Two stories out of Japan caught our attention and, to our thinking, combine to show that Japan’s tech industry is still not yet out of the woods. The first story, by the Japan Times, says that troubled Toshiba’s half-year fiscal results show that their profits have now tripled. The second story, also from the Japan Times, announced that Japan Display will be laying off thousands of employees – almost a third of their workforce.
Management
Savant Reorganizes Its Sales Force
BREAKING NEWS
Within a span of just minutes today, we began hearing from multiple sources around the country that something was afoot at Savant Systems, LLC. Word quickly spread that the company was terminating salespeople around the country, a move that was occurring in the wake of founder Robert Madonna’s return to the company to replace former CEO William Lynch.
What’s going on at Savant? Strata-gee digs deeper… [Read more…] about Savant Reorganizes Its Sales Force
Samsung Will Destroy All 4.3 Million Galaxy Note 7s
Company Makes Painful But Pragmatic Decision
Samsung Electronics is in the process of recalling their recently launched Galaxy Note 7 smartphone that came with the unusual feature of self-immolation included at no additional charge. The company’s initial production run was 2.5 million units. Then, trouble ensued and the company ceased production of that version. This was followed by the production of another 1.8 million “fixed” versions. Now…they are all recalled and the model has been cancelled.
What is Samsung going to do with 4.3 million defective smartphones? Destroy them… [Read more…] about Samsung Will Destroy All 4.3 Million Galaxy Note 7s
Access Networks Offers Access to Live Monitoring
In our wrap-up of the top stories from CEDIA 2016, #3 was “Managed Services are Growing.” One such service was OneVision Resources, which will partner with integrators to offer remote system monitoring and customer support. At CEDIA 2016, residential networking provider Access Networks also announced that they will be launching a new Live Monitoring solution.
These services look similar, but there is one very big difference… [Read more…] about Access Networks Offers Access to Live Monitoring
Gibson Brands Hires New COO, Hit With Another Credit Downgrade
Gibson Brands announced Tuesday that it has hired Lee Cheng as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and executive vice president. This appointment takes effect immediately and follows a recent additional credit downgrade by the Moody’s Investor Service.
See more on Cheng’s interesting background and the Moody’s downgrade… [Read more…] about Gibson Brands Hires New COO, Hit With Another Credit Downgrade
Are You Selling Movies, When the Client Wants Music?
An Important Look at Integrators’ Sales Process
Recently, while researching the “analog renaissance” phenomenon, we spoke with an integrator who told us he had to scramble when he realized he was missing the trend for 2-channel analog and vinyl systems. But how could he miss this trend as it was clearly a result of customer demand?
“Don’t be so surprised,” a manufacturer told us. “Integrators have no idea on how to connect with customers and ‘sell.'” Is it true that integrator’s don’t know how to sell? Or is the sales process changing?
See what Strata-gee’s Ted Green discovered in his Residential Systems article… [Read more…] about Are You Selling Movies, When the Client Wants Music?
Savant CEO Changes in Unexpected – and Unexplained – Shakeup
Late yesterday afternoon, a strange press release came our way. This release was strange for a couple of reasons – first, for what it was announcing – Savant’s founder Robert Madonna was returning to the CEO role, replacing “outgoing” CEO William Lynch. Second, it was strange because it gave no reason for this dramatic change of CEOs; and, third, it was strange because of where it came from – a PR firm that the company hasn’t been using for a couple of years.
What’s up at Savant? See more on this unexpected turn of events… [Read more…] about Savant CEO Changes in Unexpected – and Unexplained – Shakeup
CEDIA Attendance Flat Again – CEO Says It’s Good News
This week, CEDIA released their attendance figures for CEDIA 2016 (formerly the CEDIA Expo) which closed last week in Dallas. The total number of attendees was said to be 18,750 or flat with the 18,700 that attended last year.
See why CEDIA management tells us this is a positive result… [Read more…] about CEDIA Attendance Flat Again – CEO Says It’s Good News
CEDIA EMEA ‘Integrated’ Into CEDIA U.S.
BREAKING NEWS
CEDIA EMEA Being Subsumed into CEDIA US in a Bloodless Coup is a Win for New CEO
This morning, the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) announced that CEDIA EMEA and CEDIA headquarters in the U.S. has been completely “integrated” and is now one entity in whole. The news will be a huge surprise to some, and a point of confusion for others, as not many people understood the relationship between the two organizations. CEDIA EMEA, formerly CEDIA UK, is in fact an independent organization that licenses the rights to use the CEDIA name in Europe.
Now, things have changed.
See more on what this surprising move means… [Read more…] about CEDIA EMEA ‘Integrated’ Into CEDIA U.S.
Crestron is Officially Back at CEDIA 2016
BREAKING NEWS
Despite Crestron’s announcement earlier this year that they will exit the CEDIA show, Strata-gee has confirmed with CEDIA that Crestron Electronics, Inc. will in fact be exhibiting at this year’s CEDIA 2016 next week in Dallas, TX. Crestron will be exhibiting in booth 2510, a booth that they are sharing with Amazon Alexa.