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Having Dumped Everything Else, Pioneer Makes Plans to Dominate Car Electronics

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About the AV biz? Hoping Onkyo Keeps the Pioneer Name…

Photo of Pioneer President
Susumu Kotani, President
Pioneer Corporation

In a revealing interview with the Nikkei in Tokyo, Pioneer Corp. President Susumu Kotani said that Pioneer – after spending several months selling off all of its divisions other than automotive – is considering resorting to acquisitions in order to build a dominant position within its chosen market. A radical shift after months of divestiture, he makes clear that the company is preparing to move to offense, in order to build a new – and expanded – future.

See more on the company’s plans – including just what areas Pioneer is considering entering… [Read more…] about Having Dumped Everything Else, Pioneer Makes Plans to Dominate Car Electronics

Integration Industry Mourns the Passing of Crestron’s Founder

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Crestron logoWe learned this week that the Chairman and Founder of Crestron, Mr. George Feldstein, passed away after a long illness. The news hit many in the custom integration industry particularly hard, as Mr. Feldstein is widely credited with helping not just build a company…but with also fueling the growth of the entire industry.

See more on this notable passing… [Read more…] about Integration Industry Mourns the Passing of Crestron’s Founder

Economists Predict Rapid Ramp-Up in Residential Construction

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NAHB LogoWe were fortunate enough to receive an invitation from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) allowing us to participate in their annual Fall Construction Forecast presentation, a webinar put on for the benefit of  their members last week. Boy! Are we glad we attended! Not only did the organization offer up a roster of world-class economists with really interesting insight into what’s going on in the economy – they also offered reams of really valuable data delineating the latest trends in construction.

Their predictions were – to put it mildly – shocking! Read below to find out why…

[Read more…] about Economists Predict Rapid Ramp-Up in Residential Construction

Everything’s Fine, Says Control4; But Investors See Monsters Under the Bed

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Control4 logoThis story is being written on Halloween – hence, the “monsters” in the headline. On Thursday, Control4 released the financial results for their fiscal third quarter and held a conference call for analysts and investors. The numbers all looked good and the management team rightly crowed about their prowess. But during the Q&A session tough questions emerged…

See what had some analysts a little spooked… [Read more…] about Everything’s Fine, Says Control4; But Investors See Monsters Under the Bed

Ingram Micro’s Q3 Financials Show Sales Up; Profits Down

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Ingram Micro logoIngram Micro, Inc. released the financial results for their fiscal third quarter (the period ending Sept. 27, 2014) showing generally positive results. Sales for the quarter increased to $11.2 billion, a $1 billion or 11% increase over the $10.2 billion for the same period last year. According to Ingram Micro CEO Alain Monié, the increase was due primarily to “new wins” and “strong market share.”

But while gross profits were up, gross margins, operating income, and net income were all down for the period…and that fact led us to take a closer look.

See our report below on the financial results for Ingram Micro… [Read more…] about Ingram Micro’s Q3 Financials Show Sales Up; Profits Down

In First Step of Transformation, Thiel Terminates Reps

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New Thiel logo black backgroundIn a notice emailed to dealers last Thursday sporting a spiffy new corporate logo, Thiel took what appears to be the first step in what is promised to be a stream of “regular communications from us” regarding the company’s transformation from a legendary audiophile loudspeaker brand to a…well to what, we just don’t know yet. But what we do know is that the company has begun this transformation by terminating its entire national independent sales representative sales force.

See what Thiel told dealers was the reason for terminating their local sales rep…

[Read more…] about In First Step of Transformation, Thiel Terminates Reps

D+M Group Issues Response to Sonos Lawsuit

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BREAKING NEWS

Earlier today, we reported that wireless music system powerhouse Sonos had filed a lawsuit against Denon in regards to its HEOS line of wireless music systems. The lawsuit alleged, among other things, infringement on four of their patents and asked the court for an injunction to stop HEOS products from being sold.

Today, we received a statement from D+M Group, the parent of Denon, in response to this lawsuit.

See the D+M Group’s statement on the Sonos lawsuit… [Read more…] about D+M Group Issues Response to Sonos Lawsuit

D-Tools & Spring Deck Announce Strategic Partnership

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Spring Deck logoD-Tools, Inc., one of the industry’s largest proposal generation software companies, and Spring Deck, LLC, a new and rapidly growing app-based sales presentation software company, have joined forces to offer a virtual end-to-end sales and proposal solution for the custom integration industry. The two companies plan to integrate their respective software platforms, offering integrators a streamlined solution that will facilitate everything from the initial sales presentation to an efficiently created proposal to final installation illustrations and materials.

See more about this partnership offering an all-new unique solution…

[Read more…] about D-Tools & Spring Deck Announce Strategic Partnership

U.S. Smart Home Supplier Icontrol Launches Venture in Japan

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Icontrol logoIcontrol Networks, Inc. has partnered with Japan’s Tokyu Corp. to launch state-of-the-art smart-home solutions in Japan first, and then later into the greater Southeast Asia market. The deal provides for Tokyu’s cable television division, Its Communications, to offer Icontrol’s Touchstone solution throughout Asia to their cable customers.

See more on this major initiative to bring smart-home technology to Japan… [Read more…] about U.S. Smart Home Supplier Icontrol Launches Venture in Japan

Amazon’s Mysterious Lab126 – Poised to Take Over Home Automation?

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Amazon logoOnline retail behemoth Amazon.com, Inc. has always been pretty secretive about their internal projects and initiatives. Especially so about their Lab126 hardware design division, the group responsible for the popular Kindle e-book reader…and the not-so-popular Fire phone. But a report by Reuters at the end of last month blew the tent cover back enough to get a glimpse of just what this secret lab is working on now – and home automation appears to be in their sights.

See more on Amazon’s Lab126 and what it may mean for home automation… [Read more…] about Amazon’s Mysterious Lab126 – Poised to Take Over Home Automation?