We participated this week in ResiWeek, a new podcast centered on the residential integration market from the good folks over at AVNation.tv. Hosted by Tim Albright, guests this week included CEDIA’s Vin Bruno, Clare Controls’ Delia Hansen, and Strata-gee editor Ted Green. Topics included many hot stories of the day, including: McIntosh’s decision to sell products online, Clare Controls scoring a big deal with a builder, and the continuing drama at Sharp.
Archives for February 2016
ProSource Launches Member Portal
ProSource, a national retail buying group, announced today that they have launched an all-new member services portal for their participating dealers. A web portal – or simply portal – is a customized website that typically offers access to an array of non-public data, often pulled from separate sources. In the case of the new ProSource portal, the group says that it serves up “information, services and tools designed to strengthen and grow member business.”
See more on this announcement from ProSource… [Read more…] about ProSource Launches Member Portal
In Wake of Strata-gee Article, McIntosh Sends Letter to Dealers
Last week, we broke the news on Strata-gee.com that McIntosh Laboratories, historically a strong supporter of specialty A/V dealers, had decided to open up sales through the Internet. This decision hit the existing, largely offline, McIntosh specialty dealers hard…many reaching out to us to express their frustration.
The same day our story was posted, McIntosh electronically distributed a letter to dealers from Dan Wakefield, VP of North American Sales for McIntosh, explaining the company’s decision.
See what McIntosh said to dealers about their decision… [Read more…] about In Wake of Strata-gee Article, McIntosh Sends Letter to Dealers
TiO Adds Wi-Fi Lamp Dimmer & Software Update
Turn it On (TiO), makers of smart and simple home automation solutions, announced this week that they have added a new Wi-Fi controlled lamp dimmer and delivered a system software update that adds exciting new functions to their system. The clever new dimmer module and software update are part of the company’s continued system enhancement and update program.
See more on this latest update from TiO… [Read more…] about TiO Adds Wi-Fi Lamp Dimmer & Software Update
Only Days Away From Official Launch, Toshiba Scraps Wearvue Smart Glasses
Toshiba Corp. has pulled the plug on a highly-touted smart glasses project – a product similar in concept to the recently cancelled consumer version of Google Glass. What’s most interesting about this decision by Toshiba is that they made it just days before the originally scheduled – and loudly promoted – launch date.
See more on this puzzling last-minute cancellation of an almost-launched product… [Read more…] about Only Days Away From Official Launch, Toshiba Scraps Wearvue Smart Glasses
Ingram Micro Sold to Chinese Shipping Company for $6 Billion
BREAKING NEWS
The Associated Press is reporting that Ingram Micro, Inc., best known as parent company to custom integration distributor AVAD, has been sold to Tianjin Tianhai, a Chinese Shipping company in a deal worth roughly $6 billion. The all-cash deal works out to approximately $38.90 per Ingram Micro share, well over its previous close of $29.42.
See more on this surprising announcement… [Read more…] about Ingram Micro Sold to Chinese Shipping Company for $6 Billion
Former Specialist Darling McIntosh Opens Up Internet Sales
BREAKING NEWS
Multiple sources have told us that McIntosh Laboratory, Inc., a brand once deeply committed to the specialty electronics retail channel, has notified dealers by phone that for the first time in its history the company will allow Internet retailers to sell the brand. The list of online dealers that will be authorized to sell McIntosh products includes Amazon.com. The news has sent a shock around their dealer base and we have heard from several very loyal, long-time McIntosh dealers…who are very, very angry.
See more on this latest development from McIntosh… [Read more…] about Former Specialist Darling McIntosh Opens Up Internet Sales
Two Rep Firms Join Forces to Create Mega NY Metro Rep
BREAKING NEWS
Deal Could Be a Blueprint for Rep Deals in Other Markets
We learned this week that two large New York Metro area rep firms have joined together to create a mega-rep firm offering an impressively large assortment of largely custom integration-oriented lines. The two firms are Audio Associates of Somerset, NJ and Thea & Schoen of Clifton, NJ…and the news is sure to shake up the market.
See the ramifications of this deal… [Read more…] about Two Rep Firms Join Forces to Create Mega NY Metro Rep
At the Center of the Storm, CEDIA’s CEO Exudes Confidence; But What’s the Plan?
Just before the Consumer Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) held its annual Expo in Dallas in October 2015, we learned it had appointed a new Chief Executive Officer – Vincent Bruno, who joined the organization after leaving his role as a marketing director for Crestron Electronics. Bruno, who went through an extensive executive search process, hit the ground running, including trying to meet as many members as possible at the show.
But now, months later, the organization is trying to regain momentum after some concerning issues came to light, the most recent being the exit of Crestron, which we announced last week. Bruno described his go-forward plan…and it is ambitious.
What’s the new CEO’s plan? Read more below… [Read more…] about At the Center of the Storm, CEDIA’s CEO Exudes Confidence; But What’s the Plan?
Rep & Distributor Sales Jobs Evaporating – 1 Million More to Disappear by 2020
Data Suggests a New Blueprint for Greater Sales Success
A long and proud tradition in our industry is the narrative of the individual sales rep or distributor salesperson schlepping through wind and snow to meet with one of their dealers lugging product samples and marketing materials, pitching his lines, getting a purchase order from the dealer, calling the order into his manufacturers and thus earning a sales commission. But data from Forrester Research, Inc. released last year shows that this tradition is rapidly diminishing, with market trends projecting the elimination of as many as 1 million B2B sales jobs – like those held by sales reps and distributor salespeople – by 2020.
