Strategy in TECH...
Azione Unlimited, a national dealer buying group, announced earlier this week that it has added Thorens turntables to its vendor lineup. Thorens is distributed in the United States by Vancouver, BC-based Rutherford Audio, who also has outlets in Seattle, WA and Denver, CO.
On Monday, CEDIA launched an all-new website that represents a dramatic leap forward from their previous offering and provides a much more accessible way for members and other “customers” (more on this later) to learn, communicate, and manage their relationship with the trade group. A complete overhaul, CEDIA’s Senior Director of Public Relations & Marketing Jamie Riley told us in a phone interview that this website has been under intensive development for two years.
We first reported on the formation of a new distributor group called Catalyst AV almost exactly one-year ago in December 2012, just prior to their formal launch at the International Consumer Electronics show this past January. While the concept of a national association of regional distributors was not a new phenomenon – various groups started forming back in the mid- to late-1990s – this particular announcement had some added drama with several of the initial members unilaterally defecting from competitor DDG.
The Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) on Tuesday announced their top vendor awards for 2013. These awards were handed out at their Fall 2013 dealer conference held last week and included a special Lifetime Achievement Award.
After only a little more than one year in operation, AudioXperts – a new specialty brand of audio electronics targeted at the luxury consumer market – has closed down operations. According to AudioXperts President Eli Harary, the company was forced to shut down last Friday after a key investor stopped all funding.
Yesterday, we reported on an unusual flare-up involving Azione Unlimited, VIA International, and the Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) – initially fueled by a press release from Azione that announced VIA was resigning all buying groups. In the wake of this announcement, we contacted both VIA and HTSA, who suggested that Azione’s release was not accurate.
CEDIA’s Expo in 2013 returned to Denver, CO, a favorite location for many attendees and exhibitors – a point to which we can attest as so many said so in Strata-gee’s CEDIA Survey over the last few years. So was Denver the panacea needed to get everyone back into a positive state of mind? Was the show everything everyone hoped it would be?
Last month, we reported that CEDIA released its 2013 Benchmarking Survey with certain select data highlighted. Now CEDIA has offered Strata-gee.com an exclusive look at the full report (the summary version provided to all CEDIA members) with the opportunity for us to highlight any results we found particularly enlightening. And in the process of reviewing their results – we discovered a much more comprehensive read on the “typical” CEDIA member than we had originally expected.
September is just days away and those of us in the custom integration channel knows what this fact means: it’s time for the Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association’s (CEDIA) Expo – this year being held in Denver, Colorado from September 26-28. As this annual trade show is such a key event – and given the fact that it provides a barometer on the overall health of the custom integration industry – for several years now, we’ve been conducting a survey to learn your thoughts about the event itself.
Azione Unlimited, a national buying group of hybrid retailers and custom integrators, announced today that it has added its 75th member – a sure sign that its growth trajectory continues to move upward. The new member, Sound Ideas, Inc. of Armonk, NY, has joined the group effective immediately.
