Strata-gee.com

Strategy in TECH...

You are here: Home / Archives for Industry Trends

Industry Trends

New Research Quantifies Impact of ‘Showrooming’

by Leave a Comment

Harris Interactive LogoNew research released today from Harris Interactive, conducted on behalf of CouponCabin.com, provides a sobering look at how prevalent the practice of showrooming is among smartphone- and tablet-owning retail shoppers. Showrooming is where retail shoppers use their smartphone or tablet to look up lower prices on items they see in the retail showroom to purchase later from an online merchant.

According to the survey, more than 43% of smartphone and tablet owning consumers admit to showrooming. This figure, alarmingly close to 50%, is likely to be much higher than many industry observers would have expected.

But the survey didn’t stop there… [Read more…] about New Research Quantifies Impact of ‘Showrooming’

EXCLUSIVE> CEDIA Executives Address Issues Raised by strata-GEE.com Readers

by Leave a Comment

As long time readers of strata-GEE.com (and the previous stratecongroup.com) know, for the last three years, we have conducted a survey of our readers on their attitudes of both the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the CEDIA EXPO. Last month, our CEDIA EXPO survey saw a dramatic increase in participation – up over 90%.

Over 80% of the participants completed the entire survey and a review of the survey results showed that we got a lot of great comments on our open-ended questions. Whether positive or negative, it was clear that strata-GEE.com readers were serious, thoughtful, engaged, and concerned about this event.

Now, in a first for us, CEDIA responds to our survey – and more – in an exclusive interview… [Read more…] about EXCLUSIVE> CEDIA Executives Address Issues Raised by strata-GEE.com Readers

D&M Sells McIntosh Labs to Italian High-End Marketer Backed by Private Equity

by Leave a Comment

McIntosh LogoNews emerged today that Italian holding company Fine Sounds SpA has acquired 100% of McIntosh Laboratory, the Binghamton, NY-based high-end brand most recently owned by D&M Holdings. The announcement – which came from Fine Sounds, contained only a short statement from Charles Randall, President of McIntosh, with no other comments attributed to D&M Holdings or its parent Bain Capital.

Fine Sounds, backed by private equity company Quadrivio – also based in Milan, Italy – is the owner and distributor of other high-end brands such as Sonus Faber, Audio Research Corporation, Wadia Digital, and Sumiko. According to the company, their strategy is to “offer products that are the best in the world in their category.

But does this strategy make sense for McIntosh?…

[Read more…] about D&M Sells McIntosh Labs to Italian High-End Marketer Backed by Private Equity

Start-up ube Wins $1 Million People’s Choice Award

by Leave a Comment

Launched earlier this week at DEMO, the high-tech conference in Silicon Valley that just wrapped up, start-up company ube won the People’s Choice Award and $1 million worth of media from IDG properties. We profiled ube in our post here…saying that they just may be on to something and the DEMO judges apparently agree.

Learn more about this win here… [Read more…] about Start-up ube Wins $1 Million People’s Choice Award

Sharp, Struggling to Survive, Provides Banks with a New Plan; Ratchets Up Painful Cuts

by Leave a Comment

Photo of Sharp booth at CESSharp Corp., once a high flying superstar of Japanese manufacturing might, finds itself engaged in a multi-front battle for survival as it seeks to replenish its depleted capital reserves. Recently, the company had announced that it was negotiating a partnership deal that included the sale of factories and a capital investment from Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. But these talks stalled when Sharp’s share price dropped to a value less than half the agreed-upon level.

Now, in a series of announcements, the company has submitted a new plan seeking the support of its banks by “upping the ante” in its restructuring plans, more than doubling staff cuts, selling off company assets, and offering several Sharp-owned properties as collateral – including its headquarters facility.

