THANK YOU for stopping by our humble abode on the Internet! We’ve stocked it to the rafters with a ton of what I hope you’ll find is useful content and news on marketing and business strategy in TECH today.
4
 |  |  |
We learned late last week of the passing of yet another audio industry pioneer, Martin L. (Marty) Borish. Borish passed away July 11 from cancer. Although lesser known than some, Borish was instrumental in driving industry adoption and growth of the affordable audiophile products segment, both directly with NAD – the electronics company he founded – and indirectly with many other companies that competed with them.
See more on the remarkable story of Marty Borish… Continue reading
The mysterious circumstances enveloping high-end electronics manufacturer Classé, part of the B&W Group, that we first reported on last week appear to be continuing. There has been a new development – a new communication about the matter to Classé dealers by owner B&W Group. But imprecise wording – perhaps done intentionally – only serves to keep the situation unclear…and dealers debating…
See what the letter to Classé dealers says about the company’s status… Continue reading
Amazon Tests In-Home Installations
Recode is reporting that Amazon is testing an installation service for smart home products in several key test markets – in direct competition with Best Buy’s Geek Squad. While these two giants battle over the rights to install smart home solutions into the home, where does this leave the independent integrator?
See more of what we learned from Recode… Continue reading
Fact? or Fiction?
Less than a week after we reported that B&W Group President Doug Henderson had been summarily dismissed from the company he has been a key executive at for more than a decade, the rumor mill has fired up again with word that Classé has been closed down. Classé, like B&W Loudspeakers, is owned and distributed by B&W Group Ltd., a company recently acquired by EVA Automation. Multiple sources are suggesting that EVA owner Gideon Yu has decided to cease operations at the high end manufacturer of audio electronics.
See what we found out from B&W Group about Classé… Continue reading
In an extended meeting with Russound CEO Charlie Porritt and Vice President of Product Development Colin Clark, Strata-gee had the opportunity to learn details of the relatively dramatic developments at the company – many taking place behind the scenes – that management has undertaken over the last few years to better position the company for the future. Like a fighter with a new trainer who has put him on a strict diet and rigorous training regimen, Russound has emerged from an at-times painful multi-year process leaner and meaner…and ready to rumble.
Find out what we learned about the meaningful changes at Russound… Continue reading
STORY UPDATE
Shortly after we published our BREAKING NEWS report on the Bowers & Wilkins dismissal of President Doug Henderson, we obtained a copy of an email that was apparently sent by the company to all B&W dealers explaining the situation. We’d like to be able to say this note answered all questions surrounding the upheaval their actions caused, but it raised as many questions as it answered.
See the email Bowers & Wilkins sent to their dealers on Henderson’s departure… Continue reading
BREAKING NEWS
We have learned that Doug Henderson, President of B&W Group North America, was dismissed from the company earlier this week. There has been no official announcement from the company and B&W executives and employees have been unusually tight-lipped about the matter.
See what we’ve uncovered so far on this move by Bowers & Wilkins… Continue reading
BREAKING NEWS
Tom Malatesta
We learned this week that Thiel Audio (Thiel) has had another significant round of layoffs, including CEO Tom Malatesta, Chief Revenue Officer Stuart Levine, Director of Music Industry Relations Mark Mason (no relation to engineer Mark Mason who left much earlier), as well as two other lower level staff – who have all been let go within the last six-to-eight weeks. Furthermore, Chief Brand Officer Rebecca Abrahams, who led the launch of their Aurora live music performance and streaming studio, left the company in January of this year. No reason was given for any these separations and, true to form, Thiel has made no official public announcement regarding the dismissals.
See more on this new turn of the turnstile at Thiel… Continue reading
New research from GfK indicates that more than 1 out of every 3 people in the U.S., as well as in seventeen other countries around the world, struggle with addiction to technology. This is especially true with a young demographic segment like teens, but also with the upper income group.
See more on this research about technology addiction… Continue reading
In news out of Korea, we learn that Samsung Display is planning to build the world’s largest OLED manufacturing facility in a bid to hold off Chinese competition in the increasingly popular technology. Samsung’s board of directors are expected to meet this month to approve the plans and the investment.