Sennheiser electronic GmbH and Co.KG, is a privately owned company of Germans specialised in making a wide range of audio devices which are elegantly designed products including headphones, microphones, telephones, headsets used for aviation for professional, personal applications.
The company was established on the 1st of June, 1945. The company’s main office is established in Wedemark, near Hanover. It has its office in around 50 countries worldwide. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser was the founder of the company. In 2013 there were Co-CEOs who were Daniel Sennheiser and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser.
Sennheiser History
Sennheiser was founded just after World War II ended, in 1945 by Fritz Sennheiser and seven fellow engineers from University Of Hannover. They founded it in a laboratory which was known as LaboratoriumWennebostol abbreviated as “Lab W”.
The lab was named after the village Wennebostel which had to be moved due to the war in the municipality of Wedemark. The lab was started off with first producing a voltmeter. From 1946, they were involved in making microphones named as DM1 and then in 1947 they made DM2.
Initial days
Later in 1955, the company had been making devices like DM4 which was the Noise-Compensated microphone, mixers, microphone transformers etc. Then later in 1958, they changed the name of the lab as “Sennheiser electronic”.
World’s first headphones were produced in the year 1968 by Sennheiser which affected the market and thus users preferred it more because it was able to mimic the natural sound the best at that time.
In 1980, the company started making headsets for Lufthansa and thus got into the aviation industry. Then, in 1982, the company developed the wireless headphone and the management was given to Jorg Sennheiser by the founder Fritz Sennheiser.
The rise
Further, in 1991, Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin and Sennheiser came into partnership. And then in 2003, Sennheiser went for a joint venture with William-Demant-Holding which is a Danish company, which was a specialist in hearing aids, personal communications etc. Sennheiser Communications A/S was established.
Then in 2005, it acquired the company Klein+Hummel which was a speaker manufacturer.
Later in 2014, it found a new subordinate company “Sennheiser Streaming Technology GmbH (SST)”, in which they used to develop solutions for hardware and software.
In 2016 it launched its AMBEO 3D program which was based on audio technology.
Then in 2019, it obtained a majority of stake in a company, Dear Reality.
Sennheiser Brand value
The company had around 2,734 people worldwide as stated in the 2018 Annual Report. Also, the report stated that the gross revenue generated was € 710.7 million. It has been still a business that is being run independently by the family.
It sells super luxury products and premium brands of headphones and microphones in the market. Innovation is the key to their success. They are planning to expand the market which will further increase the brand value. The turnover was high from American and Asian market for the past 10 years.
A multi domain authority brand – Sennheiser
They have been launching products for aviation, call centers, DJs, stage concerts etc. Since the company is run by the family and as they have limited resources still, they have the vision and innovation to expand the brand value. It is one of the top brands being recommended by many influencers. It has been expanding ever since it started.
They are ruling in the market with fashionable products lined up which surprises the users with its beautiful designs. There are so many musicians who recommend Sennheiser over any other brand when it comes to sound quality and elegant design.
It has been awarded and nominated under so many categories like The Emmy award in 1996 for its achievement in the successful production of wireless headphones and so on.
Sennheiser Brand strategies
Marketing with partnerships and cooperation
Celebrities like Adele, Ed Sheeran and P!nk support the brand and have been working for the progress of the brand with the help of their music albums too. Pink Floyd is also closely associated with the brand and appeared in a very famous exhibition that was “The Mortal Remains”.
The haute couture brand, Dior was also working with the company and they together launched bags and headphones combination.
Companies like Adidas, manufacturing sporting goods, were also in cooperation with Sennheiser. Under the label of Adidas Originals, they together launched sports headphones and lifestyle headphones.
They also worked with a Swiss Company, FREITAG in which they recycled the truck tarpaulin and produced the headband and cases of a limited edition of headphones.
They believe in experimental marketing which poses a great risk as it is a family run business and with limited funds.
Research and development
Sennheiser has an innovation camp in Wennebostel and has research centers and development sites in the USA, Germany, Singapore and Switzerland. The company has invested about € 60.5 million for R&D in the year 2018.
And has a keen interest in launching products with great sound quality as well as great designs.
They are planning to include “Smart Solution” in the product portfolio and also the research. 7-8 % revenue generated is reinvested in research and development every time.
Location
Due to the sites of research centers and development sites in developed countries like the USA, Germany etc. it has right expanded its business many folds.
It has 21 sales subordinates and trading partners in more than 50 countries. They have permanent and temporary stores in some parts of the world making it accessible to the users.
All the locations are hotspots and thus helps the company to expand. Europe is the main market for Sennheiser.
Availability
The products are engineered in Germany and the international market has more faith in German products than any other thing. German products are known for their reliability.
Thus, Sennheiser already has all the trust needed. They are available in less quantity than any other competitor in the international market but are sold more according to the demand-supply curve.
Thus, as they are available in less quantity and haven’t really expanded like any other competitors, they are less likely to suffer damage due to any kind of instability in the international market.
Offline to online
They have successfully bridged the gap and thus have created a path for users to be digitalized. Under this Sennheiser in many developing countries has used social media platforms effectively to bring the products to their attention.
They also collaborated with gaming companies like JDG to launch their very effective gaming headphones. They have organized campaigns to spread awareness about the product and its durability and elegant design.
Future strategies
Lately they have been investing in a segment of research and have also developed hearing aids for the people who lost their hearing abilities. They will also collaborate with companies that have been doing great in developing countries to help them with the marketing strategies involved in the process of success.
They value the customer reviews and are continuing to keep a check and bring up products that suit the taste of the current generation.
They believe in step by step growth and thus slowly are trying to enter and expand in the international market and this strategy will be used further also so that they don’t suffer much loss even if there is some kind of instability in the country they have decided to enter into. Sennheiser has always been known for the slow but profitable expansions which will help them in future also.
Conclusion
Sennheiser even after being a family-owned company and even after lacking the financial muscles that other companies have competed for and has proven their stance in the market.
The main thing that Sennheiser has always focused on is the users’ interest and has proven itself a number of times to be one of the most flexible companies. They have been lately focusing on the fashion trend and caters to the needs of the current generation efficiently unlike any other company.
Till now Sennheiser has managed to thrive in the international market with their unique ideas and it hopes to continue with the strategies to create products of immense value.
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