My main concern is parts/repair longevity in future for pre-Breville Lelit machines. I’ve not had any first hand experience with Sage products so I don’t know what repair/parts availability is like.

I know they make quality appliances and I’ve been coveting the Pizzaiolo, but I never really saw my Bianca as an appliance.

But if they discontinue support for any ‘legacy’ Lelit machines then that is really going to suck.

Some people may not mind but I’m tempted to put my Bianca up for sale and get something from one of the more established Italian brands.

I am not sure it is likely to affect the value of machines like the Bianca, it may even make pre-Breville acquired Biancas more desireable a few years down the line.

    MediumRoastSteam @DavecUK - how’s that going to affect your relationship with Lelit?

    I don’t know, just found out from this thread, it depends on how independent they are. I guess this reflects just how successful they have been and how many people have purchased their machines.

    I wouldn’t think spares are a problem, as most internal parts will be generic.

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        dutchy101

        I guess that’s the other way it could go, and happens in other industries;

        I was shopping for glasses recently (and being typically nerdy about it) and saw that items from Luxottica-owned brands (RayBan, Oliver Peoples etc) become sought-after if they’re from pre-buyout stock.

        Where are Sage/Breville machines made?

          DavecUK

          I almost started a thread recently about how much of the Bianca is generic E61/rotary parts.

          If I can maintain and service the machine for many years then I’m not worried about resale value as I’d rather keep it. If most parts are just generic parts that would be ideal.

              Ernie1 The other thing to consider, why would Breville pay so much for a company, just to stop doing what made it so valuable. I can see this adding to the coverage of Breville in the Coffee environment. Especially at the higher level prosumer segment.

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                they probably have, the problems come when they try to maximize profit

                Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

                  limelight Oh dear, Not a fan. Much prefer a large number of smaller companies than umbrella-style multinationals. Competition and diversity are not just pretty words

                    Dunno, I’m less confident. The spectacle frame analogy is a good one, companies that once made quality frames like Oliver Peoples, Rayban and Oakley started to churn out tat after the Luxottica take over. Going back even longer and more niche but Fender started making worse guitars when taken over by CBS in 1965. Likewise Gibson made much worse guitars after the Norlin take-over in 1969.

                    Big companies get big by maximising profit i.e. cutting costs and selling to bigger market. The quality needs to be adequate rather than excellent. I expect similar changes will be made at Lelit.

                      Gagaryn

                      As a bespectacled guitarist the Fender/Gibson example is another good one I’m familiar with!

                      -

                      The Bianca is somewhat unique in its features for price-point ratio, hence its popularity I suppose. Given that it’s barely a few hundred more than the Oracle, and actually lower priced than the Oracle Touch, for a machine in a completely different league, I can see the merit in trying to eliminate the competition.

                      £100mil isn’t an obscenely huge sum of money these days (in business terms…). Whilst I’m hopeful it’s a positive acquisition for Lelit fans/owners, I’ll reserve my space very much on the fence on this one.

                        It will depend on the strategy. Sometimes a brand is bought and cherished with little interference, but more often than not, “simplification and downsizing” are the reasons for buying out a company.
                        Let’s hope Lelit are left to do what they do best with improved supply chain and not at the expense fo their quality in the future.
                        For me two years ago it was between Bianca and the V. I went for the latter.

                        Current setup: ACS Vesuvius, Nuova Simonelli Mythos One. Past experience, Nuova Simonelli Apia 1 gr., San Remo Capri 1 gr., Bezzera BZ 35e, Fracino Heavenly. Anfim Super Lusso.

                        Contact me at: john_yossarian11@yahoo.com

                        tompoland No they bought the brand to make money… Which often does lead to lower quality in the short term when a director wants to justify their high salary (or get some fat bonuses). The only difference is whether they’re looking for short term or long term profits which wholly depends on the CEO and board. Bit of a gamble most of the time which way it’ll go.

                          Say hello to the “Lelit Barista Express”

                          Whether they look to change materials or manufacturing methods to save money is an unknown (let’s hope not) but I can’t imagine they would look to change the Sage or Lelit models. I don’t expect they have much overlap in their respective target markets so keeping the distinctive brands would make sense

                          As has been mentioned, they bought Baratza back in 2020 and they kept their brand values alive. They don’t buy brands to denigrate them, they buy them to build them. Putting plastic on a Lelit would be just plain dumb, and Breville ain’t dumb. Fiat got better after VW bought them. Same for Rolls Royce after BMW. A company does not spend AU$173 million to acquire a quality, specialist brand like Lelit with an intent to compromise the very values such as quality and innovation that were the reasons for the brands market share. My prediction is that Lelit’s values will be preserved, that they will benefit greatly from more R&D funding and their distribution network will grow exponentially.

                            Stevebee maybe the V is still on offer

                            haha, im happy with the ‘b’ just always fancied the Vesuvius

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