Manufacturers

The Curious Case of the Disappearance of Classé

October 31, 2019 by Ted 2 Comments

BREAKING NEWS Acquired by Sound United Two Years Ago, Then Gone

It was January 2018 when I reported that Sound United had completed its acquisition of Classé, an acquisition which had been first announced in December of 2017. In the weeks leading up to that December, former owner Bowers & Wilkins was considering getting out of the electronics business…maybe. After months of confusion, where on any day executives at Classé teetered back-and-forth between survival and demise – it now seemed that Sound United had thrown them a lifeline…a chance to live to fight another day.

And then they dropped out of sight for the last two years…

What happened to Classé?…

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LG Smokes Q3 Forecast for Record Financial Results

October 31, 2019 by Ted Leave a Comment

LG Electronics Inc. is on a roll, as evidenced by their fiscal third quarter results. The company says it has set an all-time record for third quarter revenues while at the same time booking their best quarterly profit in a decade.

See more details on LG’s Q3 results…

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Sharp & Foxconn Stiff Korean Factory Equipment Suppliers on Money Owed

October 31, 2019 by Ted Leave a Comment

Korean media is reporting that Sharp, the former Japanese powerhouse brand now owned by Taiwan’s Foxconn, is late on approximately tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars worth of payments to Korean factory gear makers. Not only are they late, but they are said to be demanding even more discounts on the outstanding debt owed to multiple South Korean suppliers of factory equipment destined for use in LCD production factories. All of this is being done in violation of covenants in their purchase contracts with these suppliers.

This dispute may raise to level of government intervention.

What is Sharp & Foxconn doing? And why?…

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Luxman Appoints John Pravel VP of Sales

October 23, 2019 by Ted Leave a Comment

Luxman America has appointed well known industry executive John Pravel as its Vice President of Sales. Previous to this appointment, Pravel was one of Luxman’s sales representatives in upstate New York.

See more on Pravel’s appointment at Luxman

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Giving No Ground, Lenbrook Launches Robust Retaliation to Sonos Lawsuit

October 20, 2019 by Ted Leave a Comment

After receiving a stipulation allowing them more time to respond, Lenbrook Industries Ltd, and Lenbrook America, last week filed their response to the Sonos patent litigation they were hit with in June. It was a robust and smart response that clearly communicated that Lenbrook planned to give no ground in this dispute.

While perhaps not quite as audacious as the D&M response when they were first dealt the blow of litigation…Lenbrook offered a smart and savvy response that not only pushed back but seemingly undercuts many of Sonos’ core allegations..and patents.

Sonos v Lenbrook is heating up…who has the advantage?…

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Nortek Figures Prominently, If Not Always Positively, in Melrose Industries’ 1st Half Fiscal Results

October 18, 2019 by Ted Leave a Comment

Melrose Industries PLC, a U.K. based investment group that purchased Nortek, Inc. back in 2016, released their fiscal 2019 first half financial results last month (for the period ending June 30, 2019). And while the results showed strong sales growth (thanks to a large acquisition) the company still booked a net loss.

Perhaps more interesting, was that Nortek’s Security & Smart Technology unit figured quite prominently in the document – often for the wrong reasons.

See why Nortek was so prominent…

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With Loss of Two Potential Buyers, Onkyo’s Future is a Question Mark

October 10, 2019 by Ted Leave a Comment

As you most likely know by now, Onkyo Corp. and Sound United have called off their transaction which would have transferred ownership of the 73-year old Onkyo brand, as well as the Integra, Pioneer, and Pioneer Elite brands to Sound United. The shocking news capped off a nearly five month process where many in the industry tried to figure out just how this deal made sense.

This was the second loss of a potential buyer for Onkyo, which admits it is re-evaluating its future based on the failure to sell off its brands.

See why Onkyo’s future is a question mark…

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CEDIA19: Origin Acoustics in Big Entry into Commercial Market

October 10, 2019 by Ted Leave a Comment

Origin's Aaron Cattoir at CEDIA19 with a big subwoofer — Origin’s Aaron Cattoir showing me a new and very big in-room subwoofer [Click to enlarge]

Always an entertaining stop at CEDIA, Origin Acoustics didn’t disappoint again this year with a significant number of new models, some other updated models, and new announcements. See what caught my eye at this CEDIA Expo…

See new commercial products from Origin…

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Sony Announces Promotions in the AV Specialty & Custom Integration Sales Group

October 9, 2019 by Ted 2 Comments

Sony announced that is has promoted two of the members of its team to new roles in the wake of the recent retirement of Gary Frankel, Western Regional Sales Manager. Both new appointments are in their “award-winning” AV Specialty and Custom Integration sales group and were made effective as of September 1, 2019.

See who was promoted at Sony…

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Sound United Calls Off Onkyo Acquisition

October 4, 2019 by Ted 5 Comments

BREAKING NEWS

In a tersely worded release, Sound United announced today that its deal to acquire the Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, and Pioneer Elite brands is off. Originally announced in May, the deal was said to be conditional on the completion of due diligence, the signing of “definitive agreements” and other specific elements. Apparently, that process was not successful.

See more on this surprising, but rumored, outcome…

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Manufacturers

The Curious Case of the Disappearance of Classé