Twenty years between Chinese factories and European distribution. I created a multi-category instrument brand from nothing — category strategy, factory network, quality control — and took it into Europe and Latin America. Now I do that for other people's brands.
| Category | Vetted factories | Markets | Typical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guitars & basses | 06 | EU, US, LatAm | OEM, full range |
| Keyboards & synths | 04 | EU, LatAm | ODM, product definition |
| Amplification | 03 | EU | OEM |
| Accessories & cases | 08 | EU, US | OEM, high volume |
| Pro audio | 05 | EU | ODM |
| Percussion | 03 | EU, LatAm | OEM |
About /
I have spent twenty years moving between two worlds that rarely talk to each other. On one side, factories in China that can build almost anything and struggle to explain what they build. On the other, European distributors and retail chains that know exactly what sells and have no idea how it gets made.
I have run distribution and wholesale for one of the largest musical instrument distributors in the market. Before that, IT solutions and SaaS, an MBA in marketing, and a stint at a California startup. Along the way I created an entry-segment instrument brand from nothing through Chinese OEM partnerships — nine categories, from guitars to accessories — and took it into European and Latin American markets.
That means I know what a factory says when it does not want to say no. And I know what a category buyer needs to see before giving your range shelf space.
I work alone, deliberately. You get me, not an account manager.
Record
Approach /
A sourcing agent answers one question: who can make this, and for how much. Useful, and widely available for three to five percent of FOB.
The harder question is what to make in the first place. Which categories carry your margin, where your price ladder has a hole, what the entry model has to cost so the step up to the mid tier makes sense, which SKUs earn shelf space and which only look good in a catalogue. Get that wrong and the best factory in China will manufacture your mistake perfectly.
I have built budget-segment brands from nothing — category architecture first, factories second. That order is the whole method.
Factories & QC /
Over twenty years I have qualified and worked with manufacturers across every major musical instrument category, and with several in pro audio and consumer electronics. These are live relationships: people who take my call, know my tolerance for excuses, and price accordingly. A new client does not start at the back of the queue.
Because I am not on any factory's payroll, factory selection stays honest. My fee comes from you.
Most private-label programs fail on the second container, not the first. The sample is perfect, the pilot run is fine, and then volume production drifts — a different glue, a cheaper pot, a finish that checks after three weeks at sea.
I run inspection as part of the program:
You receive the reports directly. Nothing is filtered through the factory.
Programs /
Day rate for anything outside these: €700. Travel to factories billed at cost, agreed in advance.
On commission: I do not work on a percentage of FOB as a primary model. It quietly aligns me with a bigger invoice rather than a better product. Where a client wants shared upside, I reduce the fee and attach a success fee to an agreed landed-cost target.
Multi-category musical instrument brand, built from zero
Entry-segment positioning across guitars, keyboards, drums and accessories, developed through Chinese OEM partnerships and scaled into export markets.
Synthesizer and digital piano brand
A focused keyboard brand where the product ladder, not the feature list, drove the range.
Russia's largest musical instrument retail chain
Repositioning work across the retail brand and its own-label ranges, including an internal marketing budget system I specified and built — the planning discipline behind the strategy, not a slide about it.
International clinical research organisation
Outside the instrument industry, included because the method transfers: positioning first, then the artefacts.
Details of engagements are available on request, within the limits of client confidentiality.
You describe the range and the problem. I tell you whether this is worth doing and roughly what it costs. No charge, no deck.
Scope, deliverables, milestones, fixed fee. One page, not twenty.
Fortnightly written updates. You always know what was decided and what is next.
Specifications, factory contacts, inspection criteria and cost models are yours. The point is that you can run it without me.
Contact /
The useful first message says what you sell or plan to sell, where, and what is in the way. If you already know which format you want, say so; if not, that is what the first call is for.
Reply within two working days.