WILSON AUDIO/ cost vs. value


wilson ad; absolute sound;issue 162. page 12.... dave wilson states in his ad that wilson loudspeakers have one of the [ lowest ] profit margins in the industry. My question is should wilson make public their profit margin percentage's to back up their claims or is this more hyperbole from a high-end audio manufacturer...
aolmrd1241
again, you dont see the purpose of the video, it seems to be a cable access show within the state limits of Utah that Wilson appeared on not to advertise, but to discuss his business. When he spoke technically about his products and his company in general, it was way over the head of any of the three hosts. I doubt a single owner of Wilson speakers saw the broadcast of the show before it leaked on the internet. I believe he did the show to showcase his company to the local public and discuss his business strategy for the future. It is a business show. Wilson is a company based in Utah, they employ local people, yet they sell their speakers in over 40 countries. That is a pretty amazing success story, dont you think? I am sure he never thought for a minute it would be shown on the internet and be discussed by some nuckleheads like us, but it did. Other than that, what else is there left to say?
Holleneck - I also thought the show was silly. You are right that it could have been about farm equipment and it probably was the following week. It could have been about the upcoming fireworks display or the Prom 2 weeks ago. It was a poorly executed puff piece put on by a local news show. Dave probably helped to write the script, telling the emcee dude what questions to ask. For a company that markets itself to the rich and famous, it was embarrassingly provincial. Dave came across to me like Donald Trump.
And to stay on point, I don't think there is any real justification for speakers to cost so much. Hence, I do not see them as a good value. I would say the same about a $1000 bottle of wine. It is just so far beyond the point of diminishing returns that it cannot be commensurately better than other options available for a fraction of the cost.
Unlike some others, I do not feel a crime is being committed in the sale of these items though I would not choose them at one tenth of the price. Timex is just as good as Rolex. And they're both better than my ex.
If we truly want to discuss his margins, we need to know what salary David Wilson is paying himself, his wife & what his employee payroll is. His advertising budget is enourmous as well. Also, he can do some innovative bookkeeping to keep the profit elsewhere. He could have 2 separate companies selling from 1 to the other and the profit is divided. All this is guessing but possible.

Now discussing his advertising. I bet there is a firm involved. If you see his advertising is thematic. Many different ads with different information concepts seeking to differentiate Wilson from other speakers. The advertising campaign might have a few poorly chosen examples, but this is all from the advertising firm.

On to Dave Wilson's salary. For a multi million $ company I am sure he is allowed to pay himself a huge salary & why not. I believe he pays his staff very well, but to be fair he should as he probably is sharing his growth.

I am also guessing that he manufacturers more of the product in house than many other speaker manufacturers. Other manufacturers probably farm out a lot of their production including cabinet work. Others manufacturers might not have a marketing department, customer service dept. or a quality control dept.
Holleneck: "I am sure he never thought for a minute it would be shown on the internet and be discussed by some nuckleheads like us"
Maybe you are right on this one. But I still stand by my assertion that the program was silly. Nothing more to say.
Now discussing his advertising. I bet there is a firm
involved.
Of course he has an ad agency. I'm sure most
high end companies doing remotely near his volume of sales have ad agencies.
If not, they end up with ineffective, ugly crap.