Panel SA: Effect of the pandemic causes a lack of pianos on the market

Piano suppliers report difficulty replenishing stock at musical instrument stores. The problem with international shipping has dragged on since the beginning of the pandemic and still generates a queue that can last a few months depending on the model chosen.

At Essenfelder, a supplier from Paraná that imports acoustic and digital pianos from China, the shortage has been registered since the beginning of last year. Alan Teixeira, from the company’s sales department, attributes the bottleneck to the shortage of containers, the exchange rate and the delay in production.

“We are not able to supply our representatives. What we were able to bring, we ended up selling in Curitiba or in nearby regions. About 90% of the cargo is already sold”, says Teixeira. According to him, each container carries 40 units.

After ordering, the wait for pianos of certain lines has taken, on average, 120 days. The smaller and cheaper model, which is also one of the most sought after, takes less time, as it can be transported in larger quantities, says Teixeira.

According to him, the exchange rate and the cost of shipping also affect the customer’s willingness to buy. One of Essenfelder’s pianos, which in 2017 cost R$18,000, now sells for around R$29,000.

Fritz Dobbert, another São Paulo-based manufacturer, also felt the effects of the pandemic on the supply chain. The brand’s pianos are assembled in Brazil with national and international components, coming from regions such as Asia and the United States.

Celio Bottura, director at the company, says that production faced critical moments last year, with a lack of raw materials. The offer of some models, mainly grand pianos, was interrupted in some periods.

“Now the situation is starting to get back to normal, with the exception of international freight costs, which are still quite high,” says Bottura. According to him, the company has managed to supply the stores, except for some specific models.

The problem still persists with the digital pianos of the Japanese brand Kawai, which are imported by Fritz Dobbert. The production of the model was compromised by the lack of semiconductors on the market, and the supply should normalize in the second half of the year, says Bottura.

A survey by Zetta (an association that brings together technology companies such as Nubank, XP, Creditas and Mercado Pago) with about 1,500 banked Brazilians shows that 47% use digital banks. In terms of young people aged between 18 and 24, this share rises to approximately 73%, according to a survey carried out by the Instituto Locomotiva.

with Andressa Motter e Ana Paula Branco