The word from various places around the country is that the piano business, at least the high end, is up slightly. This is more than a slightly big deal for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason is that this part of the business has been pretty clobbered for a while and is seen (at least by me) as a leading economic indicator. I’m using the term “leading” in this case as the opposite of lagging. Another reason is that this is summer, traditionally a very slow time in the piano retail business.
This uptick is not consistent but has popped up enough to be more than a regional burp. But one take-away is that perhaps there is some pent up demand for pianos, something many of us in the business have been hoping for.