Strata-gee.com

Strategy in TECH...

You are here: Home / Archives for Management

Management

Perfect Path Says It’s on the Growth Path at CE Week

by Leave a Comment

CE Week logoAs we walked the halls of CE Week, we kept running into old friends and well-known industry personalities. We met both at once when we ran into Eric Bodley of  PPC/Perfect Path who was at the show to support various partners of the company. PPC was recently purchased by cable giant Belden, Inc. and we’ve been anxiously awaiting more details on how this consolidation would be implemented.

Bodley wasn’t in a position to comment on that quite yet, but we took advantage of the meeting to ask him about a couple of other recent issues.

See Bodley’s comments on competition heating up & the Belden/PPC connection… [Read more…] about Perfect Path Says It’s on the Growth Path at CE Week

Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater

by Leave a Comment

Photo of baby in bathtub.As a marketing strategist, I am often asked to help clients come up with promotional ideas. Consumer electronics can be a very promotion-driven business, so this is a common task for tech marketers. There are no “hard and fast” rules and often I will brainstorm with the client, his/her team, or outside contractors I often work with.

But no matter what kind of idea we come up with, I try very hard to avoid something that is a bit of a common practice in the technology business – promotions that “throw the baby out with the bathwater!”

What does this mean? See an example of how marketers throw the baby out with the bathwater… [Read more…] about Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater

ESPN Will Stop All 3D Productions

by Leave a Comment

ESPN 3D logoIn a move that technology blogger Gizmodo says marks the official death of 3D, it has learned that sports network ESPN will cease all 3D productions by the end of this year. ESPN 3D, which started in 2010 on largely a test basis, never really got off the ground – and as Gizmodo wryly noted, “won’t be broadcast in any dimension soon.”

See more on what Gizmodo calls this “huge news”… [Read more…] about ESPN Will Stop All 3D Productions

Unusual Japan Story: 4 Panasonic Directors Given ¥1.9 Billion to Leave

by Leave a Comment

CEScrowd2PanasonicIn a move common  in the U.S., but unusual in Japan, the Japan Times reported today that Panasonic Corp. paid ¥1.855 ($18.7 million) to four directors to leave the company in Fiscal 2012. The company broke the news of what is known in the U.S. as a golden parachute in materials circulated along with invitations sent to the shareholders meeting coming up later in the month.

See more on this generous payout from a struggling company… [Read more…] about Unusual Japan Story: 4 Panasonic Directors Given ¥1.9 Billion to Leave

To Skeptical Crowd, Apple’s Tim Cook Promises ‘Game Changers’ are Coming

by 2 Comments

Apple, Inc. LogoWall Street analysts are getting increasingly concerned about the ability of Apple, Inc. to sustain its historic run of innovation. Some are suggesting the company’s best days may in fact be behind it. Exacerbating the growing drumbeat of discontent…it has been eight months – since October 2012 – when Apple last announced new products. And even they were more iterative than innovative. Clearly feeling the pressure, over the last couple of months Apple CEO Tim Cook has told anyone who was willing to listen to hang on, great things are coming.

Are ‘game changers’ really coming? Or is the innovation just a figment of Cook’s imagination?… [Read more…] about To Skeptical Crowd, Apple’s Tim Cook Promises ‘Game Changers’ are Coming

Wake-Up Calls and Blind Spots

by Leave a Comment

Photo close-up of walking shoesLast Wednesday, I got a wake-up call the likes of which I never expected…and it has changed my life. Oh yeah, not hyperbole. It started with a simple walk and ended with what I think demonstrates an important lesson in life…and an important lesson in business.

What was it? Well, as I said,  it started when I went for a walk… [Read more…] about Wake-Up Calls and Blind Spots

In Wake of Fiscal Year Loss, Pioneer Seeks Business Alliances…and Capital

by Leave a Comment

Pioneer_2012CES_2Pioneer Corp. is seeking to form a business and capital alliance with Japan’s NTT DoCoMo Inc. according to a story today in The Japan Times. The company will also try to enhance its ties with Mitsubishi Electric Corp. “in a bid to survive” in its main car electronics business with a stronger financial footing.

The announcement was made the same day that the company announced their Fiscal 2013 results in which sales came in at ¥451.8 billion ($4.4 billion), up 3.5% over ¥436.8 billion. But more importantly, the company announced a big loss of ¥19.6 billion ($191.6 million)…much worse than the profit of ¥3.7 billion last year.

See more on why Pioneer needs these new alliances… [Read more…] about In Wake of Fiscal Year Loss, Pioneer Seeks Business Alliances…and Capital

Huge Loss & Management Dismissals Induce Sharp Pain at Sharp Corp.

by Leave a Comment

Photo of Sharp booth at CESSharp Corp. announced this week the worst net loss in its long corporate history for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2013. Booking a net loss of ¥545.35 billion ($5.4 billion), the company has aggressively moved to shake up the company management replacing both the President and Chairman in a rare (for a Japanese company) public rebuke of company leaders. And in what may be a signal to the market, the new President has no ties to the company’s TV business…and he’s talking tough.

See more on this worse-than-expected result… [Read more…] about Huge Loss & Management Dismissals Induce Sharp Pain at Sharp Corp.

Nortek Reports Uneven Q1 Results, But TECH Actually Contributes This Time

by Leave a Comment

Nortek LogoNortek, Inc. reported their financial results from the first quarter of fiscal 2013 late last week. The results were mixed as the company deals with a struggling economy and a difficult internal restructuring that is impacting costs now, with any resulting benefits to be realized still down the road. But for the first time in several quarters, the company’s Technology Solutions Segment (TECH) actually offered a positive contribution with growth in both sales and profits offsetting losses in other divisions. But TECH’s success was largely due to a recent acquisition in the security business.

See more on Nortek’s results… [Read more…] about Nortek Reports Uneven Q1 Results, But TECH Actually Contributes This Time

Banks Throw Sharp a $1.5 Billion Lifeline

by Leave a Comment

Arial photo of Sharp factoryTwo key banks in Japan announced yesterday that they will extend Sharp Corp. an additional line of credit of ¥150 billion ($1.5 billion) over and above all of their other financing. Mizuho Corporate Bank and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ originally had considered a ¥100 billion line, but ultimately decided to up the ante with each bank kicking in ¥75 billion – a real lifeline to the struggling electronics manufacturer.

See more on this surprise announcement out of Japan… [Read more…] about Banks Throw Sharp a $1.5 Billion Lifeline