Strategy in TECH...
Emotiva Audio Corp. announced this week that it has appointed Walter Schofield, formerly of SVS Sound, as its first-ever VP, Global Strategy. Schofield has along career in audio but only recently joined the online world at SVS. The position was newly created at Emotiva.
We have confirmed that Peter Tribeman, one of the founding partners and long time President of Atlantic Technology International, will leave the company at the end of this month. It is the end of a 28-year career there and, as we’ve learned, has been in the works for about eighteen months.
Melrose Industries PLC, an engineering turnaround company that recently acquired Nortek, Inc. (parent company of Core Brands) announced last week that it sees margins improving at Nortek already, even though it only acquired the company just last year. Not only that, but thanks to adding Nortek to its stable of investments, Melrose has seen its revenues triple – driving its stock to a record high.
B. Riley & Co., a full service investment bank, announced the closing of a series of refinancing transactions that have completely restructured the outstanding significant debt of Gibson Brands, Inc. Gibson, as we have reported on regularly, entered the consumer electronics space back in 2012, investing in brands such as Onkyo/Integra, Teac, and buying Philips accessory business. Recently, the company appeared to be running into debt difficulties, perhaps from taking on debt to purchase these companies.
Samsung Electronics has made another major investment in the Internet of Things (IoT) space, becoming an early stage Series A investor in Bayshore Networks. The company made the investment via its Samsung NEXT Venture fund, an investment fund created by the company to find and take positions in companies that are driving businesses that will yield future profits for the company.
Atlantic Technology, the specialty loudspeaker manufacturer home theater and architectural audio speakers based in Norwood, MA, announced this week that it has appointed Mike Miller its National Sales Manager. Miller, an experienced industry veteran, joins a company noted for its targeted, strategic products and leads the charge in driving national adoption of its solutions.
Control4 Corp. announced Tuesday that it has decided to get into the speaker business – doing so by acquiring Triad Speakers, Inc. – whom it describes as “a leader in advanced audio technology with best-in-class, customizable speaker-solutions.” The lofty language in the announcement in praise of Triad caught us by surprise and, unlike some of their other acquisitions, we did not find this one immediately obvious.
So when given the opportunity to interview both CEOs about this unexpected development, we jumped at the chance to learn more about the “hows” and the “whys” of this unusual partnership.
This week we learned that Onkyo and Integra products would now be sold through AVAD, a distributor of custom integration products in the U.S. that is in the middle of changing its business model. Interestingly, this announcement came from AVAD, not from Onkyo/Integra, although Onkyo Vice President of Sales and Business Development Joe Petrillo is quoted in the official release.
But this simple announcement is being viewed as a game changer for many in the industry, who note that with the loss of its more “protected” status, Integra may have lost one of its key selling points.
After several years of non-stop success, Samsung has had a bit of a tough run lately. From exploding smartphone batteries to self-destructing washing machines to the arrest of the company’s Vice Chairman and heir-apparant…it’s been a challenging time, to say the least. But with the company Chairman Lee Kun-hee incapacitated due to failing health and his son, the Vice Chairman, now in police custody – the company’s biggest problem is a lack of leadership at the helm.
James Loudspeaker, the specialty speaker manufacturer with a wide range of models mostly serving the high-end market, has intrigued us for some time now. The subject of our intrigue is largely centered around their prodigious custom manufacturing capability, which they use to create a plethora of one-off products designed to order. We told you about a VERY unique pair of speakers they made for one Colorado integrator, who uses James’ customization capabilities as his “competitive advantage.”
