Strategy in TECH...
Redwood Marketing, Inc. announced the dates and plans for this year’s CI Expo 2025, taking place at a new, expanded venue at the Doubletree Hotel at the Club in Pleasanton, CA. The Expo is scheduled for May 29, 2025, and will offer new upgraded features such as multiple upscale outdoor vignettes, an expanded exhibit space, a new program, and more participating brands.
Chicago-based Vanco International LLC, a maker and distributor of high-performance custom integration gear, announced today that it is launching the next generation of its popular EVO-IP HDMI-over-IP solution at the upcoming Integrated Systems Europe show running February 4-7 in Barcelona, Spain. This new system – called EVO-IP 2.0 – adds both new features and increasingly robust capabilities, including mind-blowing scalability.
Premium Audio Company (PAC), a division of Gentex Corp. that oversees the Onkyo, Integra, and Klipsch audio gear, has launched an interesting new series of electronics including an amplifier, preamplifier, and integrated amplifier at CES 2025 taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada this week. This new series is called the Onkyo Icon Series, a line of high-fidelity electronics that the company says is “a bold step forward in the brand’s evolution.”
Much like the last few years, exhibitors at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas have largely focused on advances in artificial intelligence (AI). All major manufacturers spoke to it…none more deeply than LG, whose 45-minute press conference began with AI…ended with AI…and had a lot of AI in the middle.
This past Sunday, on the eve of this week’s launch of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) released updated projections for total Tech industry sales in the year, as is its custom. According to the trade association, total Tech industry sales are expected to reach $537 billion – the highest level in history.
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the CEDIA Tech & Business Summit at the Hilton Hotel in Hasbrouck Heights in Northern New Jersey. To my eyes, this was a well-attended event and I was impressed with how the Association has put together a well-oiled machine that shows some real progress in elevating the value of attending a regional industry event like this.
Data from the 2024 CEDIA Expo in Denver, CO this past September shows a troubling trend – attendance actually declined…and declined appreciably – from the 2023 version of the event. And this decline took place even though the promoter has combined CEDIA Expo with a new event (new last year), the Commercial Integrator Expo (CIX), which was probably an effort to boost attendance numbers.
Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE: EEX) reported its third quarter (3Q) of Fiscal 2024 financial results on Wednesday prior to the market open and it was a tough result with revenues flat – even with newly acquired shows included – and net income dropping to a double-digit million dollar net loss. The company announced it was engaging in a tougher “portfolio optimization” plan to cut unprofitable events and add newer, more profitable options.
As I reported last week, I attended the October 15, 2024, Grand Opening of the latest Crestron Experience Center (CEC), located in the prestigious New York Design Center in Manhattan. This CEC is remarkable in its own right, but as I reflected further on the Grand Opening I realized that the event itself was noteworthy. Not only did a top Crestron executive sit down with me to offer some interesting perspectives on the new CEC and business in general, but what I observed at that event itself was impressive as well.
So I have decided to augment my previous report with additional observations…and more photos.
Crestron Electronics, a worldwide industry leader in both the commercial and residential smart technology space, has opened a dramatic and dynamic new Crestron Experience Center (CEC) in the heart of Manhattan at 200 Lexington Avenue in the renowned New York Design Center. A grand opening ceremony was held with the media, customers, integrators and other special guests on Tuesday, October 15th, previewing the space which offers visitors an expansive roster of “hands-on” experiences and even includes a “workshop” for true first-person experiences where visitors can – among other things – discover new possibilities they didn’t know existed.
