Management

AKM Fire: 2020 was Almost Over, Then Disaster Struck Again

November 4, 2020 by Ted 9 Comments

A photo of the burned out AKM factory after the fire was extinguished — AKM Factory Fire [Click to enlarge]

Massive AKM Factory Fire in Japan to Disrupt Global Supply of Critical Digital ICs

Just when you thought 2020 was almost over and the COVID calamity and its associated disasters were mostly behind us, a source tipped Strata-gee off to a major new disaster that will almost surely cause a significant disruption in the 2021 supply of those critical A/V products we all use/sell/and install every day. You may not be aware of this AKM fire story now, but we are all facing what will likely be another major supply chain headache in the near future.

Warning – your supply of key products is now threatened…

[Read more…]

Despite 90 Virtual Events & $40M in Claims Income, Emerald Loses $22.3M

November 3, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE:EEX), formerly Emerald Expositions, reported their fiscal 2020 third quarter results this week and despite their best efforts to shift their business to online virtual conferences, the company reported revenues of just $8.5 million and generated a net loss of $22.3 million. This loss was even deeper than their loss of $19.7 million in the same quarter in 2019 which was well before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S.

See more on the results for Emerald Holding this past fiscal quarter…

[Read more…]

In the Age of COVID, Savant Recasts The Showroom Experience in NYC

October 28, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

photo of the interior of Savant's New York City Experience Center

In what constitutes just one more sign that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to have a lasting impact on how we do business for the near-to-medium-term future, Savant has come up with a cool way to cleverly optimize the showroom experience in this new difficult environment. The company was in the process of building an all-new Savant Experience Center in New York City when the pandemic hit. Then, when construction was completed, company managers looked at each other and said, now what?

What did Savant come up with? Read on…

[Read more…]

Suspicious Changes at CEDIA; CEO O’Connor is Out With No Explanation

October 14, 2020 by Ted 1 Comment

This News Follows Other Prominent Departures

The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) announced at the end of last week that Global President and CEO Tabatha O’Connor will “depart” the organization at the end of her contract period in January. The news caught many by surprise and the organization’s announcement gives no clue as to any of the reasons behind this leadership change.

See more on O’Connor’s departure from CEDIA

[Read more…]

Change of Strategy: Emerald Board Tells Company Managers to Buy Stock…Theirs

October 13, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Emerald Holding, Inc. (Formerly Emerald Expositions Events, Inc.) [NYSE: EEX], the company that owns the CEDIA Expo show and CE Pro, announced last week that its Board of Directors has authorized company managers to purchase up to $20 Million of Emerald’s stock in a share buyback program. As Strata-gee noted back in May in a report on the company’s large fiscal first quarter loss, this program had previously been suspended when cash had tightened up after the cancellation of their events due to COVID-19.

Now the company has been recapitalized, thanks to help from sugar daddy Onex who now owns more than 80% of the company, and – gosh – the stock is so darn cheap. Maybe now is the time to buy…

See more on this stock purchase by Emerald

[Read more…]

SnapAV Kicks Off Snap Pro Live; CEO Says They are ‘Stronger Than Ever’

October 13, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

New Product Platforms & Business Platforms to Drive Future Growth

SnapAV kicked off their first major three-day virtual event called Snap Pro Live Tuesday afternoon. In a keynote presentation, SnapAV CEO John Heyman hailed the work of the integrator in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the dealer “took on the role of a courageous warrior.” And with that, Snap Pro Live was launched offering three full days packed with useful content. (See more details on Snap Pro Live here…)

Learn more about Snap Pro Live…

[Read more…]

Sound United Deal to Acquire Bowers & Wilkins Closes

October 9, 2020 by Ted 3 Comments

bowers & wilkins 702 signature speakers — 702 Signature Photography

The Band’s Back Together – B&W Reunited with Classé Under Sound United

Sound United announced today that it has closed on its acquisition of Bowers & Wilkins (B&W), as expected. With this deal, B&W is rejoined with Classé – a high-end electronics manufacturer that itself was once part of B&W but then was acquired by Sound United back in Jaunuary 2018.

See more on Sound United acquiring Bowers & Wilkins

[Read more…]

Considering Bringing Remote Workers Back to the Office? Consider This First…

October 8, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Upset person needing help with mental wellbeing issues

Mental Wellbeing Issues Emerge as a Major Side-Effect of COVID-19

One of the questions I’m frequently asked is, “When will the economy bounce back to pre-COVID levels so we can all get back to normal?” The answer: We won’t “bounce back” to a pre-pandemic economy, and “normal” won’t be the same. The details on this answer is a topic for another post, but suffice it to say that one of the reasons is due to emerging, unforeseen variables, such as deteriorating employee mental wellbeing issues.

And THAT IS the topic of this post. Two new surveys provide troubling but important data that will impact how – or if – you re-centralize your team…if that’s your plan.

See new data on your team’s mental wellness…

[Read more…]

Sonos Stock Slammed on News Apple Stores Drop the Line

October 7, 2020 by Ted 2 Comments

Lost 7% of Value in After-Hours Trading

Bloomberg News reported late on Monday that Apple is dropping Sonos [NASDAQ: SONO] and other non-Apple branded products from their stores. The news of Sonos losing such a major customer caused their stock to derail in after hours trading, down almost 7% in value at one point. On Tuesday, Sonos stock price closed down 3.2% as Wall Street digested the news.

See why Apple stores are dropping Sonos…

[Read more…]

Emerald Expo Says CEDIA Expo Virtual Registers 7,600; Claims Virtual Success

October 1, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Emerald Expositions announced today that CEDIA Expo Virtual drew 7,600 trade professional registrations for their three day run from September 15-17, 2020. Although this figure is less than half the attendance at the live, in-person version, Emerald considers it a great success as an all-virtual event.

See more on the results for CEDIA Expo Virtual

[Read more…]

Management

AKM Fire: 2020 was Almost Over, Then Disaster Struck Again

Massive AKM Factory Fire in Japan to Disrupt Global Supply of Critical Digital ICs

Warning – your supply of key products is now threatened…

Despite 90 Virtual Events & $40M in Claims Income, Emerald Loses $22.3M

See more on the results for Emerald Holding this past fiscal quarter…