Strategy in TECH...
It’s September again and that means the approach of Fall, kids are back in school, and it’s time for CEDIA Expo. So like many of you, I packed my bags and headed to Denver, which almost feels like coming home again. But will the show this year be [musical reference] a Rocky Mountain High? Or will it be a Low Rider?
Historic Hi-Fi brand Marantz has been gracing the homes of appreciative audiophiles for many, many years. Actually, for seven decades after its founding by Saul Marantz in 1953…for those of you who are counting. To celebrate – the company is offering a unique opportunity for audio lovers everywhere to step up their audio gear game with a special, limited-time trade-in program for the latest Marantz gear.
Emerald Expositions, owner of the CEDIA Expo taking place this year in Denver from September 6-9, 2023, announced it is bringing back the Launchpad (formerly known as Innovation Alley) to the Expo floor. The Launchpad highlights several new and emerging companies that take advantage of the event to launch new technologies to the industry.
For the first time since the category has been independently tracked, new data from market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that global shipments of smart home devices actually declined in 2022. Not only that but while the market researcher predicts that 2023 will see a bit of a rebound overall, its largest segment – Smart TVs – will likely decline again this year.
Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE: EEX) (Emerald), also known as Emerald Expositions (Emerald Expo), reported their fiscal 2022 fourth quarter and full-year results on Tuesday. Their results, with strong revenue and income growth, clearly establish that the organization is rebounding from the years of COVID with exhibitors and attendees coming back to their events in force.
Sonance announced this week that it has appointed well-known manufacturer sales representative firm Strateres as its representative for the New England region. This agreement includes the representation of all of the company’s brands, including Sonance, James Loudspeaker, and IPORT.
In a dramatic move that represents a tremendous investment in consumer marketing, Savant Systems, Inc. (Savant) is piloting a second New York City showroom concept in Manhattan’s trendy SOHO district called, appropriately enough, Savant SOHO Smart Home Gallery. This new space joins the company’s long-running Flagship Experience Center, which is also in SOHO.
In what may turn out to be the best test yet of Masimo’s long-term plans for Sound United, the company announced today that it is launching an expansion of HEOS, the wireless home system initially developed by the company’s Denon division as part of a whole-home wireless music system. When Masimo acquired Sound United back in February of this year, Denon’s “cloud-connected home ecosystem” was one of the items it specifically mentioned as what attracted them to make the acquisition.
With today’s announcement, the company says that the launch of this “…expansion of the HEOS platform [will] provide a robust and always-on connection to the Masimo Health secure cloud.”
VOXX International Corporation (VOXX), owner of Premium Audio Company (PAC) and many other brands, announced this week that it has launched a new e-commerce platform. This new platform is initially being rolled out at Premium Audio Company – the division that operates brands such as Klipsch, Jamo, Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, Elite, Magnat, and Heco.
In the latest research on the smart audio market, analysts see clear progress in the expansion of voice technology both in terms of the growing number of devices containing it, and the expanding uses to which voice control is being used. While much of the results of this latest survey are specific to smart speakers, this version goes well beyond that to looking at voice in all sorts of devices.
