Strategy in TECH...
In probably one of the most meaningful media presentations I’ve attended, executives at B&W presented the industry media with their forward-looking product roadmap for the remainder of 2020 – most of it under embargo. So while I can’t tell you much about the products they revealed, what I can say is that they made a strong case for the resurgence of B&W as a leading audio power.
Sonos, Inc. (NASDAQ: SONO) announced this week that they are adding a new member to their Board of Directors. In fact, they even increased the size of the Board to make room for this new addition. The news surprised – and impressed – many market observers, as the person they are adding is Panos Panay, a top Microsoft Corp. executive. You see, if you are not familiar with Panay, there is something special about his background that makes him an intriguing addition to the Sonos Board.
In a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sonos, Inc. [SONO:NASDAQ] announced a series of measures to try and get company costs under control in the wake of the COVID-19 impacted economy. More drastic than previous announcements, Sonos said it will cut its global headcount, close its New York retail store, close six satellite offices, cut the CEO pay, and further cut the executive team’s pay.
Bowers & Wilkins (B&W), a leading high-end specialty loudspeaker brand for 54 years, that recently zigged and zagged when it was acquired by EVA Automation and launched a whole new line of wireless multi-room audio systems, has taken steps to demonstrate its re-focus on their high-end, high-performance roots. These moves include re-hiring the company’s long time PR company and now launching new products that are true to its heritage as an undisputed leading premium brand.
Just last Friday, the big news hit that Sound United had signed a letter of intent (LoI) to acquire respected audio specialty brand Bowers & Wilkins. Strata-gee was one of the first to break the news and from the moment I hit “publish,” Strata-gee web traffic stats made it clear that you all viewed this as big news as well.
That first announcement came from the Sound United camp – and it was pretty terse. As luck would have it, for the last couple of weeks before that news hit, I had already been pursuing an interview with James Krakowski, Bowers & Wilkins’ Executive Vice President, Americas, to follow up on a previous story. Although we had been struggling to find a time to connect, when this news hit, he graciously agreed to make himself immediately available for an interview.
Late in the day yesterday (Friday), Strata-gee told you about an announcement from top multi-brand audio provider Sound United, saying they had reached a preliminary agreement to acquire Bowers & Wilkins (B&W), a leading high-performance, high end audio loudspeaker brand. It was big news that represented another step in a long saga of B&W looking for a new home, after a previous deal with EVA Automation and its CEO Gideon Yu fell completely apart.
Now as I write this today, B&W has released a rare Saturday morning press statement that gives the same news – but from the B&W side of the deal…a statement that seems shaded differently than the Sound United characterization.
On Wednesday, we learned that Savant Systems Inc. (Savant), has acquired the lighting business from none other than the mighty GE. Terms of the transaction were not released, but the Wall Street Journal reports that “the transaction valued the unit at around $250 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.” GE has been a major lighting provider for over a hundred years.
Emerald Holding Inc., formerly Emerald Expositions Events, Inc. (NYSE:EEX), has released their fiscal 2020 first quarter results and the organization makes no bones about it – it has been hit, and hit hard, by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company announced that in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 – the period ending March 31, 2020 – sales declined 27.4% to $99.7 million and the company had the biggest net loss in its history, losing $570.1 million.
Sonos Inc. announced Wednesday the results of their fiscal second quarter, a quarter that CEO Patrick Spence called “challenging.” The company saw a double-digit sales decline of 17% to $175.1 million from $210.2 million in the same quarter in 2019. Worse, net losses more than doubled to $52.3 million – 129% worse than the net loss of $22.8 million in Q2 last year.
Still, Spence sounded upbeat in a letter to investors and says he is “confident that the actions we are taking today will set us up for long-term success and the continued tremendous opportunity ahead.”
Emerald Expositions announced this week that Sally Shankland, it most recent CEO who had been hired in June 2019 to replace resigning CEO David Loechner, has died following her month’s long battle with cancer. The company says Shankland passed away at home peacefully.
