Sennheiser opens new subsidiary in Tokyo

Sennheiser electronic officially announced the launch of its
Japan
subsidiary, Sennheiser Japan KK. Guests at the opening ceremony included Prof.
Dr. J rg Sennheiser, Chairman of the Sennheiser Supervisory Board; Dr. Bernd
Fischer, Charg d’Affaires of Germany in Japan; Manfred Hoffman, Delegate of
German Industry and Commerce and Executive Director of the German Chamber of
Commerce and Industry in Japan; as well as numerous representatives of the
national audio industry. Volker Bartels, Speaker of the Executive Team and
President of Manufacturing and Logistics, and Paul Whiting, President of Global
Sales were representing the Sennheiser Management at the event. The opening
ceremony was accompanied by classic Japanese music: the globally renowned
Yoshida Brothers performed on traditional Japanese instruments for the
international audience, and, of course, using high-end Sennheiser equipment.

Describing the
Japan
launch as an important step in the history of Sennheiser, Prof. Dr. Sennheiser
said: “The Japanese market has always been very important for us, and with
General Traders we have always had a dedicated local partner at our side. We
are now looking forward to expand our business in
Japan and to further integrate the
market into our global corporate strategy. With Sennheiser
Japan, we now
have the opportunity to be even closer to our Japanese customers and their
market-specific needs.” Dedicated to incorporate special requirements of
the Japanese market, the audio specialist, with headquarters in
Germany, will
host a high-ranking panel discussion as part of the opening event. One day
after the official launch of Sennheiser
Japan, an invited audience will
participate in the discussion on “Analogue microphones in a digital
world”. Panelists are Prof. Dr. Sennheiser, who will also introduce the
topic with an inaugural speech, as well as local audio specialists representing
the Japanese economy and the broadcasting and education sectors.

The decision to establish a Sennheiser subsidiary in
Japan
was first announced at the InterBee trade fair in
Tokyo in November 2007. In January 2008
Sennheiser
Japan
officially started its business activities. Meanwhile the company has appointed
a team of seven employees, headed by Mr. Sho Kubo, Managing Director of
Sennheiser
Japan,
he expects this number to rise to 14 for 2008. The core tasks of the team are
domestic sales, marketing, market research, and finance and controlling.

In future, Sennheiser Japan will focus on both its professional and consumer
product segments: the objective is to reinforce the Sennheiser brand image
within the professional audio market, and create brand awareness in the
consumer market.

“We want to continue our excellent cooperation with our
customers in the professional segment and additionally increase and strengthen
our bonds with them,” said Kubo on the occasion of the launch. “With
our ear to the market we want to provide them with customised solutions which
respond directly to their needs and requirements.” The professional market
traditionally plays an important role in Japan. Many cultural institutions such
as the New National Theatre Tokyo, the Imperial Theatre, the Shiki Theatrical
Company, the public broadcaster NHK, and soon Tokyo Disneyland are equipped
with Sennheiser products and rely on the high quality of the international
premium brand for their productions. But Sennheiser Japan will also focus on
the consumer electronics market, an area that is developing extremely well for
Sennheiser, and which also holds excellent business opportunities in Japan.
“In order to succeed in the consumer market, we will put much effort into
our marketing activities and aim to increase the Sennheiser brand awareness and
recognition,” added Kubo.