Strategy in TECH...
In the wake of its acquisition by Bose last November, I have learned that there has been a significant shift in McIntosh’s go-to-market strategy. Multiple sources are reporting that McIntosh Group has terminated all independent manufacturer sales representatives. This move appears to contradict statements made by a Bose executive during the original announcement of its acquisition of McIntosh in November.
AVPro Global Holdings LLC, a company holding a diversified portfolio of top custom integration brands, such as AudioControl Pro, Murideo, Bullet Train, and more announced on Monday that it has selected Loel Wheeler to be its Vice President of Sales for Murideo – the company’s testing and measurement tools division.
In a move I have been anticipating for weeks, the Sonos Board has finally made a move and dismissed Patrick Spence as CEO as of this morning, Monday, January 13, 2025. The company has named a member of the Board – Tom Conrad – as an interim CEO, while a search has been launched for its next CEO.
Premium Audio Company (PAC), a division of Gentex Corp. that oversees the Onkyo, Integra, and Klipsch audio gear, has launched an interesting new series of electronics including an amplifier, preamplifier, and integrated amplifier at CES 2025 taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada this week. This new series is called the Onkyo Icon Series, a line of high-fidelity electronics that the company says is “a bold step forward in the brand’s evolution.”
Much like the last few years, exhibitors at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas have largely focused on advances in artificial intelligence (AI). All major manufacturers spoke to it…none more deeply than LG, whose 45-minute press conference began with AI…ended with AI…and had a lot of AI in the middle.
So the book is now closed on 2024 and…good or bad…it certainly was a consequential year for our industry. And while in the wake of all of that, we in the industry try to sort out what new challenges and opportunities 2025 brings…how did investors fare last year?
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.
Procella Audio BV, a manufacturer of high-performance speakers for residential and commercial cinemas, announced on Tuesday that it has appointed well-known industry executive Tom Gandulla as its U.S. Director of Sales. Gandulla’s appointment was announced by Procella’s USA Managing Director Chuck Back.
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.
