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The saxophone maker, founded in 1885 and based
in the same factory in a western Paris suburb for nearly a
century, still solders, assembles and polishes manually the 700
brass pieces that compose the woodwind instrument invented by
Adolphe Sax.
The family hopes the sale to Argos Soditic will allow it to
modernize its outdated machines and face down Chinese pressure
on a brand known for saxophones played by jazz legends like John
Coltrane, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins and Wayne Shorter.
"There's still going to be a Selmer at the helm of the company,"
said chief executive Jerome Selmer, the founder's
great-grandson, as he strolled along an assembly line. "But we
agreed for a sale to this fund because we agree on the strategy,
we know it will remain French and there will be no layoffs."
Henri Selmer Paris, which also makes clarinets, is a market
leader among rivals including Japanese instrument makers Yamaha
and Yanagisawa.
The prices of Selmer's saxophones range from 2,700 to 20,000
euros, with an average of 4,500 euros. Coltrane played a Selmer
Mark VI tenor on his classic "A Love Supreme" album. Former U.S.
President Bill Clinton played a Selmer for a sax solo during the
1992 election. More recently, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet
played one on the International Space Station.
"Actually there's more demand than supply right now," said Louis
Godron, a partner at Argos Soditic. "We need to better respond
to that demand by improving productivity," he added.
Godron notably pointed to a need for better stock management and
faster production methods. The company, which is profitable,
generated revenues of 35 million euros ($42.82 million) in 2017.
It employs 500 staff.
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Richard Lough and
Peter Graff)
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