The Henri Selmer house, a historic French manufacturer of wind instruments, celebrates its 140th birthday. The opportunity to return to the instrument market in France. A million new instruments are sold each year. This is not necessarily good news for French manufacturers. Indeed, 98% of these instruments come from Asia. To survive, the French brands are betting on the high-end.
By Pénélope Le Mauguen,
“” I believe that this one for example works well. »» You may not make the difference, but for this professional musician, not all instruments are created equal. We are in Mantes-la-Ville, west ofParisIn Henri Selmer workshops, emblematic manufacturer of wind instruments. “” The richness of the sound is this resonance that we feel, this warmth that we feel, this very side almost wooded that we have inside the clarinet sound “Explains Adrien Besse, market manager at Henri Selmer.
According to him, imported instruments are very often of much lower acoustic quality. “” The difference, she gets along in the ear. We can really, even by being completely novice, listen to two instruments and feel this difference in wealth of sound from the first note. Generally a poorly made instrument, it will have an extremely poor sound spectrum He believes.
Mediocre quality but aggressive price, Asian instruments particularly target beginners. “” In the last 20-30 years, you have had Chinese competition which has positioned itself on very, very accessible instruments. Most of Asian competition is rather on intermediate instruments and study instruments, where it is actually very harsh. On the study instruments, I would tend to say that all the instruments are fully carried out import instruments in Asia “, According to Thierry Oiez, the president of the company.
Unequaled reputation
This situation led to a collapse of the number of manufacturers in France. They are only twenty today, against 150 in 1960. Those who stay count on the top-end. “” The know-how of manufacturing is something that remains really specific. So we have know-how of acousticians, technicians who enter the design and then manufacture How Stéphane Gentil, Product Manager Clarinet.
A reputation for excellence that allows them to export all over the world. But the geopolitical context since Donald Trump’s return is not to reassure them, adds Thierry Oiez. “” We are still over a slightly surprising period, with uncertainties on customs duties, uncertainties on economic activity as a rule. And everything is not necessarily favorable to activity, whatever it is, and in particular cultural activity “, He said.
Solution defended by professionals in the sector: that the public authorities encourage schools and conservatories to buy instruments manufactured in France.