3 years ago, I
posted a story in response to rumours about the rationalisation of the Technics range - a gentle snip snip and off went the 1200/1210 MK5 (or did they?). 18 months later, a global Technics famine
seemed to point to the imminent doom of the almighty 1200. And here are today, gripped in a Twitternet frenzy based on one story out of New Zealand purporting to spell out the end of Technics in February 2010. Hope I can bring some context to this as yet unsubstantiated rumour.
Firstly, please stop using the above stories as some sort of relevant substance to the current wild and unconfirmed rumour. They were written ages ago and not really relevant to what's happening now. Besides, despite Panasonic UK confirming that the 1200/1210 MK5 would be discontinued, 3 years later it still seems to be in plentiful supply, albeit costing quite a bit more. The MK5G for instance is in shouting distance of £600 per deck. PER DECK.
The second story I posted was in response to a deluge of emails about a Technics famine, and after some journo hackery, I extrapolated a scenario of the Technics brand shutting up shop. This theorising on my part still has the potential to pan out as all the relevant factors are still in place - credit crunch, massive decline in sales of turntables etc - but as yet, I've yet to see anything substantive to back up the current rumour.
And what of this rumour? Where did it come from? Well I first saw it in a
forum thread on Ean Golden's djtechtools site. The source of the info was
DMC New Zealand, who stated this:
"We have just heard the sad news from Panasonic (the manufacturer of Technics) that production of the world famous Technics SL-1200 and SL-1210 DJ turntables will stop at the end of February 2010. This marks the end of an era - Technics have been the industry standard for over 35 years with this turntable and the SL-1200 is synonymous with the DJ culture. It has been released and re-released over 9 times with different models and numerous other manufacturers have tried to compete with this deck, but above all, the Technics SL-1200 & Technics SL-1210 are the undisputed number one deck in the world."
Production will stop… seems conclusive right? And then there's this story posted on
inthemix which adds some juicy extras, including an elusive statement that I can't track down on any official Panasonic channels anywhere. I'm not saying it doesn't exist in an inbox somewhere, but I'd like to think that the closure of the Technics brand ergo the death of the most iconic turntable outside of the HMV gramophone might have made it out onto the wider global PR network, instead of leaking via a dealer in NZ and leaching out on Twitter (which has retweets around every 60 seconds right now).
Forgive me, but when I wrote 18 months ago, I talked about the possibility and laid out the exhaustive facts and evidence as I saw them. But I didn't say that Technics was definitely shutting down. Now based on an as yet clarified statements, the world is under the assumption (for that's all it is) that the Technics brand has finally been packed off to the great iconic brand graveyard in the sky.
The retailer network is decidedly and uncharacteristically quiet on this right now, and trying to extract any info from Panasonic is like pulling teeth - hens teeth at that. So until I see an OFFICIAL statement from a Panasonic email address, or a news story on a Panasonic website, the current rumour remains just that. As of now, I really can't be sure if this is simply a distribution thing to NZ and Australia or is an early and unfortunate leak of a wider and as yet to be globally announced decision.
I could write more about the life and death of brand, but as far as I'm concerned, it hasn't happened just yet. However, I'm putting out an official call for information on this one. If anyone knows people at Panasonic who is willing to confirm, deny or at least clarify the rumours, please get them to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. And any info from the dealer channels would be equally useful. On the record or off is fine by me. As ever, I simply want to post the correct info for the DJ scene to have as fact, rather than adding to the wildfire rumour mill currently running rampant through the Twitterverse.
UPDATE - 30/11/09: Panasonic Australia seem to be backtracking. This email was sent to Jeremy Leitch, Managing Director of
Store DJ:
Regarding an email I sent last week regarding the end of manufacture of Technics turntables.
We have had a misunderstanding in communication with the factory and my original email is incorrect.
Panasonic will continue to manufacture and supply Technics turntables for the forseeable future.
We regret any problems this may have caused in the meantime.
Regards.
______________________________________________________________________
David Blair | Sales Executive | Consumer Electronics Group| Panasonic Australia
Soooo.... quite a misunderstanding there. Only managed to cause global panic amongst the DJ community with that one Panasonic. And when I combine this with grapevine buzz (this may possibly be the last order you can ever place kind of thing), it get the feeling that Panasonic are toying with the idea of closing down the brand, but wanted to gauge opinion first. There is also an inference that if they got enough orders, they'd just fire up the production line anyway.
That being the case, there is a huge difference between worldwide outpouring of emotion and sentiment, and people actually willing to drop coin on new Technics. I'm sure there would be a massive difference in people mourning the loss of Technics and those willing to spend cash to save the brand for another year.
