Strategy in TECH...
VOXX International Corporation (NASDAQ:VOXX) revealed this week that they were the victim of a ransomware attack in July and that an assessment of the hack completed early this month shows that sensitive and confidential employee and contractor information has been compromised. The company has issued a warning to all employees and contractors who have worked for the company over the last 20-years.
As previously reported by Strata-gee, the Crestron NEXT event of two weeks ago was a remarkable accomplishment for one company to pull off. With a full two-day agenda – Crestron NEXT offered lots of great content, such as its perspective on the tech business today, seminars on their key current tech products, and more importantly, advice on where things are going tomorrow.
Probably one of my favorite presentations was actually the closing presentation – where Ranjan Singh, Crestron’s Executive VP of Product and Technology summed up the key points of the last two days…and more importantly…offered some details on trends to watch today that will drive the future in a presentation titled “Future Innovations, Next & Beyond.” This is the kind of smart insight that most integrators never get to hear.
Event season is upon us, as evidenced by the two major events that took place last week – CEDIA Expo Virtual 2020 and Crestron NEXT. This year, thanks to COVID-19, these normally in-person events took place in the digital domain as virtual events. And the next big show that integrators are going to want to watch for – which will also be a virtual event – is the upcoming Snap Pro Live being produced by industry powerhouse SnapAV.
According to a new report out of Japan last week, analysts say that Sony’s business is shifting towards more services and events – and away from the electronics business, the division that built the company. For decades, the brand Sony was practically synonymous with electronics…but that identity may be shifting as growth in other company divisions surpass electronics.
Of all the success stories of the ‘70s high end audio boom, none was more unlikely than that of Audio Research Corporation (ARC). Based in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, historically a fly-over region for hi-fi, led by a balding, bearlike founder, and offering electronics based around vacuum tubes – considered obsolete for a decade – ARC somehow survived and thrived.
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.
