Strategy in TECH...
Melrose Industries PLC has announced it will suspend the payment of its usual year-end dividend in the face of the deteriorating economic environment as a result of the global spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Melrose, the U.K. turnaround specialist that is parent company of the U.S. based Nortek has taken other actions to adjust operations at its operating companies in the face of COVID-19.
You don’t need me to tell you…the entire world has changed dramatically in just a few short weeks. Deadly viral outbreaks forcing government mandated ‘Stay-at-Home’ orders is something we haven’t seen in our lifetimes. Well the good news is, Savant remains committed to supporting their dealers and has aggressively taken action to more effectively configure their company’s support systems to meet the challenges of today’s environment.
A relatively large number of readers and industry sources have reached out to Strata-gee with word of cutbacks and layoffs at various industry brands – as the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) takes its toll on the U.S. economy. As was reported in a post just a few days ago, jobless claims jumped dramatically – by 33% in just one month – only to be exceeded a few days later by a massive jump in claims of 3 million more unemployed workers.
This week, Strata-gee launched a survey designed to get a sense of the level of impact on Tech businesses by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic now sweeping across the United States and the globe. Thinking that the timing of this survey was very early in the spread of the epidemic and likely to reveal a calm baseline reading, respondents surprised us with results that are fairly dramatic and showed that many are already feeling the impact.
When last we heard from Audio Design Associates just this past December, the company had put out a statement to industry media that a company shutdown was likely imminent. This was shocking news from a company with a long and venerable history as both an integrator and a well-respected manufacturer of custom integration gear.
Now, we learn from a Strata-gee reader that Audio Design Associates has apparently closed their location in Yonkers, NY …
High performance loudspeaker manufacturer Bowers and Wilkins (B&W) sent a letter to their dealers last week addressing issues that have arisen recently, especially as they pertain to the management of the company. As is often the case with this company, the letter answered some questions…but raised others.
When news first appeared two months ago that Frank Sterns was making the move from Sony to Sound United, many folks asked…why? At Sony, he was a top executive with a global CE leader positioned at the top of the industry food chain…a backbone-of-the-industry brand…the inventor of many of the core technologies used in just about every home in America today. Yes, Sound United is a global player as well, but in a much more limited way…and focused exclusively in only one area…audio.
Maybe you’ve heard the buzz about a major shake-up taking place at B&W. Reports out of the U.K. say that Gideon Yu, Greg Lee, David Liu and others have all stepped down from the Board of Directors. There is a link being passed around to a web page for the “Companies House,” which is a government-connected registrar of companies and corporations. The link goes to a page which indicates that several B&W executives and directors have “resigned” their positions. So just what is going on?
Sony Electronics Inc. announced that it has appointed Jeff Goldstein as head of sales for the custom integration channel. Goldstein, who is said to have a multi-decade career at with the company and who is well versed in the custom channel will continue to build on the brand’s success with this channel.
AudioControl, a specialty electronics supplier with growing influence in the residential custom integration channel, has recently expanded into the commercial space with their CM Series of products. At ISE last week, the company announced a significant expansion of that lineup with three new 70-volt amplifiers that feature Dante digital audio networking capability built-in.
