Strategy in TECH...
Sales of newly constructed single-family homes dropped to a two-year low in October as rising mortgage rates and persistent high prices impacted the affordability of available homes and served to keep buyers on the sidelines. Some experts also noted that elevated hurricane activity also kept buyers away, especially in the South region.
Last week, a jury was convened for a special trial to determine reasonable damages in the matter of GeigTech East Bay LLC v. Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. GeigTech, the plaintiff in this case is the manufacturer of motorized shade products marketed under the J Geiger brand, an independent company owned by Savant (and which is not a party to this litigation). Lutron has already been found to have infringed on certain patents held by Geigtech and the original jury’s large damages award was set aside by the judge who found it to be excessive. This new trial was held to determine a more reasonable damages amount.
Are you facing a painfully long HDMI cable run and don’t know how you can reliably accomplish that? AVPro Edge has your answer – the AC-EX150-BKT. This new HDMI extension kit breaches new barriers to deliver integrators a mind-blowing range of up to 150 meters. Problem solved…
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the CEDIA Tech & Business Summit at the Hilton Hotel in Hasbrouck Heights in Northern New Jersey. To my eyes, this was a well-attended event and I was impressed with how the Association has put together a well-oiled machine that shows some real progress in elevating the value of attending a regional industry event like this.
On Tuesday, Bose Corporation – a privately held manufacturer and marketer of a variety of predominantly audio products like headphones, speakers, soundbars and car audio – announced it has acquired McIntosh Group, a high-end manufacturer of electronics under the McIntosh brand and speakers/phono cartridges under the Sonus faber brand. Terms of the deal were not revealed and a buzz has descended around the industry as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.
Samsung Electronics and the largest union at the company have finally reached a preliminary agreement on a new contract that provides for a wage increase as well as other benefit enhancements, the company announced today in Korea. The deal should put an end to any further labor actions. However, it still needs to be ratified by the union membership.
Resideo Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: REZI) – the new parent company of residential integration company Snap One – recently released the financial results for its third quarter of fiscal 2024, the 90-day period that ended September 28, 2024. While the overall numbers looked fairly strong with revenues increasing 18% to $1.83 billion with gross profit expansion, when looked at organically, the results show a more moderate revenue growth of 4%.
Sonance, a leading manufacturer of fine custom integration audio gear, announced last week that it has appointed Glenn Kalinowski as Director of Sales and Strategic Partnerships. Kalinowski, the company says, is a “trusted industry expert” who will oversee key territories in North America, including Canada.
Data from the 2024 CEDIA Expo in Denver, CO this past September shows a troubling trend – attendance actually declined…and declined appreciably – from the 2023 version of the event. And this decline took place even though the promoter has combined CEDIA Expo with a new event (new last year), the Commercial Integrator Expo (CIX), which was probably an effort to boost attendance numbers.
On Tuesday, Masimo Corporation (Nasdaq: MASI) announced the results of its financial performance for the third quarter (3Q) of Fiscal 2024 (FY2024) – the first such report under the new management. While the report comes from the new management, including interim CEO Michelle Brennan, the period of this report is for the quarter that ended September 28, 2024 – meaning the bulk of the actual performance occurred under previous CEO Joe Kiani. Still, the numbers, for the most part, looked pretty good.
