Geneva International Corporation (Illinois, USA) failed with the attempt to impose bankruptcy on the PETROF Company, the biggest European piano manufacturer

On the 18 June 2007 the Regional Court in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic refused proposal of the US company Geneva International Cooperation (GIC) of 20 March 2007 to impose bankruptcy on the PETROF Company, the biggest European piano manufacturer.

The Court based its judgment on the two major grounds as follows:

1. The Court did not find the PETROF Company to be insolvent or indebted,
2. The appellant (GIC) did not sufficiently proved the claim/proposal to impose bankruptcy to be rightful.

The GIC´s proposal was just a speculation aimed to cause damage to its trade partner.

GIC has a right to repeal against the decision of the Court.

Within the Czech Republic, the PETROF Company is very popular due to its tradition that goes back to the 19th century. That is why the Czech media keep an eye on the case. Both opinion of the Court and public meaning are rather unfavorable to the claim of GIC.

The proposal to impose bankruptcy on the PETROF Company has been very harmful to the Company and the damage caused is now being counted. The preliminary estimation has gone up to 3 to 4 million USD. PETROF shall set up a legal claim to redress the damage.

The PETROF Company repudiated the GIC´s agreement on the sole agency covering the US market as the GIC had not fulfilled its commitments.

The PETROF´s pianos, famous for its quality with musicians such as Paul McCartney or Bob Milne, are definitely not going to be unavailable within the US market consequently to this repudiation. The PETROF Company estimates its annual potential sales realized within the US market to 10 million USD. Zuzana Ceralova-Petrofova, the owner of the Company, stated: „PETROF boasts a 140-year-long tradition and belongs to the absolute top of the piano manufacturers. Each of our instruments is unique – featuring its own individual soul and specific romantic sound admired by experts all over the world. The NAMM SHOW Music Fair, held in Anaheim, US in the beginning of the year 2007, welcomed a lot of people interested in buying a piano manufactured by PETROF Company, which is a prove of a favor given to the PETROF brand. The repudiation of the agreement with GIC does not mean a sunset of our trade relationship within the USA. It is just an occasion for new solutions and finding others – thus more capable – trade partners.“

The PETROF Company is aware of the US market’s vulnerability to the flood of counterfeits of its pianos made by Asian manufacturers abusing the PETROF brand. Since 2007, in the context of this situation, piano customers will be enabled to distinguish between cheap PETROF counterfeits (which are almost always of a very low quality) and the original ones. The PETROF Company shall affix its pianos with specific marking including accompanying documentation declaring the quality and European origin of the piano: The European Excellence (EEX). Each instrument has its own serial number and is labeled with the protective EEX hologram.

The EEX marking will take the following form: