THE PIANO MAN'S WORLD TOUR

When Robert Kemble began importing German pianos into the UK in the 1890s, he could hardly have imagined that a century later the company that bears his name would be benefiting from Japanese links to export successfully from the UK.

The unusual result is one of the longest-running associations between UK and Japanese companies. It began in 1967 when Yamaha of Japan gave its UK organ agency to Kemble, then based in London. Now, after a series of deals deepening the relationship, Yamaha has a majority shareholding in Yamaha-Kemble Music, the Milton Keynes based sales company for most Yamaha musical instruments in the UK. Yamaha also has a majority stake in Kemble, based in nearby Bletchley.

Kemble began manufacturing Yamaha pianos for the UK market in 1984 and started exporting them to continental Europe two years later. Currently, two-thirds of the Bletchley factory's output is of Yamaha pianos, and 75 per cent of what it makes is exported.

Although Yamaha pianos account for a greater proportion of export sales, the Kemble brand has, over the past 30 years had considerable success in new overseas markets. In the 1980s. “80 per cent of exports went to continental Europe”, says Brian Kemble, joint managing director. This, however, has fallen to below 50 per cent as sales in Asia and North America have been built up.

British pianos are perceived as premier brands, and Asia's increasing affluence means more people can afford them. Cracking the market, however, has meant hard work. “We've gone out there and done a lot of footslogging. If we had not visited, they would have bought something else”, says Mr. Kemble.

Building up North American sales over the past three years has also involved a tremendous amount of legwork, identifying the top 200 dealers and what t