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Tech Guru Panos Panay Resigns from Sonos Board; Co. Intros ‘New’ Execs

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Panos Panay, when he joined Sonos board

Last week, Sonos quietly let the Securities and Exchange Commission know that Panos Panay resigned from the Sonos board of directors, effective September 27, 2023. They made no public announcement that I am aware of, even though this news could have a major impact on the company’s direction. Why? Simply because Panos Panay is one of the most respected technology product gurus in the industry – so much so that Sonos trumpeted his arrival loudly when they convinced him to join their board in 2020.

Separately, and within just days of the exit of Panay, the company announced three “new” (I’ll explain the quotes around the word new below) additions to its executive team, including a new, promoted from within, Chief Product Officer…

See more about the departure of Panay from the Sonos board, and its new additions

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Audio America / Next Level Distribution Files a Form of Receivership in Florida

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Title page of the Audio America and Next Level Distribution ABC filing

Audio America, Inc., the surviving entity that merged with Next Level Distribution and Next Level Fulfillment has filed formal paperwork for an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC), a form of receivership, with the Circuit Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County, Florida. The move was widely rumored but only confirmed Tuesday. Also joining in this ABC is another entity known as Ecomhalo, LLC, a related company.

The news confirms much of what we heard last month regarding the impending liquidation of a major U.S. distribution company.

See what we learned in Audio America / Next Level Distribution’s ABC filing

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VOXX Int’l Announces Extension of CEO Lavelle’s Contract and Other Exec. Changes; Stock Drops

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Voxx Int'l logo

VOXX International Corporation [NASDAQ: VOXX] (VOXX Int’l) announced this morning before the stock market opened several executive changes, including the extension of the employment agreement of VOXX Chief Executive Officer Pat Lavelle. How did Wall Street react to this news? The value of VOXX stock showed a significant decline on a day when the NASDAQ exchange, where VOXX is traded, saw an overall increase of nearly +2/3rds of a percent.

See more on changes in the VOXX Int’l executive suite

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CEDIA Expo 2023 Attendance Grows Slightly Over Last Year, Or Did It?

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Savant booth at CEDIA Expo 2023

Attendance at this year’s CEDIA Expo, held in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center from September 7-9, was a bit of an illusion. The Expo, which is owned and operated by Emerald Expositions, announced final attendance figures nearly two weeks after the event closed. At the event, many exhibitors expressed satisfaction with the number of attendees they saw – yet the final announced attendance numbers turned out to be not quite as significant as some had thought. How did that happen?

See more on CEDIA Expo attendance figures

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Here are My Top Stories from CEDIA Expo 23

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A crowded Snap One booth at CEDIA Expo 23

Well, another CEDIA Expo is in the books and we return to our daily duties and launch into a new Fall season full of promise…and concerns. What were the big stories of this year’s edition of Emerald’s (a public, for-profit company that owns the show) CEDIA Expo? Well, I’ve scanned several summations from others in the media and it almost seems like we attended different Expos. Here’s what I think they are…

See my Top Stories from CEDIA Expo 2023

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Friends Arrange Gathering to Celebrate the Life of Ron Meyerowitz on Sept 27

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Ron Meyerowitz, in a photo from 2011

Friends of Ron Meyerowitz have arranged for a gathering to celebrate his life on September 27, 2023, in New York City. The gathering is open for any friend of Ron’s (invitation required) who would like to join with others to share some food and drink, and most importantly, share stories about Ron, an influential manufacturer sales representative in the New York Metro market – and a very good friend to many in the industry.

Learn more about Ron Meyerowitz’s Celebration of Life gathering

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August Housing Starts Hit Lowest Level in Three Years

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Homebuilder Sentiment Drops for First Time in Seven Months

Yet another sign of the struggling housing industry as climbing mortgage rates and historically high home prices combine to drop new residential construction – known as housing starts – to their lowest level in three years. Both single-family housing starts and overall housing starts, which includes multi-family dwellings, saw significant declines in August.

See the latest data on August housing starts

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On a Mythical Quest of Ascension, Lenbrook Acquires MQA

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Image from MQA website
Image from MQA website

*BREAKING NEWS*

Lenbrook Corporation, a Canadian company that holds a portfolio of premium specialty brands, announced this morning it has acquired the assets of MQA, ltd., the U.K.-based company behind the Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) high-resolution audio encoding system in a transaction it hopes will breathe new life into the technology that had fallen into a form of receivership upon the loss of its major financial backer. Terms of the deal were not disclosed as part of this announcement.

See more on Lenbrook’s acquisition of of MQA, Ltd.

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CEDIA Expo 23: We’re Going to Need Crowd Control

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Another busy day at CEDIA Expo 23

The crowds on Day 2 of CEDIA Expo 23 were equally as impressive, if not more so, as they were on Day 1. I had a mid-day meeting at the Snap One booth and as you can see in the image above, I couldn’t even get into the booth! Of course, I can only give you my impressions as there is no official count as I write this, but to my eyes it sure looks like attendance is going to be a pleasant surprise when Emerald announces the final count.

See more on Day 2 results in my final show report

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New Commercial Buying Group Ellipsys Signs with Sonance as Founding Partner

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Sonance and Ellipsys are partnering in the commercial space

Ellipsys Commercial Technology Group, part of the Nationwide Marketing Group family of dealer buying groups, announced ahead of CEDIA Expo 2023 that it has sealed a big deal with industry leader Sonance as a founding vendor partner for the new group. The news will surely provide a big boost to the young, rapidly growing, commercial integrator buying group.

See more on the Ellipsys partnership with Sonance

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