Germany's protracted economic woes claimed one of its postwar corporate icons today as Grundig, the illustrious but faded maker of television sets and radios, filed for insolvency. Grundig Radio Repair Center
Showing slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES} - Sponsored Listings Showing slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES} - Make an Offer
Got one to sell?Get it in front of 160+ million buyers.Tell us what you think - opens in new window or tabThe company, based in Nuremberg, sought protection from its creditors after its efforts to find a foreign buyer fell through. Electronics companies from Turkey and Taiwan had negotiated for a controlling stake, but pulled out over doubts about the company's prospects. The latest suitor, Beko Electronik of Turkey, said it dropped its bid because of 'diverging ideas about the price.' Daag (1973 film) Daag: A Poem of Love is a 1973 Bollywood. The film was made at the height of the Rajesh Khanna's craze and became a Super Hit at the box office. The music by Laxmikant Pyarelal dominated the charts for the year. Daag – A Poem of Love 1973 Hindi Movie Online, Daag – A Poem of Love Full Movie, Watch Online Daag – A Poem of Love Full Mp4 Movie 720p Dvdrip BR, Watch Daag – A Poem of Love 1973 DVDRip Full Movie Online Free Category: Hindi Movies, Musical, Romance Tags: 1973 Actor: Prem Chopra, Rajesh Khanna Actress: Rakhee Gulzar, Sharmila Tagore. Daag movie rajesh khanna. Grundig has been searching for an investor since 2001, when it lost more than $160 million. Although the company was once the largest maker of radios in Europe, with a name known from the United States to Asia, it lost ground to low-cost competitors from Japan, Taiwan and other Asian countries. Its insolvency is one of a rising tide of corporate bankruptcies in Germany, as consumers have stopped spending and banks have stopped lending. Among other pillars of German industry that have tumbled in the last year: the media tycoon Leo Kirch and the construction giant Philipp Holzmann. Continue reading the main storyGrundig's demise may strike a chord, at least with older Germans, because its cheap, but well-made, radios symbolized the rebirth of a consumer society here after the destitution of World War II. Founded by Max Grundig, a Bavarian radio dealer, the company originally made instruments to repair radios. Mr. Grundig later expanded into radios themselves, as well as tape recorders, record players and TV sets. His goal, according to his biographer, Christa Bronnenmeyer, was to produce 'a radio for every man, at a price every man could afford.' 'Max Grundig awoke the consumer dreams of an entire generation, and to a large extent, was able to fulfill those dreams,' said Ms. Bronnenmeyer, who wrote a 1999 biography, 'Max Grundig: Made in Germany.' Newsletter Sign UpContinue reading the main storyThank you for subscribing.An error has occurred. Please try again later.You are already subscribed to this email.
As Germans became more affluent in the 1950's, Grundig kept pace by producing television sets. By the 1980's, it had sales offices in Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Spain, France and Taiwan. By then, however, it was also feeling the pinch from the Japanese, who could turn out competitive products at lower prices. An investment by Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands in the 1990's ended badly because Grundig resisted pressure to cut costs by overhauling its operations. Although Grundig has 2,800 workers and sales of nearly $1.3 billion, analysts said, the company was too small to compete with global giants like the Sony Corporation or Samsung Electronics. Recognizing it had no future as an independent company, Grundig began courting potential buyers, including Beko of Turkey and Sampo, one of Taiwan's major appliance makers. But those talks foundered, analysts said, after the potential buyers burrowed into Grundig's red-ink-stained books. Last week, the company named a bankruptcy lawyer, Eberhard Braun, as its chief executive. Mr. Braun said today that Grundig would keep looking for a buyer, and that the bankruptcy filing might actually help its chances. 'A series of obligations have been set aside,' he said. Some analysts predicted the company would be broken up, although its brand name and sales network still have value. With bankruptcy filings here running at a record clip, some experts said the fall of Grundig would be seen less as a novelty than as one more sign of Germany's weakness. 'For older people, Grundig means something special,' said Andreas Vogel, a researcher at the Institute for Media and Communications Studies at the Technical University in Ilmenau. 'For the majority of Germans, however, Grundig is just another company.' Comments are closed.
|