Strategy in TECH...
Sonance has introduced an expansion to its very popular VX or Visual Experience line of architectural loudspeakers with a new Thin-Line Series. An ultra-thin option, the Thin-Line Series opens up even more installation opportunities for integrators, especially in space-challenged locations.
Carrollton, TX-based commercial solutions provider SAVI Controls and South Jordan, UT-based residential smart home-as-a-service (SHaaS) provider Oliver IQ announced today they were entering into a “strategic merger.” The merged entity will now be known as SAVI iQ and seeks to be the “first AI-driven, cloud-based automation and support platform for commercial and residential markets, engineered to accelerate growth for integrators and service providers.”
Surprising news out of South Korea reported just today – Samsung Electronics CEO and Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee died on Tuesday morning of cardiac arrest, the company confirmed. He was just 63 years old.
Recent developments and reporting within the last week seem to suggest that Sonos, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO) is adrift and directionless as its new Interim CEO tries to right the ship. It has even canceled its next big product introduction. Is the company flailing? Or is it finally getting its act together?
Premium Audio Company (PAC), a subsidiary of Voxx International Corporation (Nasdaq: VOXX) and soon to be a subsidiary of Gentex Corp. (Nasdaq: GNTX), announced that it is entering into a “strategic partnership” with the National Alliance of Trade Merchants (NATM). PAC calls NATM “a leading national buying co-op of top independent retailers in the United States.” The move appears to be a pretty transparent effort to replace sales volume lost when major buying group ProSource dropped all PAC brands from its list of supported products.
Is this new partnership a good alternative? Read on…
On Tuesday, New York University (NYU) and Sony Corporation announced a new partnership to establish the Sony Audio Institute, which is “…a multifaceted partnership at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.” Sony has donated $7.5 million to create the institute, which is expected to launch this spring.
There is a major shakeup in the executive management team at Sony Group that will take effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year, which, as is true for most Japanese companies, starts on April 1, 2025. These are big changes to important roles, including Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and President.
But the change that most Sony employees are buzzing about is the person that was named as its new CFO.
On Monday, Sonos, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO), in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealed that Deirdre Findlay, Sonos Chief Commercial Officer, had resigned from her position with the company on February 19, 2025. This is yet another top executive, in this case, a top marketing position, to leave the company.
Sonos announced the financial results for its first quarter of Fiscal 2025, the 90-day period that ended on December 28, 2024. It was sobering news – Revenues declined over 10%, Operating Income collapsed almost 40%(!), and Net Income slid 38%. These poor results show that Sonos is starting out 2025, not as bad as 2024…it’s starting out worse.
Yet some outlets on Wall Street reported Sonos results were “better than expected.” With these numbers, how is that possible? Read on…
Sonos has announced that it is launching yet another reorganization (it had one in 2024, and another one before that in 2023) with a “reduction in force” this time impacting 12% of its entire workforce. It seems remarkable that at a time when it continues to struggle to extricate itself from the La Brea tar pits it fell into via 2024’s app disaster, one of its first solutions is to let people go. More than 1 out of every 10 employees has been terminated to “…improve the Company’s operating model and cost structure to set the Company up for long-term success.”
