Strategy in TECH...
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.
Savant Systems LLC held their 2020 Integrator Summit this year in conjunction with the International Builder Show in Las Vegas, NV on January 20-23. At that event, the company unveiled a large array of new products and new strategic partnerships, showing they intend to retain their innovative edge that has attracted so many integrator fans.
The U.S. International Trade Commission has announced that it is launching a patent investigation into various speaker and controller products offered by Alphabet Inc.’s Google brand. This investigation initiation is the result of a formal complaint made by Sonos, Inc. who makes similar products that compete with Google, and claims the tech giant stole their technology.
Sonos, Inc. this week reported a strong first quarter for their 2020 fiscal year. In fact, the company says it had a record quarter with strong revenue and profit gains.
I received a tip from a tech supplier here in the U.S. that the Coronavirus epidemic impacting China is a big problem getting bigger every day…and that our industry needs to think about – and prepare for – the impact on our supply chain. This week, Strata-gee surveyed several brands to learn their status on product supply…and what their perspective was on the near-term future impact of this epidemic taking place in China.
MSE Audio will launch the SoundTube STNet Soundbar at ISE 2020 in Amsterdam next month, running from February 11-14. This innovative soundbar solution is enabled for IP-based PoE for really convenient hookup.
Racepoint Energy, sister company of Savant Systems LLC, announced this week that it has acquired innovative residential lighting control provider NOON Home. Based in Campbell, CA, NOON offers an impressive array of intuitive lighting and intelligent control solutions.
