned enterprise PRPG is accountable to the Guangzhou municipal
government. Investments from both Yamaha and Steinway & Sons have played
a key role in the expansion of their production. In addition, PRPG has bought
the German piano brand Ritmuller and will be expanding in the European market.
Guangzhou, located at the north of the Pearl River delta, is an important trading
center as well as a busy port and the capital city of the province of Guandong .
The city has an area of over 16,000 square kilometers and a population of 6.7
million. Guangzhou is also one of the most important centers of foreign
commerce in South China. There are a lot of interesting legends concerning its
past. One of the beautiful stories which gives the city its name Goat Town says
that five gods riding on five goats brought the first grain to the city.
In 1959 PRPG consisted of a shed on the side of the street to repair pianos.
Later a shelter was built to process the wood. At that time the pianos were
carried in a cart with men walking barefoot to the port.
During the tumultuous of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution in the 1960's and
1970's, few Chinese dared to buy a piano, which symbolized the West's
decadent and bourgeois society. Learning the piano was frowned upon at that
time. The factory didn't stop making pianos. However, they were lucky if they
sold more than one hundred pianos a year.
In the meantime China's one-child policy has created a culture where parents
invest heavily in their children's education. Parents
Pearl River Piano Group (PRPG) was established in 1956 by bringing together
six small piano shops in Guangzhou. The group of 100 employees produced
only 13 pianos that year. After many attempts, Guangzhou technicians were
finally satisfied with the tone color and quality of its first manufactured piano, and
in a short time it was sold in Hong Kong. It would be twenty years before the
factory was able to prove its potential.
As a State -owned enterprise PRPG is accountable to the Guangzhou municipal
government. Investments from both Yamaha and Steinway & Sons have played
a key role in the expansion of their production. In addition, PRPG has bought
the German piano brand Ritmuller and will be expanding in the European market.
Guangzhou, located at the north of the Pearl River delta, is an important trading
center as well as a busy port and the capital city of the province of Guandong .
The city has an area of over 16,000 square kilometers and a population of 6.7
million. Guangzhou is also one of the most important centers of foreign
commerce in South China. There are a lot of interesting legends concerning its
past. One of the beautiful stories which gives the city its name Goat Town says
that five gods riding on five goats brought the first grain to the city.
In 1959 PRPG consisted of a shed on the side of the street to repair pianos.
Later a shelter was built to process the wood. At that time the pianos were
carried in a cart with men walking barefoot to the port.
During the tumultuous of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution in the 1960's and
1970's, few Chinese dared to buy a piano, which symbolized the West's
decadent and bourgeois society. Learning the piano was frowned upon at that
time. The factory didn't stop making pianos. However, they were lucky if they
sold more than one hundred pianos a year.
In the meantime China's one-child policy has created a culture where parents
invest heavily in their children's education. Parents