Moody’s Japan announced this week that it has raised its rating on Sony’s credit to Baa3, one step up from “junk.” This is the first time that Sony’s credit has been determined to be “investment grade” in years and reflects the company’s improved financial performance.
Management
SnapAV Continues Buying Spree, Acquires Autonomic
‘If You Can Solve a Problem, You Can Sell Some Stuff’
SnapAV announced Wednesday that it has acquired Autonomic, a leading music server solutions provider. This is SnapAV’s latest in a string of acquisitions, as the company continues to seek solutions that will fulfill the needs of their extensive national network of custom integrators.
See what SnapAV’s President told us about this deal… [Read more…] about SnapAV Continues Buying Spree, Acquires Autonomic
A Tale of Two Japans – Toshiba & Japan Display
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.
See more on these two dramatically different stories of a still-troubled Japan… [Read more…] about A Tale of Two Japans – Toshiba & Japan Display
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.
