Strategy in TECH...
Bluesound, a division of Lenbrook America, has cut a deal with Best Buy that will result in a national roll-out of the company’s line of high-quality digital multi-room music systems through Best Buy’s Magnolia Design Center locations. The agreement will begin to take effect later this month in a phased introduction into the first 25 locations.
Within hours of our BREAKING NEWS report on Bill McKiegan leaving Krell Industries this morning, we received a press release from Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems announcing his arrival there. McKiegan rejoins the D’Agostino’s – who are the original founders of Krell – taking the position of President in their post-Krell company, effective immediately.
Krell dealers received an unexpected and, to many of them, shocking email from Krell Industries President Bill McKiegan, who announced that Wednesday was his last day at the high-end audio manufacturer. The email (reproduced below), was short on details and gave little more than a list of contacts at the company with whom dealers should consult on any future issues.
Troubled Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp Corp. announced today that it will sell its headquarters building in Osaka, as well as an additional associated building, and the land they both stand on, in a bid to raise cash. The company says it sold the properties for ¥18.8 billion ($156.8 million) which will allow them to book a special gain of ¥14.8 billion in profit from the deal in their fiscal fourth quarter, the period ending March 2016.
Well-respected custom integrator Richard Millson, founder of Vancouver, BC-based Millson Technologies, has some 25-years of experience in high-end residential AV and automation systems installation. Many of these installations were in luxury high-rise condominium developments, trendy boutique hotels, and high-end homes. After literally tens of thousands of installations, Millson knew well the gaping holes in the market that manufacturers simply weren’t addressing.
So Richard created a new company, Millson Custom Solutions, to address these gaps. And the first product from MCS, four years in the making, is CinemaFrame – an amazing in-wall high-performance home theater solution.
CEDIA announced last week that it has hired Vincent Bruno to take over as CEDIA’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective next month. Bruno will leave his current position as Marketing Director for manufacturer Crestron Electronics, a position he’s held for seven years, to take the CEO role at the top trade association for integrators.
Wireless multi-room automation system maker Turn It On (TiO), a division of Anuva Automation, announced this week that it will be sponsoring a fun competition at next month’s CEDIA Expo called the Ninja Time Trials. The Ninja Time Trials offer an opportunity for Expo attendees to compete against the clock and each other, with each day’s winner awarded a full TiO home automation system with a retail value of $5,000.
Sharp Corp. announced this week that it will begin to ship 8K ultra high-definition flat panel TVs and monitors by the end of October. Initially, sales are targeted at certain industrial and commercial markets – with the company saying the very first shipments are headed for broadcast stations and movie studios. This is the first step in commercializing the technology that the company has been working on for years now.
UPDATE – See correction below storyRosewater Energy Group announced this week that it completed the first installation of their residential energy hub in the showroom of South Florida integrator Boca Theater and Automation in Boca Raton, Florida. The installation was completed at the end of August and it features the latest version of Rosewater’s hub with nano-carbon battery technology.
Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) announced Wednesday that it has completely re-engineered their top-of-the-line 800 Series Diamond loudspeaker line, a favorite of many discerning audiophiles. Changing your flagship product is an incredibly daunting (and risky) task – how do you improve on perfection? – but it’s all in a day’s work for a company that, since 1966, has been in a “Quest for Perfection.”
