Strategy in TECH...
Now just hours away from welcoming in the New Year, it’s time to say goodbye to 2024, a year that was tougher than many expected – and hello to 2025, a new year like many others that offers a promise of new ideas and new opportunities.
Readers came through again, delivering another record year for Strata-gee in 2024! Not only is it another all-time record in terms of website content consumption, it’s the third such record in a row! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the support of readers who continue to select Strata-gee.com as a primary resource for industry news and views. Considering that 2024 was a tough year for most media, I guarantee you that I will not to take your support for granted.
It was March of 2023 when I began picking up on the buzz that something big was in the works in the buying group world. At the Spring members conference of Azione Unlimited, which had been acquired by and was now part of Nationwide Marketing Group, President and founder Richard Glikes introduced Azione members to a new initiative called the “Drive to 1,000.” Although not a lot of details were discussed at this event, clearly something big was in the works.
Now, a little over a year later, I met with the entire management team of Nationwide’s Custom Integration Group, including Andy Orozco (Nationwide Senior Vice President of Custom Integration), Patrick McCarthy (Executive Director of Azione Unlimited), Hank Alexander (Executive Director of Oasys Residential Technology Group) and Chris Whitley (Executive Director of Ellipsys Commercial Technology Group) to take stock of just what has transpired over the last year or so with the new, expanded family of groups that are all under the Nationwide Marketing Group umbrella.
Long rumored and now confirmed, Gentex Corporation (Nasdaq: GNTX), an approximately $2.4 billion supplier of largely automotive-related products, announced this morning that it has agreed to acquire Voxx International (Nasdaq: VOXX) in an all-cash transaction valued at $7.50 per share. The transaction covers all Voxx divisions, including the newly shrunk Premium Audio Company that holds just three audio brands – Onkyo, Klipsch, and Integra.
It was a cool fall morning as I headed into New York City for a meeting that I’d been anxiously anticipating for weeks. The skies were gray and rain was definitely threatening, but nothing could dampen my interest in meeting with one of the newest key executives already exerting significant influence in our industry – Hagan Kappler, CEO of Daisy.
In a new report last week, we learned that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched an investigation into RTW Investments over its role in an “empty voting” scheme related to the Masimo Corp. proxy battle which concluded in September at the Masimo Annual Stockholders Meeting. Masimo, now under new board management, has accused former CEO Joe Kiani and RTW of colluding in an empty voting scheme to try and manipulate a board election in their favor and deprive shareholders of their voting rights.
Sonos, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO) Chief Executive Officer Patrick Spence did his best to sound upbeat and exuberant recently as he discussed the company’s results for its fourth quarter (4Q) and full year of Fiscal 2024 on an earnings call with financial analysts. Although most expected poor results in the wake of recent challenges, the numbers were particularly rough as the company is struggling against market headwinds in the audio segment, a less-than-satisfying rollout of what it had hoped would be a blockbuster new product in a blockbuster new category (Ace headphones), and most vexingly, from its own self-inflicted wound with a horribly botched app rollout.
Spence faced a tough sell to analysts, even with reduced expectations, as the numbers were quite disappointing.
Late Tuesday, Masimo’s communications team reached out to Strata-gee to provide a statement designed to counter or otherwise address unspecified “speculative articles” on the recent pronouncement from Masimo CFO Micah Young that the Sound United division may end up being treated as a “discontinued operation” if the Board decides not to spin it off as a publicly-traded company.
Why are people speculating about that? Read on…
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.
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.
