By Director of CEIBS Research Centre for Emerging Market Studies JD.COM Chair Professor in Strategy and International Business Klaus E. Meyer

Is there ever anything to be gained from buying a brand that’s left for dead?

When I first read about Pearl River Piano, it was a story about an acquisition of a famous German piano maker named Ritmüller that helped Pearl River to advance in the premium segment. Yet, there was a little problem: Ritmüller was supposed to be from the city of Göttingen and even though I had lived there for five years, I had never heard the name. So, I called an expert on the German music industry, and he hadn’t heard about the company either. Now I was intrigued, and did what professors do when the facts don’t fit: I dug into the archives. It turns out the real story is much more interesting. Read more on Forbes.com