Zuzana Ceralová Petrofová saves Petrof, oldest Czech piano maker

The legendary Czech piano and grand piano maker Petrof is going through hard times: the company is cutting dozens of jobs amid falling revenue and mounting losses. Zuzana Ceralová Petrofová, founder of the Petrof Group, admits that for the business to survive in the age of digital instruments, it will have to change.

According to the newspaper e15, Petrof’s revenue last year came to 163 million crowns — a quarter less than the year before. The operating loss grew to 54 million crowns, up 9 million on the year. The causes include rising energy and timber prices, as well as a global shift in consumer habits that is hurting not only Czech manufacturers but also global giants like Yamaha.

The company, based in Hradec Králové, now has around a hundred permanent employees, down from more than two hundred in 2021. Ceralová Petrofová says the cuts are necessary for the business’s long-term sustainability at a time when traditional acoustic pianos compete not only with digital instruments but also with the market for used models.

“Customers are increasingly choosing a low price over the tradition and quality of a new instrument. The secondhand market is also being fuelled by the global trend toward recycling and the circular economy,” the entrepreneur explains.

The scale of the problem is confirmed by the American market too: while roughly 30,000 acoustic pianos a year were sold there in the past decade, the year before last that figure was down to nearly 18,000, while more than 188,000 digital instruments found buyers.

Petrofová, however, has no intention of giving up. The company, with a history of more than 160 years, is betting on institutional and wealthy clients while also expanding into new markets — Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Poland and Mexico. To operate more effectively in the North Atlantic market, a subsidiary called Petrof Pianos was set up last year.