So despite this oops my bad backtracking from Panasonic Australia, I'm still not sure exactly what is going on. I was going to spend time on the phone in a probable eternal hold cycle calling up Panasonic UK, Europe, US, Australia and Japan to find out what the real deal is. But you know what - I got fed a heap of crap before and I'm just not willing to waste any more time on this.
My advice - if you want Technics, go buy some. There's no point in waiting until you can't get them anymore and then bitching about it. It's not like you haven't had the warning about the possible impending doom. You've had 3 decades as well as 3 years of rumours abut impending demise. For me, the writing is on the wall - if you want Technics, buy them while you can.
UPDATE 2 - 30/11/09: Uh oh... this just in from DMC New Zealand - the original source of this current rumour, which does seem to rather fly in the face of what I just posted:
It’s Phillip here from DMC New Zealand. We sent the email newsletter to our customers last week advising of the announcement that the Technics turntables are being discontinued. I have provided some more information here as a further clarification of our sources on the news, as there has obviously been a huge amount of interest and debate on the topic on the internet over over the weekend.
DMC have been the main retailer of Technics turntables in New Zealand for about 10 years now. We received an email from the NZ Panasonic product manager for Technics, James Petterson (who I have dealt with for many years now), on the 19th of November advising “I am sorry to say that the manufacture of Technics turntables will end in February (2010). A sad day!” He advised that February was the last possible month for them to order any more stock. Finding the news too hard to believe we then requested further clarification from him from Japan – did this mean Technics were being discontinued just in the New Zealand market or was it a world wide thing? We received a reply from him the following week, on the 25th of November, stating - “Japan have come back and said that the turntables are being discontinued all over the world.” Panasonic New Zealand is actually owned by Panasonic Corporation Japan so this information has in effect come straight from the horse’s mouth. Taking this as confirmation we then emailed out the sad news to our customers the following day on the 26th. I was unaware at that stage that this was some of the first news of the announcement but I’ve subsequently seen that there have also been similar reports from Australia - "It is a sad day today but due to low sales globally in analogue turntables a decision to stop production has been made on Technics Turntables. For Australia this means we will receive our last shipment in March", says Ian North product manager for Panasonic Australia.
In a further discussion with James Petterson here in NZ over the weekend it appears that Panasonic Japan have so far advised some of their international distributors (like NZ and Australia) of the Technics news but have not announced it themselves from Japan. With the rapid world wide spread of the news on the internet it would be a good move for Panasonic Japan to come forth with an “official announcement” themselves very soon. DJs have supported these Turntables (and therefore their company) for over 35 years now so shouldn’t Japan themselves be letting everyone know this kind of news as soon as possible? It’s a long shot but our main hope is that there is enough worldwide support shown for Technics continuing, in the way of petitions, forums, blogs, etc, that Panasonic Corporation will bow to international pressure and change their minds - not allowing the legendary decks to become a thing of legend.
As they say, we will keep you posted as any more news comes to hand.
Phillip
Dmcworld.co.nz / Technics.co.nz
I can only assume that Panasonic Japan isn't aware of the power if the internet, and the relative inability to keep a lid on anything these days. Info as hot as this will leak out within nanoseconds. Sadly, the info is clashing harder than the Hadron Collider right now.
As ever, I'll keep you informed and try to make skratchworx the one stop source for Technics fact, confusion, lies and sarcasm. Sorry people - no black armband here. Change is due. While I don't want Technics to end, I'm not exactly going to start a Facebook group mourning the loss before it's even been confirmed. Oh wait... someone already has.
UPDATE 3 - 30/11/09: Sally from DMC HQ has had some contact from Technics Head office in Japan, who said on Twitter "I heard from Technics Japan this morning, and there is NO confirmation or truth that these rumours are true about the Technics Turntables!!!!"
She's trying to get them to issue an official statement out of Japan HQ on my behalf, but until I see such a thing, this whole bloody mess is about as clear as mud on a foggy London day. Still, it's hilarious to read the constant retweeting of all the different rumours as well as my 3 year old story - despite adding a disclaimer to it.
UPDATE 4 - 30/11/09: i just got a mail from Nico, editor at German website
www.golem.de. He had a chat with a spokeswoman at Panasonic Germany this morning who said "This does not apply to the German market". For the German speakers out there, here's the
golem.de story.
The emphasis does seem to shift towards Technics till being alive and kicking. But that official statement from Panasonic Japan is still missing. I think that only when we see that press release will the world know for sure one way or another. So Panasonic - does the Technics brand get the crash cart or is it time to call the time of death? Only you can tell us that. I await a press release.
