This past Tuesday, Samsung Electronics began launching Harman audio brands in South Korea through their company owned locations. According to the Korean press, Samsung is “looking for business synergy” by combining its strength in distribution network, marketing, and world-class service, with Harman’s strength in manufacturing competitive audio products. It is an initiative, the local media says, that is expected to “have significant impact on South Korean audio markets.”
Asian Connection
Samsung Display Plans to Build the World’s Largest OLED Factory
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.
See more on this major move on OLED by Samsung… [Read more…] about Samsung Display Plans to Build the World’s Largest OLED Factory
Gibson Brands Takes Control of Onkyo Corp.
BREAKING NEWS
In a filing with Japan’s JASDAQ stock exchange, Onkyo revealed this week that at the end of June, major investor Gibson Brands became the largest shareholder for the first time since its relationship with the Osaka-based manufacturer of higher-quality electronics began in 2012. This small announcement portends a potentially significant change in the relationship between the two entities.
See more on this news out of Japan about Gibson and Onkyo… [Read more…] about Gibson Brands Takes Control of Onkyo Corp.
Sony CEO Predicts 20-Yr High Op. Profit; Says Co. Needs More Innovation
Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai is feeling pretty good these days. After an incredibly tough turnaround period where many questioned his plan, Hirai said this week that the company expects to book an operating profit of ¥500 billion ($4.5 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2018, its highest operating profit in 20-years according to a report by the Nikkei. But the CEO admits that, as good as this news is, the company is still short of a full turnaround.
What’s needed for a complete turnaround of Sony’s business? Innovation…
See more on what Sony’s CEO says the company needs to do… [Read more…] about Sony CEO Predicts 20-Yr High Op. Profit; Says Co. Needs More Innovation
Toshiba Machine Buys Its Independence from Toshiba
You know things aren’t going well when divisions of your own company want to break the chains of their association with you. That is essentially what happened when Toshiba Machine “bought” its independence by buying out the shares of its stock held by parent company Toshiba Corp.
A new and strange twist in the saga of the stumbling Toshiba… [Read more…] about Toshiba Machine Buys Its Independence from Toshiba
Toshiba Announces ‘Substantial Doubt’ on Ability to Continue
An Industry Giant Stumbles, Then Falls; Can It Get Back Up?
Toshiba, once the embodiement of Japanese industrial might offering everything from rice cookers to nuclear reactors, has released financial results for the first three quarters of the current fiscal year and it’s not good. For the first time in the over-century old company’s history, the results announcement warned of doubts about the company’s ability to continue as a “going concern.” And that wasn’t the only bad news included in the report.
See the stunning news about Toshiba’s dire circumstances… [Read more…] about Toshiba Announces ‘Substantial Doubt’ on Ability to Continue
As We Suspected, The Deal is Off Between LeEco & Vizio
Less than a week after we questioned whether Chinese manufacturer LeEco would be able to actually complete its proposed $2 billion acquisition of Vizio, we received a note from a Vizio-connected official, saying that “the merger agreement to acquire Vizio will not proceed…” Given our report last week, this shouldn’t be a big surprise to Strata-gee readers…and it certainly was not to us.
But where do things between LeEco and Vizio go from here? Read on… [Read more…] about As We Suspected, The Deal is Off Between LeEco & Vizio
LeEco Just Missed Its Payroll, Can It Still Buy Vizio?
Bloomberg is reporting that Chinese mega brand LeEco missed its normal payroll at the end of March, telling employees it would pay them a few days later. While this is a situation that is not unfamiliar to many small business owners, LeEco is anything but your typical small business owner. They are supposedly in the final stages of a $2 billion acquisition of major TV brand Vizio.
But if LeEco can’t make their own payroll…how can they still buy Vizio?
Read on to see what we know about LeEco and Vizio… [Read more…] about LeEco Just Missed Its Payroll, Can It Still Buy Vizio?
Samsung Receives Order for 70M OLED Panels from Apple
In reports out of Taiwan, sources say that Apple, Inc. has ordered 70 million bendable OLED panels from Samsung Electronics. An order of this size can only be for the upcoming iPhone 8, expected to be launched in late 2017. The order also suggests that Apple is expecting the iPhone 8 to be a big success.
See more on what sources in Asia are saying about the iPhone 8… [Read more…] about Samsung Receives Order for 70M OLED Panels from Apple
Samsung Makes a Strategic Investment into an IoT Security Company
Samsung Electronics has made another major investment in the Internet of Things (IoT) space, becoming an early stage Series A investor in Bayshore Networks. The company made the investment via its Samsung NEXT Venture fund, an investment fund created by the company to find and take positions in companies that are driving businesses that will yield future profits for the company.