Todays W&L
Wendi & Lung – History of a Pianobuilding family business
4 Generations:
Peter Veletzky, now represents the 4th gen- eration of Wendi & Lung and already at the age of 22 he became the youngest ever piano mas- ter-builder in Austria. In 1994 he took over the family business. Since 1999 Peter Veletzky has been the technical advisor for diverse piano factories in China. The commercial partner factory Hailun Musical Instru- ments Ltd. is known as one of the most modern piano factories in China. With high-tech precision machines, it is the producer of all diverse piano parts and is a supplier to many other piano factories and world renowned piano brands. Wendi & Lung pianos excel in quality and sound even when compared to other leading piano makers. As an added control and quali- ty mechanism, the whole production process takes place under the direct observation of Peter
Veletzky and his team of piano technicians.”
• In 1890 Stefan Lung (1876 – 1954) began his training as a piano builder at the Bruder Mikula piano factory in Vienna.
• Born in 1912 as the only child of Stefan Lung, Stefanie (married name Veletzky) studied piano
making and achieved her trade title as pianomasterbuilder, an extraordinary achievement for a woman at the time. In 1926 for the first time the number of produced instruments exceeded the 1000 unit mark.
• Stefanie Veletzky’s son, piano master-builder Alexander Veletzky (1933- ), was the president of the federal guild for producers of musical instruments. Alexander Veletzky received the “Golden merit of order” from the city of Vienna. In August 2003 the worldwide and very successful marketing of the brand, Wendi & Lung, was the result of a joint effort between Wendi & Lung in Vienna and the Hailun Musical Instruments Ltd. in Ningbo.
• His son, Peter Veletzky, now represents the 4th generation of Wendi & Lung and already at the age of 22 he became the youngest ever piano master-builder in Austria. In 1994 he took over the family business. Since 1999 Peter Veletzky has been the technical advisor for diverse piano factories in China.
The commercial partner factory Hailun Musical Instruments Ltd. is known as one of the most modern piano factories in China. With high-tech precision machines, it is the producer of all diverse piano parts and is a supplier to many other piano factories and world renowned piano brands. Wendi & Lung pianos excel in quality and sound even when compared to other leading piano makers. As an added control and quality mechanism, the whole production process takes
place under the direct observation of Peter Veletzky and his team of piano technicians.
A New Approach in 2020:
The way to market pianos in the new decade is undoubtedly going to keep on evolving as it has in the past. Traditional outlets combined with the Hailun Tech Dealer run smaller regional shops/stores will continue to produce sales on a regular basis and provide the bulk of sales for most retailers .
However, one cannot ignore the encroachment on businesses seemingly safe from the internet , did you ever think that you would see automobiles both new and used sold sight unseen and undriven online? No way, right? Wrong! it ‘s being done very successfully now as you read this.
Conversely, those of us in the piano business were secure in the fact that no one would ever buy an instrument without playing it, especially higher end, higher priced brands. Wrong again. In actuality our industry has beat the car business to online selling. Rebuilders have been doing it for a long time , selling high end used pianos across country to customers initiated and sold on the internet. Many of these instruments un-played , unseen , and selling for $20 ,000 – $30.000 or more. However, that success has not transferred to the more expensive side of the new piano buyer segment. Yes, some online sellers have had some movement with low end entry level product but we all know the pitfalls of that , they can be boundless. In any case we at Vienna Int. believe that the time is right to address this and have been working on many ideas to bring higher priced new pianos and a good R.0.1. to fruition on the web .
We at Vienna International in 2020 have realized in a tougher market we not only have to think outside the box, we might have to build a new box to improve business for us and our customers. Is anybody else doing that for you?
If what you have read interests you, and it is not for everyone , ask for details.
Thank you.
Joe DeFio