UPDATE 5 - 1/12/09: This just in on Twitter. A user called
panasonic_ru that does appear to very the real deal, has tweeted this:
"Печально, но факт. Со следующего года не будет вертушек Technics. Продукт перестал быть массовым и не укладывается в бизнес Panasonic."
Which Google translates to:
"Sad but true. Starting next year, will not turntables Technics. The product is no longer a massive and does not fit in the business Panasonic."
So just when you thought that the rumour was false, and Technics was reprieved, another semi official quote from Panasonic arrives to confirm the green mile walk for the might 1200.
Will this madness ever end? When will a coherent and official response come from Panasonic? I'm guessing not for a while yet. But my advice is to grab those new 1200s while you can.
UPDATE 6 - 1/12/09: Sally from DMC HQ just got a statement from Panasonic UK and posted it
on her Facebook page. For those who can't wait, it reads thus:
"As a major global business, Panasonic keeps all of its operations under constant review. However, there are no current plans to discontinue the Technics Brand.''
Forgive my scepticism, but if I recall correctly, Panasonic UK gave me a statement 3 years ago telling me they were canning the MK5, but here we are today with it still very much in the range. Hmmm...
So let's tally up the Panasonic official comments:
Panasonic UK: No
Panasonic Germany: No
Panasonic Australia: Yes, then No
Panasonic Russia: Yes
Panasonic New Zealand: Yes
So that's 3-2 in favour of Technics staying alive. What the hell is happening at Panasonic? Are they talking to each other? Is it some sort of online corporate vote with all international branches deciding the fate of Technics? Any word from Panasonic USA?
Panasonic HQ - only you can stop this, as it seems that the branches all have different ideas of what is going on. Is it a matter limiting distribution to marginal markets, or is it the end of Technics?
UPDATE 7 - 2/12/09: This just in from the original source of the rumour:
I have some more news today from NZ on the Technics saga. It appears that the frenzy of interest and support for Technics around the world via the internet since the break of the story last week has taken Japan by surprise and caught them on the back foot – they are now back-pedalling and saying that they haven’t decided yet either way on the 1200s.
I’ve spoken several times this week with James (the product manager here at Panasonic NZ), who has had a number of calls with Panasonic Japan over the last three days. While Japan haven’t given us anything official as yet, James says that they have now told him that production of the Technics turntables is currently under review and that they haven’t made an official decision yet either way - which marks a back-pedalling on what they’d said to him and Australia (and Russia?) earlier!
Maybe Panasonic were planning to quietly end Technics production early next year without any great fanfare - but then the leak of the news last week, which subsequently spread like wildfire, and the worldwide frenzy that followed has completely caught them off guard and they are now reconsidering!
Technics world sales have clearly slowed in recent times and perhaps Panasonic, who are a huge global consumer electronics corporation (and have been progressively phasing out Technics consumer electronics), have simply lost touch at a grass-roots level with the DJ community that is really passionate about the Technics 1200s, and just didn’t expect this response – they wouldn’t see this massive reaction, for example, if they’d announced a certain model of plasma screen was to be discontinued.
The guy at Panasonic Japan (I believe from the international sales & marketing arm) who leaked the info to NZ and Australia has evidently come under a lot of heat for this from his superiors and in turn Panasonic NZ and Australia have also received a lot of heat for passing this on to the retailers (which explains the back pedal in Australia). As I said we still don’t have an official statement from Japan (which may take some time with the long chain of command at Panasonic) but maybe the 1200s have had an 11th hour reprieve and won’t have to walk that green mile just yet.
And to all the people around the world making noise to save Technics – keep it up, it seems to be getting through to Japan...
Regards,
Phillip
Dmcworld.co.nz / Technics.co.nz
So while this still doesn't tell us one way or another, it does at least indicate that the future of Technics is in the balance. But thanks to the strength of feeling and passion for the brand, the bean counters at HQ are at least getting some feedback that the brand does have some life left in it yet. I suppose it's difficult to know what's going on from an accounts office in Japan.
While we wait (and probably wait and wait) for the final word from Japan, I would like to offer Panasonic some advice - ditch
everything else with a Technics logo, ditch the MK2 and MK5, and release the 1200/1210 MK6 as the one and only model that you make. This will make production a lot simpler, and if you can hold it at a good price point, you'll have a viable future - at least for the short term. And if you do a Serato special edition in black with red trim and lights, you'll make crazy money.
