Photo-Jean Langlais
Since 1991, Sennheiser Canada has posted in excess of 15 percent year over year growth, successfully navigating through technology evolutions, economic recessions and uncertain market conditions. The company -- still situated in its original location just outside Montreal -- now employs 45 people across 3 business units. In 2003, Sennheis-er successfully entered the Canadian consumer headphone market, a move that had a sizable effect on increasing the company's overall revenues and market share.
Before Sennheiser Canada was incorporated in 1991, TC Electronics had been selling Sennheiser products to the Canadian market since 1970. Once Jean Langlais was ap-pointed general manager in 1993, one of his earliest goals was to begin importing and distributing other respected European audio brands -- such as L-Acoustics and Innova-son (both of which companies are still distributed by Sennheiser Canada today). This gave Sennheiser increased visibility into the nature of lucrative projects and installations, as well as the ability to offer a complete range of complementary audio solutions.
"In the early days of Sennheiser Canada, we were mainly an accessories player -- we would sell microphones without knowing the broader context of a given project," recalls Langlais. "By becoming a solution provider and being able to cover an entire range of audio products, we were able to get on top of the deals much sooner to understand project goals and how the gear was to be used. This gave us a tremendous advantage over competitors, especially considering the quality of products and support we were able to offer." With such a convincing value proposition, the company was able to suc-cessfully penetrate the pro audio, live sound and MI markets.
Sennheiser Canada's early growth coincided with robust talent and entertainment that was coming out of Canada at the time. Well-known recording and touring artists like Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Sarah McLachlan and others -- as well as touring outfits such as Cirque de Soleil -- were beginning to make international waves and looked to Sennheiser to provide high-quality touring infrastructure and support -- further establish-ing the company's brand recognition.
"Our ability to support major tours helped establish our name in the Canadian market very quickly," recalls Langlais. "When Cirque de Soleil expanded rapidly in the early nineties, it helped deliver the market penetration we were looking for, while attracting the associated international renown. We weren't just supplying equipment, but were offering customers a guarantee of performance and a total solution."
Over the years, Sennheiser has maintained an incredibly loyal customer base, playing an integral role in helping customers realize their own growth. "Our customers knew they could always rely on us. If we sold them something it would work, and if it broke, we would fix it," says Langlais. One such customer is Solotech, a Montreal-based com-pany that has since grown to become one of the largest supplier and integrator of audio equipment in Canada.
Building on its illustrious past, Sennheiser Canada remains poised for future growth. Recent innovations include the introduction of its digital microphones, in-ear monitors, noise-cancelling headphones and many other products. From an operations perspec-tive, Sennheiser has come a long way since its staff of seven people, concludes Lan-glais: "We were a very small, entrepreneurial outfit back in 1991. Now, we are a much more sophisticated company with dedicated warehousing, finance, operations, market-ing and sales units. We are very well structured for the growth to come."
ABOUT SENNHEISER
The Sennheiser Group, with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. The family-owned company, which was established in 1945, recorded sales of around €390 million in 2009. Sennheiser employs more than 2,100 people worldwide, and has manufacturing plants in Germany, Ireland and the USA. The company is represented worldwide by subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark (Nordic), Russia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Japan, China, Canada, Mexico and the USA, as well as by long-term trading partners in many other countries. Also part of the Sennheiser Group are Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin (studio microphones and monitor loudspeakers)
OTHER BRANDS DISTRIBUTED BY SENNHEISER CANADA
Neumann, Klein+Hummel, Innovason, L-Acoustics, Kling & Freitag, K-Array, Yellowtec, Televic
You can find all the latest information on Sennheiser by visiting our website at www.sennheiser.ca, or by contacting:
Sennheiser Canada
PR AGENT : 4Comm
Catherine Villeneuve
514-434-3444
Catherine@4comm.ca
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4Comm is a high-performance public relations agency that is fueled by innovation, strategic collaboration and passion.
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