Meeting the needs of the demanding Japanese market for more than 40 years
The young entrepreneur’s first big successes were the Stabi turntable and Stogi tonearm. The news of excellent sound and high-quality manufacturing quickly spread beyond Yugoslavia’s borders and in 1985, the Stabi turntable received an excellent review in the British HI-FI News magazine, which was the go-to music equipment magazine at the time.
In those years, most Hi-Fi products were made in Japan, the USA, or the developed Western European countries and the Stabi turntable was the first audio product made in Yugoslavia to be noticed in the Western press. Its excellent review in the popular British magazine was followed by favorable reviews in most specialized audio magazines across the world and invitations to audio fairs from Tokyo to Las Vegas. In 1985, Franc conquered the Japanese market, where the company sell their products to this day. By the end of the 80s, Kuzma turntables had conquered the entire Western world.
A dreamer who is not afraid of technological change
As an established turntable manufacturer, Franc went to London in 1990, as he did every year, to exhibit at the largest audio equipment fair in the world. He was in for a shock. Only a year previously, the exhibition halls had been full of vinyl records and turntables, but in 1990 it became clear that vinyl was being retired as a sound carrier. The stores were filled with CDs and the music industry said goodbye to vinyl records practically overnight. Franc realized that he was one of only two turntable manufacturers at the fair.
At that moment, he thought his entrepreneurial days were ending and he was ready to give up the idea of a family company that would connect several generations. His son Miha was 15 at the time. “When CDs started displacing vinyl records, I did not want anyone else in the family to start working for the company. I thought that there might be just enough work for me, or not even that,” recalls Franc of those moments of uncertainty.
However, he did not give up on his dreams but simply changed the business model. In addition to manufacturing turntables, he became the Slovenian representative for several premium audio brands, which included Martin Logan, Soundlab, Rotel, Focal, Avalon, JPW, Conrad Johnson, Transperent, Benz, Audiostatic and Muse. To his great delight, vinyl records became trendy again before too long.
Self-taught and in love with development
The process of making a premium turntable takes around two years. The first is required to make the prototype and the second to place it in stores. “Our concept is that we do not copy the products of our competition. Everyone in the company is self-taught and in love with development. There are no instructions for making a turntable. You need to think, know the laws of physics, develop, try new material, new ideas, and in the end it works. In theory, making a turntable is very simple. In reality, every little screw can impact the sound quality and every tiny detail is very important. You cannot compromise on anything. Just the tonearm is made from around 100 pieces, which means a lot of handicraft, subsets, putting pieces together, coloring, anodizing, processing,” says Franc.
An engineer by heart, Franc is a perfectionist and expects the same approach from his employees. He also values good team spirit. “When we were looking for two new employees this year, we selected them so that everyone got on well. Most of our employees are between 20 and 40 years old and make a great team,” he explains.
They discuss all their ideas together as a company. Every employee has the chance to contribute to new products and suggest improvements.
A 120-kilogram masterpiece
As a curiosity, let us mention that Kuzma turntables are pretty heavy. In general, they weigh between 40 and 50 kilograms, but their XL AIR, their crown jewel, weighs as much as 120 kilograms.
Who are the customers who are willing to pay a lot of money for premium analogue turntables? In addition to industry professionals, there are also music enthusiasts with deeper pockets.
“Our customers are music enthusiasts who love classical, rock or jazz music and who listen with greater intensity, with more engagement. They don’t just listen to the music, but to the sound. Younger buyers generally cannot afford our turntables, but I love it when we get feedback from our buyers. Some time ago we received an email from one of our Japanese customers who said: ‘I have your turntable and my wife cannot believe that Japanese traditional music can sound that good,’” says Franc proudly. The perfection of their products is summed up well by a review in the HIFI + magazine: “You never actually own a Kuzma XL AIR. You merely look after it for the next generation.”
The goal is one million euros in revenue
The company from Kranj now has nine employees who make around 1000 turntables per year. This is far from enough to meet demand, which has seen double-digit percentage growth in the last couple of years. “In the past two years, our revenue increased by between 10% and 15% every year.This year looks even better. We are planning to reach a new milestone: one million euros in revenue. Around half of our revenue comes from turntable sales, the rest from tonearms,” says Franc.
His son Miha Kuzma and son-in-law Matjaž Žakelj also work for the company. Miha makes the turntables, while Matjaž has taken over production. “We talk about all our ideas together, as a company. Every employee has a chance to contribute to every new product and suggest improvements. One development challenge is new materials and finding new employees who have at least basic manual skills,” points out Matjaž.
Son and son-in-law will take over the company
Franc plans to retire from day-to-day running of the company next year and his wish is for his son and son-in-law to take over the company. Miha admits that it will be difficult to fill his father’s shoes, but he remains optimistic, especially since their sales have been growing in the last couple of years and new markets are opening to them. “My father created a brand that is known and respectedacross the world, and I don’t want it to disappear. When he retires from everyday business and takes his innovative brain with him, things will definitely become more difficult. We might focus more on evolution, rather than revolution,” says Miha.
This year, the company will open an exhibition space in Slovenia and the growing sales numbers of the past several years have encouraged them to set ambitious goals. “Some of our turntables have been on the market for 25 years. They are our best reference as they spread the news of our quality across the world. Our sales are growing, which means we will seek new employees in the coming years, and our facilities are constantly expanding. It is also very helpful that we are present online and more and more active on social media,” adds Miha.
Summary
Kuzma in a nutshell: passion, innovation, perfectionism, enthusiasm, top quality.
