Strategy in TECH...
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced that this week it was preemptively removing certain models of its Apple Watch line from its online store on Thursday, and from its physical retail stores by December 24th. The products affected by this action are the Series 9 and Ultra 2 Watch models which include pulse oximetry technology that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determined infringed on patents held by Masimo Corp. (NASDAQ: MASI).
Savant Systems, Inc., a leading provider of control, home automation, smart home, and smart power solutions, announced on Monday that it has acquired the assets of J Geiger Shading, a leading provider of architecturally conscious shading products. The two companies have had an ongoing association for several years now, and this new transaction brings J Geiger products under the Savant umbrella.
Azione Unlimited, a leading buying group of custom integrators that calls itself the Smart Home Association, has for years been recognized as a leading provider of compelling education and knowledge sharing for its member companies. Now, the organization announces a reinvention of the education process that they call the Dynamic Education Ecosystem.
Nice, a multi-national company based in Italy with a portfolio of Home Management and Building Management brands (including former Nortek Security and Control brands) and its primary shareholder BeNice Holding, has finalized a strategic partnership with FSI, an Italian private equity investment company. This partnership was first announced in August as part of a capital investment by FSI and has now fully closed.
Upscale Distribution, a distributor of high-end, high-fidelity audio components that originated in association with Southern California retailer Upscale Audio, has announced that it is rebranding as Harmonia Distribution. The new brand is not just a new name, but rather a reflection of a changed mission and new, more independent direction for the company.
As part of this new business model, the company has named a new president who will guide the Harmonia Distribution down this new path.
Spotify Technology, S.A. announced that it will lay off approximately 1,500 employees, or about 17% of its entire staff. The company says the cuts are necessary to adjust operations for a very different operating environment than it anticipated when it built staff to drive growth in 2020 during the pandemic.
These are not its first layoffs in 2023…
Nationwide Marketing Group’s Oasys Residential Technology Group division reported this week that its membership has grown “over 100%” in 2023, a remarkable achievement in a relatively short period of time. It also propels the overall organization towards its publicly stated goal of achieving a total of at least 1,000 custom integration members across its three brands as part of its “Drive to 1,000,” first announced in March this year.
Darren Myers doesn’t look like your typical audio electronics engineer. He also doesn’t sound like a typical audio engineer. A young guy with fresh ideas…maybe they make sense, maybe they don’t…I had an unusual, thought-provoking, and even at times surprising conversation with Darren Myers, Parasound’s Vice President of Research and Development.
See what Myers thinks about the revitalization of Parasound and what he believes is an exciting and expanding future for the entire high end audio industry.
Draper, Inc. announced this week that it has added a new 100,000 sq. ft. building to its campus in Spiceland, Indiana. This is its tenth building and this addition brings the company’s total footprint in Spiceland to no less than 500,000 sq. ft.
A former associate of Head Monster Noel Lee (and Paris Hilton) remains in jail in Los Angeles after a judge dismissed a murder-for-hire case against him over technical questions of venue. Prosecutors accused Fereidoun “Prince Fred” or “Fred” Khalilian of paying his bodyguard to kill a documentary filmmaker who was ostensibly working on a movie exposing Khalilian’s alleged life of fraud.
