Strategy in TECH...
Parasound has appointed Final Link Audio of Melbourne, Australia as its distributor for all of Australia and New Zealand. Final Link will offer all Parasound models, including their famous John Curl-engineered models.
Sonos, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO) announced today the long-awaited launch of its secretive new product targeted for a “multi-billion dollar category,” as Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is wont to remind us of frequently. One of the worst-kept, leakiest of launch secrets (probably intentionally so) in the industry, the company announced a new over-the-ear wireless headphone model featuring Dolby Atmos immersive sound and active noise cancellation called Sonos Ace.
But did the company Ace the test for turning around its deteriorating financial performance?
Sonos, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO) announced its financial performance for the second quarter of Fiscal 2024, the period that ended on March 30, 2024. The numbers, as we’re seeing more consistently across a wide variety of consumer brands, were rough…really rough. Revenues in the quarter declined a nasty 16.9% and the company’s Net Loss more than doubled, increasing by a scary 127%.
Yet CEO Patrick Spence claimed in a statement that “…we delivered results that slightly exceeded our expectations…” Either they were expecting a really devastating result, or I’ll have whatever he’s having!
Snap One Holdings Corp, soon to be part of Resideo Technologies’ ADI distribution business, reported their financial performance for the first quarter of Fiscal 2024 yesterday. In the wash, it looks much like its other recent quarterly reports – sales decline, losses increase, sales shift from its own proprietary brands to third-party brands, etc. But a couple of things did change, starting with my assessment that much less effort than usual was expended in creating this pretty thin report than is typical for them…there isn’t even a quote from CEO John Heyman or anyone in management…and the company even chose not to hold an earnings conference call with analysts as they typically do every quarter.
I suspect that this is due to the fact that the entire company – and its investors – are simply waiting for the new owners to take over.
On Tuesday this week, a previously announced program being offered by Snap One – now Resideo – has begun. This program, called Control4 Connect, is a mandatory program that requires all integrators to connect all new client installations of Control4 products directly to Snap One’s central station for future software updates and data collection.
It is a new kind of transactional connection that establishes a direct relationship with the client for direct-to-user system updates and base-level client support supplied – not by the local integrator – but by Control4 support.
When it comes to a potentially ground-breaking remote control, good things come to those who wait. But the wait is over and AVA, Inc. has announced it is now shipping its remarkable Cinema Remote, an innovative new remote control design first previewed to dealers at CEDIA Expo 2023. They may have had to wait longer than anticipated due to a manufacturing glitch, but now that is resolved and the product is flowing to the field.
Chris Kane, long-time key executive at AudioControl has been promoted to Vice President of North American Residential Sales for AVPro Global. Sioux Falls, SD-based AVPro Global is a rapidly expanding manufacturer and distributor of top custom integration brands, such as AudioControl, AVPro Edge, Bullet Train, Murideo, and Then Audio.
AVPro Global Holdings, LLC, parent company to growing technology brands such as AVPro Edge, AudioControl Pro, Bullet Train, Murideo, and Then Audio, announced today that it has named well-known industry executive Mike “Sparky” Detmer as its Chief Operating Officer. Detmar is well known to many in custom integration for his long stint at Niles Audio, part of Nortek, and once a pillar brand for many integrators across the country.
Now Detmer joins AVPro Global to help them scale their operations in support of their fast-growing residential and commercial integrator solutions business.
A new high-end, high-performance, direct-to-consumer audio company called Austin AudioWorks is officially launching the brand during the upcoming AXPONA show at the Schaumberg Convention Center in Chicago, IL from April 12-14. The company says its products “are very different from the mainstream” and show attendees will want to stop by and audition the new line in person at the show.
In a release distributed late in the day on Friday after the close of financial markets, Masimo announced that the Board of Directors has “authorized” company management to prepare a spin-off of the company’s Consumer Business. Masimo Consumer is the business unit created when the company acquired Sound United in early 2022.
