Amanda Dai loves competition. In an excellent blog post on Huffington Post, she talks about competition in a way that sets her apart from a large number of people, including many of my tech industry colleagues. For many of us, competition is the enemy…and we are at war. For others, the competition is someone to be (too) closely watched…so much so that they dictate our actions. “Price Shack has the Mega 456 on sale?!? Drop our price immediately!”
Management
Yamaha Launches New Medium-Term Plan; 1st Task? Explain Why Last One Failed
Yamaha Corporation last week announced a new medium-term management plan titled Yamaha Management Plan 2016 (YMP2016) which sets forth management’s strategies for the time period of fiscal 2014-to-fiscal 2016. The new plan succeeds the previous Yamaha Management Plan 125 (YMP125) which was just completed March 31, 2013.
First task of the new plan? Explain why the previous plan failed… [Read more…] about Yamaha Launches New Medium-Term Plan; 1st Task? Explain Why Last One Failed
3vNet to Shut Down; CEO Anderson Launches Automated Control Technology Partners
BREAKING NEWS
Mike Anderson, CEO of 3vNet announced today that 3vNet’s business is being wound down and would cease shipping all products by December 31, 2013. At the same time, Anderson also announced the launch of an entirely new enterprise called Automated Control Technology Partners, Inc. which is expected to debut at the upcoming InfoComm in Orlando, FL this June.
See more details on this surprising pair of announcements… [Read more…] about 3vNet to Shut Down; CEO Anderson Launches Automated Control Technology Partners
First Onkyo – Now Gibson Guitar Acquires Majority of Teac; Can Gibson Put the Pieces Together?
Gibson Guitar Corp. announced last Friday morning at 4:00AM EDST that it would acquire a controlling interest in Japan’s Teac Corp, extending it’s entré into consumer electronics market via newly affordable, if struggling, Japanese companies. Last year, Gibson took a significant minority stake in Onkyo Corp., and additionally purchased a majority share of Onkyo’s American subsidiary, Onkyo USA. Teac, with both a consumer business under the Teac and Esoteric brands, and a professional business under the Tascam brand, broadens Gibson’s consumer and pro initiatives.
Can Gibson put the pieces together into a cohesive – and profitable – group?… [Read more…] about First Onkyo – Now Gibson Guitar Acquires Majority of Teac; Can Gibson Put the Pieces Together?
Electronics Expo Falls into Bankruptcy
Wayne, NJ-based Electronics Expo, an independent regional retail chain selling quality A/V electronics, has entered bankruptcy as of March 31st. The company, which at one time had as many as eight locations at its peak, is now down to two showrooms and one outlet center at its offices, according to a report by NorthJersey.com. Electronics Expo is owned by Leon Temiz, once a partner with family members in another regional player, Sixth Avenue Electronics.
See the “Who’s Who” list of vendors who were hit in this most recent bankruptcy… [Read more…] about Electronics Expo Falls into Bankruptcy
EXCLUSIVE: Core Brands Set to Announce Sweeping New Initiatives April 1st
Senior VP of Marketing
Core Brands, a division of Nortek, Inc., will announce sweeping new structural and marketing initiatives this coming Tuesday, April 1st, Strata-gee.com has learned from multiple sources. In a recent post on parent company Nortek, we alluded to sources telling us about impending changes in what was to be a major announcement – literally a fundamental change in the way the company does business.
Find out what Core Brands is set to announce next week… [Read more…] about EXCLUSIVE: Core Brands Set to Announce Sweeping New Initiatives April 1st
Nortek’s TECH Segment’s Troubled Transformation
In a recent fiscal year 2012 fourth quarter and full-year report, Nortek, Inc. showed a mixture of hit-and-miss results with fourth quarter sales dropping 5.6% to $505.4 million as compared to Q4 2011’s $535.2 million. Worse yet, the company’s Q4 net loss increased from last year’s $800,000 to a substantial $12.5 million. These results were in spite of the fact that this year’s calendar for the quarter had two more days in it than the quarter last year.
However, Nortek’s overall annual results showed a brighter picture with 2012 sales increasing to $2.2 billion, up 2.8% from the previous year’s $2.14 billion. Net profits in 2012 came in at $9.5 million – a substantial improvement over 2011’s net loss of $55.9 million.
But one other thing came through loud and clear…Nortek’s TECH segment remains troubled… [Read more…] about Nortek’s TECH Segment’s Troubled Transformation
New Details of Drama Emerge in Continuing Sharp & Samsung Soap Opera
A story that has stunned many in Japan, the partnership between two former arch-rivals Sharp Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co., continues to churn out surprising new details of the backroom drama worthy of the most melodramatic soap opera. As the Japanese press digs up more of these stories, it is clear that Sharp – as desperate as it had become – was nervous, measured, and a little tentative in approaching the new pact.
See some of the surprising behind-the-scenes drama that is emerging from this unusual partnership… [Read more…] about New Details of Drama Emerge in Continuing Sharp & Samsung Soap Opera
Monster Creates $30K ‘Crown Jewel’ Headphone for Harrods of London
Monster Products announced late today that it has created a one-of-a-kind “crown jewel” headphone based on its Diamond Tears model as redesigned by Korean artist and jewelry designer Sally Sohn for the exclusive Harrods of London department store. The new headphones feature 5.56 carats of black diamonds and plenty of 18k gold…oh, and it comes with a hefty price tag of £20,000. That’s $30,000 in good old U.S. greenbacks.
See this remarkable headphone below. Will this be Monster’s tour de force? Or a tour de farce?… [Read more…] about Monster Creates $30K ‘Crown Jewel’ Headphone for Harrods of London
Owners, CEOs, Presidents: How Often Do You Travel with Your Sales Team?
Often, when a company contacts The Stratecon Group (our marketing company, and owner of www.strata-GEE.com), to ask for advice on “business development issues” (i.e. they are in trouble and running out of ideas), the first question we ask of the owner/CEO/president is: “How Often Do You Travel with Your Sales Team?” The answer to this question is critical to our assessment of the situation. Understand, there’s no right or wrong answer…but the answer will be incredibly illuminating as to several critical elements of their management of the enterprise.
