38 l June 2014
www.psneurope.com
livereport
Shure Europe’s headquarters in Eppingen: sharp lines and an even sharper strategy
EUROPE
Shure strength
The microphone giant has been gradually shifting its methods over the last 18 months. Dave Robinson was invited to learn about Distribution 2.0 and more
THIS IS unusual. PSNEurope has been invited to Germany, to view the sharp architectural lines of the Shure HQ, and hark to the even sharper designs of its EMEA business strategy. Some 90 minutes later, your correspondent will emerge from the board room, the sole recipient of a thorough barrage of facts and figures and fun: a 100-slide PowerPoint presentation; the collective input of six, maybe seven senior members of staff; the inevitable joshing regarding the ubiquitous SM58, and just how many units
the company has sold. This, then, is not a product preview. Not a technical overview. Not the heads-up on the next InfoComm/PLASA/AES. But that’s OK. Because, when you strip away the corporate styling and the other bunting, what Shure have done here is very smart. The company had to look at where it was in the market, and it has a plan to capitalise on it.
First of all, says marketing director Nils Proesser, Shure had to recognise how the marketplace has arrived at an almost “perfect market”. This is
a combination of factors: the rise of e-commerce and social media; the blurring of trade borders in Europe; a consolidation of retailers and dealers; and a change in buying habits. “The end-user depends on the same degree of service, same communication, same look and feel of the company, independent from the channel. That is a big challenge for us and our trade partners,” says Proesser. So how has Shure,
acknowledging these factors and a desire to embrace them, reacted? With, put simply, a five-point strategy, and a five-year roadmap. Firstly, products. The pro- audio market has seen Axient, ULX-D, DIS conferencing systems and more begin the shift. In the retail world, the PG, SM and Beta wireless lines slide into the frame. Establish the right product portfolio – of course. Second: infrastructure. While Shure Distribution UK (SDUK) found a spacious new HQ in Waltham Abbey in 2007, it was paramount that the German HQ found a suitable new hub. Hence, the Eppingen facility, with its minimalist lines and bold open spaces, giving it very much the feel of a something Scandinavian transplanted
Shure EMEA’s MD Markus Winkler...
to the undulating landscape between 100km south of Frankfurt. (Your correspondent never saw the former premises at Heilbronn, but, by all accounts, the new HQ is a vast improvement.)
Then came the reorganisation. This was SDUK’s big reveal at PLASA time last year, October 2013, when MD Peter James evangelised over the realignment of the business to one focused on a vertical market approach: Retail, Pro, and Systems. (This followed similar, earlier restructuring in Germany.) Step four is the ‘Go-To Market’. This item breaks down into a number of key threads, while disclosing the new Shure “mantra”: ‘Drive qualified leads to quality retailers, and simplify the buying process’.
“We asked our retail group, what are the top ten problems?
... and marketing director Nils Proesser
Number one was, get the customer, and make them go to the shop,” says Proesser. “It’s all about putting the right product in front of the right person. [Then], appropriate pricing for end users and dealers. Provide training. Get internal and external knowledge, and share it.”
The dealers nailed it, it seems. This highlighting of a number of requirements saw Shure put a number of initiatives in place. A website that was easier to navigate, for instance, which “didn’t require you to understand what PGX was while searching for wireless,” suggests Proesser. Plus, one where those outlets who have a kit available to purchase will be clearly flagged up for the customer. Creating online communities, for the B2C markets as well as B2B, while respecting the various territories, is another factor.
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