Genelec celebrates 25 years of Japanese distribution with Otaritec
Published: ASIA
JAPAN: Finnish reference monitor specialist Genelec and its Japanese distributor Otaritec are celebrating a quarter of a century of working together at InterBEE 2011, which is currently taking place at the Makuhari Messe, near Tokyo. The distributor has marked the occasion with the launch of a special web page that includes tributes from Genelec users in Japan.
The appointment of Otaritec in 1986 made the company not only the third distributor worldwide to include Genelec loudspeakers in its portfolio, but the first in Asia. The relationship between the two companies began somewhat unusually however, when Swedish Broadcasting Commission purchased two Otari BTR-5 2-inch tape recorders. When the company sent two of its engineers to Japan for the sale they brought with them Genelec S30 monitors for listening trials.
The company was immediately struck by the quality of the monitors and Keimei Asami, who was Otari chief engineer and Otaritec marketing director at the time, proceeded to make contact with the Finnish manufacturer alongside executive managing director Akihiko Nagashima.
Recalling the beginnings of the distributorship, Genelec founder Dr Ilpo Martikainen explained: ‘It started at APRS in 1986. We did not have a distributor in Japan and I met Mr Nagashima in London. In August I came to Japan for the first time. I remember the first lunch – I had never used chopsticks before but I got very good instructions and guidance and I learned!’ The relationship soon blossomed with the launch of the 1035A which rapidly won attention in the Japanese market. Among the early customers was JVC Victor Studios in Aoyama, Tokyo.
Speaking on the Otaritec booth at InterBEE 2011, Dr Martikainen described the distributorship as ‘close and friendly. The relationship between the companies is friendly and the relationship between the people in the companies is very friendly. I think this is an excellent way of doing business and we are not going to change.’ Also attending the exhibition alongside Dr Martikainen is newly appointed managing director Siamäk Naghian.
Finally, Otaritec executive director Satoshi Nishihara added his own thoughts on Genelec’s enduring popularity in Japan: ‘In the Japanese mentality there is a tendency to always look for the new product – it is not always possible for one brand to enjoy a long term reputation. The reason Japanese customers have continued selecting Genelec for so many years is that there has been no change in the quality of the Genelec sound.’