BFA AGM: Chairmans Annual Report

The British Federation of Audio
PO Box 365
Farnham
GU10 2BD
Phone: + 44 (0) 1428 714616
Fax: + 44 (0) 1428 717599

e-mail:
chrisc@british-audio.org.uk

The Chairman opened his remarks by welcoming Mike O'Mahony to the BFA Board of Directors and thanking him for volunteering so willingly.

Steve Harris was pleased to report that meetings had been better attended during the past year and consequently generated more value. There had been a number of presentations including: the WEEED; Gfk, on market data collection; the audio media; plus two on EU Statistics for those specifically interested. The last meeting with a discussion chaired by Barry Fox stimulated plenty of lively discussion and a strong attendance despite hindrance from snow conditions.

Membership now stood at an all time high of 48 which was encouraging but missed the Chairman’s personal target of 50 by the AGM.

Statistics had been a particular difficulty following the untimely death of Gerald Harvey. A period of inactivity to find a successor led many companies to get out of routine with supplying data and consequently it has been a slow process to get contributions up and running again. Hopefully, data would be available before the end of the month and regular issues produced thereafter to provide a check against figures from Gfk.

During the year, regulations featured prominently again with the introduction of the Sale of Consumer Goods Act, EU Copyright and EU Privacy and Electronic Communications Directives. Considerable time has been devoted to the impending WEEE Directive to be enacted later in the year. AMDEA and Intellect had spearheaded a consortium specifically to help the CE industry meet the regulatory requirements. To date 4 out of 48 of the Federation's members had joined the company, REPIC. The Chairman stressed that all companies would be involved by the Directive and inactivity was not an option. REPIC was being approached about reducing the joining fee for very small companies but the practicalities of the scheme were still awaited from the Government. The Chairman also reminded members that products would have to be lead-free by 2006 and the use of alternative materials may well affect their reliability.

It had been a somewhat frustrating year so far as SESA has been concerned. Lord Gowrie's letter to the Secretary of State for funding for Moscow was roundly rejected. Lord Gowrie interjected that one learnt in politics that you had to keep bashing at the door to achieve success and he was willing to write again if it was warranted. The review of the SESA scheme continued throughout the year absorbing much administrative time and work. The Terms and Conditions have yet to be finalised but meanwhile the rules get more restrictive and the paperwork more onerous. Only 10 companies have opted for support to Munich for this year's High End Show with many German distributors not attending. It is not clear whether this is because of the state of the German market or a wait and see policy on the suitability of the new venue.

Numerous discussions had been held to try to resolve and determine a definitive UK audio show but had come to nought. Consequently, the industry would have to live with the current situation and make the most of it.

The Chairman stated that he had recently attended an Intellect meeting at which tick marks were being considered for digital products by the end of the year. This would provide more publicity for TVs and further stimulate sales. Universal Records in the USA was intending to put up the price of CDs having reduced them last year as a measure against downloading from the internet. Reports did not substantiate the claim that downloading reduced retail sales and Steve's experience was that people downloaded material and if they liked it, bought it.

Turning to next year Steve stated that the Federation's website required overhauling and updating on a more regular basis. Statistics needed to be revived and made more representative of the industry if they were to be valid.

Finally, the Chairman had it in mind to talk to Universities to try to develop a "Small Business Training" module. In outline he would try to develop some suitable ideas which he would hope to pass on to retailers. He was concerned that as business gets more difficult the latter would spend less on marketing which is seen as ineffectual rather than a catalyst to generate more sales.

Concluding his remarks Steve thanked members for their support over the past year and emphasised that the Federation continued to grow.

Footnote:

Referring to the comments on Germany, Lord Gowrie pointed out that he knew Munich quite well. While the Germany economy overall was sluggish, and as the hub of Europe it was important that it improved, Bavaria bucked the trend. It was dynamic and economically well run. After rock, classical music had the largest sales and the cool Bavarians took their music to heart. His message was to take Bavaria seriously and also sell CDs at classical venues such as the Festival Hall.