Recently, we have spoken with multiple sources who have said that Krell Industries, a maker of high-end, high-performance electronics, has fallen on hard financial times. Some suggested the company closed at the end of last week for good. Others told us the company may be already in bankruptcy or in the process of filing for bankruptcy. Is this another Classé situation?
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James Loudspeaker Adds John Bishop to Their Team
James Loudspeaker, the Napa, CA-based manufacturer of innovative, high-performance speaker solutions, announced this week that it is adding John Bishop in a new role with the company – Director of Architectural Audio Services. Bishop, a fairly well-known sales representative in New England, is being brought on in a contract basis and will continue with his rep firm in addition to this new role.
See more on Bishop’s appointment by James Loudspeaker… [Read more…] about James Loudspeaker Adds John Bishop to Their Team
The Forgotten Thiel
Strata-gee *EXCLUSIVE* Interview with Tom Thiel
Although Strata-gee has loosely followed Thiel Audio for many years, since 2012, when the company was sold by co-founder Kathy Gornik to a group of Tennessee private equity investors, our coverage intensified. Part of the motivation for devoting more coverage to this stage of Thiel, was a growing interest in the apparent deteriorating state of specialty A/V – but it was also fueled by a wacky, reality-show like, “You’re Fired!” atmosphere as principal owner David B. Griffin routinely dismissed newly constituted management teams. With five different CEOs over a five-year period, some with tenures measured in months, the company’s business suffered from inconsistent fits-and-starts as each team pursued a new direction.
This state of constant turmoil at Thiel caused extreme consternation among – first the Thiel dealer base, and when that disappeared – Thiel end-users, many of whom were huge fans of Jim Thiel. A host of audio forums and bulletin boards had ongoing, passionate postings bemoaning the end of an era: the end of the Kathy Gornik era…and of course, the end of the Jim Thiel era.
Kind of like in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, when Obi-wan says: “That boy is our last hope.” Yoda replies: “No, there is another…” [Read more…] about The Forgotten Thiel
King Thiel is Dead, Long Live Coherent Source Service
Thiel Owners Celebrate the News of the Rebirth of Thiel Service
The rumors have been swirling around various audio blogs and forums for a couple of weeks now and Strata-gee has confirmed that the service department of Thiel Audio, the only part of the Nashville-based company that remains in Lexington, KY, has been split off from the company and purchased by long time head of service, Rob Gillum. The development is incredibly good news for Thiel owners everywhere, many of whom were crushed to hear the brand was closing down.
Rob Gillum talks to Strata-gee… [Read more…] about King Thiel is Dead, Long Live Coherent Source Service
Monster Throws a ‘Hail Mary,’ Pays Millions for Super Bowl Ad
Monster, Inc. (formerly Monster Cable) announced this week that it is launching its first ever television ad during the NBC broadcast of Super Bowl LII this Sunday, February 4. Usually the biggest TV event of the year, Super Bowl commands a king’s ransom in fees for advertisers, reportedly $5 million for a 30-second spot according to Sports Illustrated. Monsters ad? A full 60-second spot.
See more on Monster’s super expensive Super Bowl ad… [Read more…] about Monster Throws a ‘Hail Mary,’ Pays Millions for Super Bowl Ad
O’Connor Named CEDIA CEO, ‘Status Quo’ Wins the Day
CEDIA announced this week that it was promoting Tabatha O’Connor to permanent CEDIA Global President and CEO. O’Connor, a sixteen-year CEDIA association employee, had recently been serving as the “acting” President and CEO in the wake of the sudden dismissal of former CEO Vin Bruno in 2017.
Unfortunately, what this means is the organization has decided to go back to day-to-day association management of operations, rather than drive growth through a strong, visionary CEO with industry experience and great force-of-will to stem the erosion of the organization’s influence.
See more about CEDIA’s choice for CEO… [Read more…] about O’Connor Named CEDIA CEO, ‘Status Quo’ Wins the Day
Luxul Expands Its Team with Key Hires
Luxul announced today that in response to its growing business, it has added two key hires in product management and technical writing. Joining the networking solutions provider are John Epeneter as its new product manager and Lindsay Bull as technical writer.
See more on the roles of these new hires and what it means for Luxul… [Read more…] about Luxul Expands Its Team with Key Hires
Monte Wood, Behind-the-Scenes Hero, Dies
Sad news to report this holiday season – Monte Spencer Wood, a behind-the-scenes hero at Tampa, Florida-based Perpetual Marketing Associates and PGW Distributing, died peacefully in his sleep in the early evening of December 26, the day after Christmas. Monte, a personal friend of mine and many, many others, was a big man with an even bigger heart. His lively, bigger-than-life presence will be missed by all who knew and loved him. He was just 58-years old.
See more on the life of Monte Wood… [Read more…] about Monte Wood, Behind-the-Scenes Hero, Dies
More Thiel Turmoil – Is It Closed? Is It Open?
Significant Staff Terminations Drop Headcount
We are hearing from multiple sources both public and private that Thiel Audio has ceased operations, effective November 30, 2017. If true, the news would be a sad punctuation to the end of the story of a once proud high-end audio brand that since 2012 has endured multiple CEO’s and their changing business plans. Current CEO Elyse McKenna is, by our count, the fifth CEO at Thiel since the end of 2012 – a year which started with co-founder Kathy Gornik as the CEO who then sold the company to David B. Griffin, a wealthy farmer and landowner according to our sources.
But, apparently, the answer to the question posed in our headline is that it depends on who you ask. CEO Elyse McKenna, in a telephone interview this afternoon, denied that Thiel is closed and tells us the company remains open for business.
See more on this confusing news on Thiel… [Read more…] about More Thiel Turmoil – Is It Closed? Is It Open?
CEDIA Elects New Board Members; Is Change at Hand?
CEDIA has wrapped up the election process for three open board seats that we first told you about here in a post from September. There were a total of seven candidates vying for three open slots. The election is over and ladies and gentlemen we have a winner, er, three winners.
