Nortek, Inc. announced today the appointment of Scott Campbell to Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer. A newly created position, the company says that the executive will be responsible for “creating, driving and implementing” an enterprise-grade, global supply chain strategy. [Read more…] about Nortek Names New Chief Supply Chain Officer
Management
D&M Sells McIntosh Labs to Italian High-End Marketer Backed by Private Equity
News emerged today that Italian holding company Fine Sounds SpA has acquired 100% of McIntosh Laboratory, the Binghamton, NY-based high-end brand most recently owned by D&M Holdings. The announcement – which came from Fine Sounds, contained only a short statement from Charles Randall, President of McIntosh, with no other comments attributed to D&M Holdings or its parent Bain Capital.
Fine Sounds, backed by private equity company Quadrivio – also based in Milan, Italy – is the owner and distributor of other high-end brands such as Sonus Faber, Audio Research Corporation, Wadia Digital, and Sumiko. According to the company, their strategy is to “offer products that are the best in the world in their category.
But does this strategy make sense for McIntosh?…
[Read more…] about D&M Sells McIntosh Labs to Italian High-End Marketer Backed by Private Equity
Former Harmonious Head of CEDIA Delivers Disruption – Launching ube Today
BREAKING NEWS – ube Launches Today at DEMO
For several years Utz Baldwin worked to further the cause of the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA), first as a member and – from 2008-2011 – as CEO. As the head of the CEDIA, Baldwin worked hard to ensure that the organization was aware of, and responsive to, the needs of its members and other associated stakeholders. However, ousted from the organization in 2011 under circumstances that were never fully made public, Baldwin seemed to disappear from view…until now.
Now, Baldwin is back…and his new company, with the happy-go-lucky name ube (pronounced yoo-bee)…is launching what they promise will be market-changing “disruptive technology”… [Read more…] about Former Harmonious Head of CEDIA Delivers Disruption – Launching ube Today
Sharp, Struggling to Survive, Provides Banks with a New Plan; Ratchets Up Painful Cuts
Sharp Corp., once a high flying superstar of Japanese manufacturing might, finds itself engaged in a multi-front battle for survival as it seeks to replenish its depleted capital reserves. Recently, the company had announced that it was negotiating a partnership deal that included the sale of factories and a capital investment from Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. But these talks stalled when Sharp’s share price dropped to a value less than half the agreed-upon level.
Now, in a series of announcements, the company has submitted a new plan seeking the support of its banks by “upping the ante” in its restructuring plans, more than doubling staff cuts, selling off company assets, and offering several Sharp-owned properties as collateral – including its headquarters facility.
Sharp’s new plan cuts deeper and will be more painful…but is it enough?… [Read more…] about Sharp, Struggling to Survive, Provides Banks with a New Plan; Ratchets Up Painful Cuts
NuLEDs Gets a New Spark…Or Should We Say, A New Sparky?
NuLEDs, Inc., an LED lighting specialty company launching a new Power-over-Ethernet, IP-addressable LED lighting system, announced late last night that Mike “Sparky” Detmer is joining the company as its new Global Vice President for residential and light commercial markets. Detmer’s appointment is part of the company’s aggressive new ramp-up as it prepares to launch its latest PoE LED lighting solution, expected to hit the market in just a few months.
Is Detmer just the spark NuLEDs needs?… [Read more…] about NuLEDs Gets a New Spark…Or Should We Say, A New Sparky?
EXCLUSIVE: Nortek’s Core Brands Clears the Air with strata-GEE.com in Exclusive EXPO Interview
The 2012 CEDIA Expo launched with a bang for me as I previously reported when, upon entering the convention center, I was collared by a PR person who quickly walked me (without explanation) to a high-level executive for a Nortek company who felt the need to tell me – in compelling and direct terms – what he thought of strata-GEE.com’s coverage of the Core Brands consolidation. (Hint: he didn’t like it.) After a few minutes of somewhat hot-under-the-collar conversation, things cooled off a bit and he offered to get me together with the Core Brands management to clarify the situation.
Now we’re getting somewhere… [Read more…] about EXCLUSIVE: Nortek’s Core Brands Clears the Air with strata-GEE.com in Exclusive EXPO Interview
Nortek Noise Continues – Xantech President Hallett Leaves Company
BREAKING NEWS
Multiple industry sources have confirmed that Xantech President Graham Hallett has resigned his position with the company, effective September 1st. Xantech is one of ten Nortek, Inc. brands being consolidated under the new “Core Brands” umbrella company, the formation of which we recently reported.
Since the consolidation of the various Nortek brands began back in 2010, there have been many employees leaving the company – mostly at lower- and mid-level positions. Recently, however, some of the top-level executives of the various Nortek brands have joined the exodus.
List of Nortek’s ex-execs continues to grow…
[Read more…] about Nortek Noise Continues – Xantech President Hallett Leaves Company
Here We Go Again – Nortek Reorganizes Its Reorganized Reorganization
This Monday, Nortek, Inc. announced yet another reorganization, their third major structural change since the company decided to group its A/V assets under one roof back in April 2010. The company has created yet another new company called Core Brands which will further consolidate and control a total of ten of the company’s A/V brands in their Technology Solutions Segment (TECH).
The brands affected by this consolidation include Aton, BlueBOLT, Elan, Furman, Niles, Panamax, Proficient, SpeakerCraft, Sunfire, and Xantech. Core Brands will be based at offices in Petaluma, CA; Calrsbad, CA; Riverside, CA; and Marblehead, MA.
Aren’t 10 brands under one roof really just a new conglomerate?…
[Read more…] about Here We Go Again – Nortek Reorganizes Its Reorganized Reorganization
Japan, Inc.: The Cuts Keep Coming
In a rash of news coming out of Japan, it is clear that manufacturers are still struggling with the global economic slowdown…as well as an electronics industry retrenchment. As painful as it’s been for Japanese manufacturers (often called Japan, Inc.) over the last 12-24 months or so – adding insult to injury, the China market has slowed down dramatically recently. Considering that China was everyone’s favorite “emerging” growth market – this amounts to a swift kick in the pants and is forcing many to revisit their estimates for this fiscal year. Below is a sample of the latest painful announcements to come out of Japan over the last few days.
See the latest roster of who’s hurting below… [Read more…] about Japan, Inc.: The Cuts Keep Coming
Is Best Buy Now Worst Buy?
It’s been a rough week for Best Buy. And if something doesn’t happen soon…it’s only going to get worse as the company is on a slippery slope and quickly losing the support of Wall Street. Already the company was embroiled in turmoil having recently dismissed CEO Brian Dunn for an inappropriate relationship with a young, female employee…scolding and then losing founder and chairman Richard “Dick” Schulze who knew about the relationship and didn’t tell anyone…and then enduring a reasonably PR-savvy public campaign as Schulze announced intentions to buy the company and take it private. Finally – as if to emphasize how bad things had become – this past Monday the company announced their fiscal Q2 results with a shocking 91% drop in profits. But wait! There’s more…