Sharp’s new plan cuts deeper and will be more painful…but is it enough?… [Read more…] about Sharp, Struggling to Survive, Provides Banks with a New Plan; Ratchets Up Painful Cuts

Batteries Big Enough to Run Your Whole House from Rosewater Energy Group

by Leave a Comment

Photo of Joe Piccirilli of Rosewater Energy Group
Joe Piccirilli, Rosewater Energy Group

At this month’s CEDIA Expo, no sooner had I finished an interview on the show floor when I saw what looked like two huge caskets standing on end and side-by-side. That’s a little dramatic, they didn’t really look like caskets, just two huge rectangular racks standing about eight-feet up in the air. Curiosity drew me to Rosewater Energy Group’s booth where I discovered an old friend: Joe Piccirilli (formerly of AVAD and Sound Advice).

Those monstrous boxes (actually a little over 7-feet tall, the display base they were shown on made them look taller) really contain a lot of technology and take power conditioning to a whole new level.

See why Rosewater’s “Storage Hub” was even more impressive than it looked… [Read more…] about Batteries Big Enough to Run Your Whole House from Rosewater Energy Group

Energy Squad Wants to Help Integrators to Catch the Green Wave

by Leave a Comment

Photo of Energy Squad Founder Jonathan Stovall
Jonathan Stovall, Energy Squad Founder

Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest. When I ask business owners and executives to tell me why they started their business, you’d be surprised at the mushy gobbledy-gook I’m often offered in response. So when strata-GEE.com readers at the CEDIA Expo pointed me in the direction of the Energy Squad booth – I was skeptical. Was this another tech head playing with toys who’ll be here-today and gone-tomorrow?

Boy was I in for a surprise… [Read more…] about Energy Squad Wants to Help Integrators to Catch the Green Wave

AudioXperts Korners the Market

by Leave a Comment

Photo of AudioXperts President Eli Harary Showing KornersThe recent CEDIA Expo was, as usual, dominated by hundreds of companies engaged in a seemingly endless and often mindless rash of line extensions – effectively burying us in a sea of products of uninspiring incrementalism. This year, however, thanks to the diligent effort of many of strata-GEE.com’s and ALERT’s  readers and followers that we saw at the show – we were often pointed us in direction of some hidden gems. Thanks to you, we were successful in uncovering wisps of innovation from a few new or reincarnated companies.

One such interesting start-up, whose launch we recently reported on here, with a follow-up story here, is AudioXperts. At Expo, AudioXperts showed us an interesting new product concept they call Korners.

And Korners may just represent the first successful attempt to bring peace in our industry’s biggest and bloodiest war… [Read more…] about AudioXperts Korners the Market

Expo Keynote: TV Personality Delivers a View That’s Fun, Futurisitic and Funny

by 4 Comments

Photo of Dr. Michio KakuThis year’s Keynote Presentation at the CEDIA Expo earlier this month was given by well-known physicist and television personality, Dr. Michio Kaku. Kaku is undeniably well-qualified to talk about technology…and the future. And although the official title of this keynote presentation was “The Intuitive Home of 2016,” – like all great keynote speakers, Kaku ignored that topic and spoke on one closer to his heart – the physics of the future.

And what a wild future he envisions… [Read more…] about Expo Keynote: TV Personality Delivers a View That’s Fun, Futurisitic and Funny

You Don’t Know LEDs Until You NuLEDs

by Leave a Comment

Photo of the NuLEDs Booth at 2012 CEDIA Expo

>>See a slide show of photos from the NuLEDs booth at CEDIA Expo<<

Prior to CEDIA Expo, I knew very little about LED lighting systems, but I learned a lot after meeting with Frank Sterns, new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President at NuLEDs. The remarkable NuLEDs PoE IP-addressable LED lighting system brings a new level of control, flexibility, programmability, and energy efficiency to the market. It’s a cool system that offers a new profit opportunity to industry integrators and installers.

PoE…it’s what’s nu in lighting…

[Read more…] about You Don’t Know LEDs Until You NuLEDs