Strategy in TECH...
Vanco International, a brand historically known largely for cables and accessories, continues their recent-history expansion of mission-critical integration solutions and overall A/V products. The company is displaying an uncommon level of savvy in design and in solution targeting, as management clearly has designs on expanding their impact in the industry.
Earlier this month Bluebird Music, an upstate New York-based distributor of fine, high-end audio products, announced that it has been appointed as the distributor of Canton loudspeakers for the United States and Canada. Canton, a well-respected speaker brand by audiophiles around the world, is said to be Germany’s largest seller of loudspeakers and a perfect addition to Bluebird Music’s assortment of the fine audio brands.
On Tuesday, SnapAV announced that it has inked an agreement with Onkyo Corporation to become the exclusive distributor of the company’s Integra brand for the countries of Australia and New Zealand. SnapAV says this new appointment will take effect on February 1, 2021.
High end audio manufacturer Rega Research has appointed The Sound Organisation as its authorized distributor for Canada. Based in Arlington, Texas, The Sound Organisation is a well-known distributor of fine high-end, high-performance specialty audio brands and has been Rega’s U.S. distributor for two decades.
Last week, a letter was sent to all Onkyo dealers in the United States notifying them that their dealer agreements were being terminated. The reason for this termination? Onkyo USA Corporation no longer exists and therefore can no longer serve them. Don’t miss the significance of this historic moment – for the first time in 45-years there is no Onkyo subsidiary in the U.S., once the largest market for parent Onkyo Pioneer Corporation (OPC) of Osaka, Japan.
As part of an internal restructuring to accommodate their recent acquisition of the distribution rights to certain Onkyo brands, Voxx International Corporation announced this week that it has renamed the existing Klipsch Holding LLC to the rather generically named Premium Audio Company LLC. This is just the first change, as I’ve learned more announcements are just around the corner.
U.K. based high-end electronics manufacturer Chord Electronics has selected The Sound Organization, of Arlington, TX, as its importer and distributor for the North American market. The move follows the termination of their previous distributor, Bluebird Music who is said to have represented the line for 20-years.
Tech Data, one of the largest technology distributors in the U.S. and globally, has been acquired by Apollo Global Management, a private equity powerhouse, in a deal valued at $5.4 billion. The deal announced today, is expected to close by mid-2020.
Don’t let those smiling faces fool you…these guys are deadly serious about taking more than their fair share of the audio market. And the vehicle they’re using to drive that growth is Beale Street Audio, a brand that Vanco acquired about two years ago. From what they told me – and showed me – at this year’s 2019 CEDIA Expo in Denver, they are well on their way.
SnapAV announced today that it will begin distributing Sonos wireless music systems beginning next month in October. The company says it will offer the entire line – including the Sonos Port, Sonos Move, and Sonos One SL – as part of its extensive assortment of gear targeted to the professional custom integrator.
