Hard times for Linn

[gassor]

As the Linn factory is a 5 mins drive from my door so I thought I should post this.

"Linn Products, the Scottish high-end audio brand whose products are among the highest rated in the world, has warned of “challenging” European markets after posting a six-figure loss for the year.

The firm, which earlier this year agreed a £1 million funding package with Barclays, recorded a loss before tax of £636,000, according to its newly published accounts, compared with a profit of £872,000 a year earlier."

https://www.scotsman.com/business/s...p-r-d-but-finances-strike-sour-note-1-5050109

 

[ff1d1l]

Brexit thread?

 

[Guest432]

Time to check if they've got any old whiskey barrels left in the store room.

 

[Martyn Miles]

Perhaps people aren’t buying ( high priced ) LP12s any more...

What IS Linn’s main market these days ?

 

[PBB]

Brexit thread?

Why the question mark? I am certain Brexit will be great for all of the UK, maybe even greater for the parts leaving it.

 

[robs]

Is this recent news??
The accounts were published a while ago (June) according to Companies House?

£15.7m T/O (£10.6m of that in UK and EU) [£16.3m in 2018, £16.9m in '17, £18.1m in '16, £17.8 in '15, £19.2m in '14]
£636k loss before tax and £256k net loss
£2.4m on R&D (i.e tax benefit)
171 employees (up one from last year)
Paid £525k dividends (£501k to Ivor) + £367k for director's salaries + pensions..
So revenue of £92K per employee, which seems very low to me...and the shareholder/directors take out £892k.

 

[chartz]

What they do is too dear and they have become a niche company.
The same will happen to Rega.

 

[AndyU]

Very sad news for the people that work there. Unless their surname is Tiefenbrun. Can’t see their £5k a pair wireless speakers saving the show either.

 

[delange]

The article also said: "The group said it continued to make significant investments into research and development, totalling almost £2.4m, an increase of £325,000."
Apart from slower sales, the R&D funding will also contribute to the bad numbers.
I always thought Linn was a very small company but they have 171 people employed.

 

[Rockmeister]

That they survive is a credit to their philosophy, but in the face of massive digital age competition, relying on the generous and ageing fan base they have was always, surely, to be a dodgy business plan. They built an empire on ONE philosophy, and it was analogue as Linn decided it should be. And the world changed, and that heritage proved stronger than they wanted. Digital = new = newer companies.

 

[Shadders]

Hi,
If you examine the following website, the Linn Valhalla was sold for £598 in 1990.
http://www.hoth.uk/LP12-FAQ.htm

Using an inflation website, the 2019 cost would be £1,228.50

Linn sell their LP12 Klimax for £18,670
https://www.whathifi.com/linn/klimax-lp12/review

Despite that you get more equipment for the Linn Klimax than the Linn Valhalla, the 10x (at least) price increase greater than inflation, probably cannot be justified by most people.

It would seem that moving Linn turntables to a Veblen goods approach is not working ??

Regards,
Shadders.

 

[AndyU]

That they survive is a credit to their philosophy, but in the face of massive digital age competition, relying on the generous and ageing fan base they have was always, surely, to be a dodgy business plan. They built an empire on ONE philosophy, and it was analogue as Linn decided it should be. And the world changed, and that heritage proved stronger than they wanted. Digital = new = newer companies.

True, but then again they got into streaming way ahead of most other hi-fi companies, and then active speakers with digital crossovers and correction, so you can’t really say they didn’t keep up - they were often ahead of the game. They still have expertise across a wide range of products that many would envy. But, inevitably I guess for a company committed to manufacturing in Scotland rather than China, their prices put them out of reach. And they didn’t offer an easy way to put a foot on the Linn ladder.

 

[Martyn Miles]

What if Linn sold out to a Chinese company ?!

 

[Rockmeister]

I agree Andy. It's the problem of too strong an image in one narrow field. It works while it works. Still, for the sake of the workforce I hope they can turn it around.

 

[TLS]

Chinese Oligarch vultures must be making circles around Linn already.

 

[Rockmeister]

If they are vultures they might be...picking the bones of a carcass, but let's hope it's brighter than that I never liked Linn, but they are an icon I wouldn't want to lose, even if it happened to Garrard and etc

 

[robs]

Agree TLS, the brandname, trademarks and patents (I assume there are some) are going to be worth a whole lot more than the company if they can push it mass market. But Ivor is the owner, he can do what he wants.

 

[Woodface]

The slagging Linn get is ridiculous. Their products are no more expensive than many high end brands, they employ people in their native country

 

[AndyU]

The slagging Linn get is ridiculous. Their products are no more expensive than many high end brands, they employ people in their native country

Ivor gave as good as he got. Describing the Scots as “so thick” for hating Margaret Thatcher probably wasn’t his smartest move.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-11484322

 

[Jono_13]

I hope that they pull through for all the right reasons, but I disagree regarding Rega. They have a much wider range of products starting at prices that are affordable.