Steinway & Sons has an optimistic business outlook

Image source: Courtesy of Steinway & Sons, by photographer Chris Payne

Business Insider has a nice article about the Steinway & Sons factory, located in the northern reaches of Astoria (up the street from SingleCut brewery). The economic downturn did affect them negatively, but they feel that they are moving out of that and things are looking brighter. During the recession, the factory laid some people off – reducing staff from 300 to 215 – and made less pianos (hobbyist pianists were not spending their money on pianos for a while).

In in 2011 the company sold 2,013 grand pianos, and the New York factory dispatched 1,101 pianos total (grands and uprights). During the recession, the company also acquired five retail stores, since lease rates were lower than normal.

They hope to get back to selling 3,300 grand pianos a year, which was the norm for the last decade. Steinway & Sons President Ron Losby expects that will be possible.

Business Insider also has a nice slideshow of images from the factory, which can be found here.

How Steinway Survived 160 Years Of Economic Turmoil [Business Insider]
How to tour the Steinway & Sons factory in Astoria [QNYC]
Photographs and interviews provide an insider’s view of the Steinway piano factory in Astoria [QNYC]