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When it comes to selling, repairing and tuning musical instruments, the company W Heuer has established itself as one of the leaders in South Africa. The business did, however, have modest beginnings with Wolfgang Heuer initially travelling all over the Cape to tune and repair people’s pianos in their homes.
His wife, Nora, also played a major role in the success of the business by not only supporting him, but even helping him with the repairs, which they at first did at their house. She also did the company’s books until a ripe old age.
Hans Heuer, one of Wolfgang’s sons, who today owns the business in conjunction with his brother, also Wolfgang, tells us more about establishing the business.
W Heuer was started by your father, Wolfgang Heuer. What did he do before establishing the business and what type of person was he?
My father was born in Kiel, Germany, in 1910. He became involved in the family’s piano business in Dortmund from a young age. It was started by his uncle in the early 1880s. He qualified as a piano building master in tuning, repairing and preparing grand pianos for concerts.
His career was interrupted by World War II. And after the war, work was so scarce in Germany that he and my mother, Nora, emigrated to SA together with my older sister, Traudel and my brother, Wolfgang Jr. A friend arranged for a job for him as workshop foreman at the former piano business, R. Muller.
My father was passionate about all musical instruments. He always said that he sold and serviced “living” things: not something that you simply buy and use up, but something that enriches your life. His endearing personality made him very popular among his customers and business partners.
When and why did he decide to start his own music business?
After working at Darters for two years, my father moved to Stellenbosch and decided to start his own business. He travelled through the rural areas and tuned and serviced pianos in people’s homes. More major repairs he brought home. My mother had commercial training but was also very handy; she repaired the mechanisms of the pianos so that my father only had to add the finishing touches. Later she also did the company’s books.
It was a good time to become involved in the industry. The rand was strong and this favoured imports, so people could afford pianos. There was a big demand for music and musical instruments, thanks to families and the state, which placed a high premium on promoting cultural events. And there was little competition in the market.
Where did your father raise the capital to start the business?
In the beginning, his overheads were low as he worked from home and mainly serviced pianos. But the dynamics quickly changed when he decided in 1956 to import the first Jehle and Rösler pianos from West Germany. He apparently got a loan from a Stellenbosch businessman without having to give any guarantees. Unfortunately, I cannot remember who this businessman was, but the rest is history.
How did the business grow and change over the years?
The business has operated from many locations in the Cape. Initially, my father worked from home, but he later had to start renting retail space as the business quickly grew. His first shop he shared with a laundry in Stellenbosch. Then he moved to the Old Rozenhof building in Dorp Street and later also rented retail space in the Golden Acre shopping mall.
In 1972 he bought two stands on the corner of Dennesig and Bird streets, where he dreamt of building his own “Musikhaus” (music house). However, this dream was only realised in September 1993, six months after his death.
The Musikhaus W Heuer was opened during a gala evening by the administrator of the Cape Province at the time, Kobus Meiring. The day after the opening gave us an indication of the success that lay ahead with the sale of five pianos.
With the passing of years, we had several other shops, such as the one at Cavendish in Claremont, Cape Town, and another in Somerset West. However, the music business changed so much over the years owing to the internet, that having these branches was no longer justified.
Please explain why this was the case.
These days, most people do their product research and purchases online. The firm’s website became like a number of shops in various centres. If a customer, for example, wants to test five different pianos before buying, it’s preferable to be in one location. This is how the internet helps customers to do their preparation online and then travel to Stellenbosch to test the pianos and/or instruments.
How have your services expanded over the years?
In the beginning, we specialised in pianos, but later also began offering other musical instruments and music services. Where everything used to be done by my father and mother, we now have 20 people working for the company, of whom 10 are technicians.
It is difficult to find good piano technicians, as there are no artisan schools where they can be trained. It’s a difficult situation, because you realise that you are training somebody who could later end up being your competitor.
To what do you attribute the success of the business?
The business started growing as result of my father’s qualifications, his personality and the quality products we offered at affordable prices, so much so that he had the largest piano workshop in the country as far back as 1979.
In the mid-60s my mother began supplying the pre-school Orff percussion instruments for the first time in South Africa. Owing to my father’s strong network of professional colleagues in Europe, he could import most of the instruments directly from there.
Sales grew as the business and the man at the helm became more widely known. On paging through old sales invoices, it’s interesting to see who his customers were. In the beginning there were private buyers and later schools, churches and other institutions were added.
W Heuer’s reputation enabled it to sell several musical instruments on state tenders, not only in South Africa, but also in Namibia.
For me there is one particular story that epitomises my father’s vision: Before the introduction of television in South Africa, he recruited a TV technician in Switzerland, imported measuring and aerial installation equipment, signed contracts to acquire television sets, and from 1975 to 1977 he sold no less than 2 500 television sets in Stellenbosch.
Thereafter, the large furniture chain stores dominated the business, so he returned to doing what he knew best.
Was it difficult to take over the reins from your dad?
It is akin to farming, where it is a natural progression from one generation to the next. I grew up in the industry, and from the age of ten, I tuned guitars in the shop on Saturday mornings. I joined the business permanently in 1986 after graduating with a BCom degree from Stellenbosch University.
Who is your market and how is it currently faring?
Our market is anybody who is involved in music as long as a do-factor is involved and not only listening. It ranges from individuals to schools, churches, theatres and concert halls, as well as the defence force and other institutions.
The demand for musical instruments has remained fairly constant over the years, but disposable income is under pressure owing to weak economic growth, so that people do not have as much money to spend on luxuries.
Some would say that a musical instrument is not a luxury, but a necessity. It all has to do with perception. I believe 4x4s are a luxury, but it does not seem as if economic pressure has had much of an effect on their sales.
The difference between a piano and a car is that you will probably resell a good piano for the same price you paid for it, maybe even more. With electronic instruments it’s usually different – like cars, they lose value as soon as you’ve bought one. I think it would be nice if people would trade in electronic instruments every five years as they do cars.
What are the greatest challenges facing you and the industry at the moment?
The biggest single challenge in the importing and marketing of luxury items is to protect profit margins against the weakening rand. The way to overcome this is to adapt prices and to rationalise and improve. South Africa is still a country with many opportunities.
The other challenge is online and private sales. It’s easy to sit in front of your laptop at ten at night and make online purchases. Nevertheless, this challenge also offers us an opportunity. Our website is constantly being upgraded and updated.
It’s easy to buy electronic instruments online, but classical instruments are in fact unique and alive. I believe that people should first try out classical instruments before they buy in order to hear how they sound, feel and play.
So, do you believe that acoustic pianos are better than electronic pianos?
No, it really depends on the buyer’s needs. Electronic pianos have improved over the years. They do not have to be maintained and you can play them using earphones, but they soon lose their resale value. Acoustic pianos do offer a better playing experience, but must be maintained and tuned. They retain their value far better than their digital counterparts.
What are your plans for the future?
At the moment I cannot reveal too much in this regard, but before the end of the year, there will be a completely new website that we call our “musical ecosystem”. In other words, it will offer something for everybody who is in any way involved in music.
We have been designing this platform for three years, where people can contact one another, set out their aims, network with one another and much more. It’s very exciting.
Do you have any advice for entrepreneurs who want to enter the music industry?
Music and the music industry are a calling. Passion and dreams are involved. As with everything, hard work is its foundation, but if you can tie it in with your passion, you are doubly rewarded.
This article originally appeared in the 1 June edition of finweek. Buy and download the magazine here.
