Strategy

Best Buy Blows Away Fiscal 2nd Quarter Estimates – Yet Its Stock Drops; Why?

August 26, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) had what appeared to be a big win this week, generating financial results that handily beat its fiscal second quarter estimates, driven largely by a huge 242.2% increase in ecommerce sales. Their fiscal second quarter, the 13-week period that ended August 1, 2020 was big, coming in at $9.910 billion – even in a COVID-19 ravaged quarter – fully 4% higher than the $9.536 billion in the same quarter in 2019.

And yet, the company’s stock value DROPPED on the announcement of their quarterly results. And in after-hours trading, Best Buy stock lost as much as 5% of its value. Why did that happen?

See why Best Buy stock got hit, on good news…

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Sonos Adds Top Microsoft Executive to Its Board of Directors

August 20, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Sonos, Inc. (NASDAQ: SONO) announced this week that they are adding a new member to their Board of Directors. In fact, they even increased the size of the Board to make room for this new addition. The news surprised – and impressed – many market observers, as the person they are adding is Panos Panay, a top Microsoft Corp. executive. You see, if you are not familiar with Panay, there is something special about his background that makes him an intriguing addition to the Sonos Board.

Learn more about this Sonos recruitment…

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Onkyo Closes US Subsidiary, Terminates Dealers, and Outsources Distribution to Klipsch

August 19, 2020 by Ted 8 Comments

A Strangely Retroactive Notification

Last week, a letter was sent to all Onkyo dealers in the United States notifying them that their dealer agreements were being terminated. The reason for this termination? Onkyo USA Corporation no longer exists and therefore can no longer serve them. Don’t miss the significance of this historic moment – for the first time in 45-years there is no Onkyo subsidiary in the U.S., once the largest market for parent Onkyo Pioneer Corporation (OPC) of Osaka, Japan.

See more about this turn of events at Onkyo…

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Making Space for Onkyo Brands, Voxx Announces Subsidiary Reorganization

August 12, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Voxx Expects Big Growth; That May Be a Bigger Challenge Than Anticipated

As part of an internal restructuring to accommodate their recent acquisition of the distribution rights to certain Onkyo brands, Voxx International Corporation announced this week that it has renamed the existing Klipsch Holding LLC to the rather generically named Premium Audio Company LLC. This is just the first change, as I’ve learned more announcements are just around the corner.

See more on the Voxx & Klipsch plans for Onkyo…

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Sonos Fiscal Q3 Result Shocks Wall Street; Stock Value Skids 18%

August 6, 2020 by Ted 2 Comments

Many Thought the Pandemic was Sonos’ Moment to Shine…Apparently Not to Be

Although Sonos CEO Patrick Spence and CFO Brittany Bagley both proclaimed that the Sonos fiscal Q3 results were “better than expected,” the fact that they reported that revenues had declined and the company booked a much larger net loss seems to be rubbing investors the wrong way. As of this writing on August 6th, the value of Sonos shares have declined more than 18% in afternoon trading.

See more on the Sonos fiscal Q3 results…

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Major Credit Agencies Downgrade Outlook for GKN – Biggest Melrose Company

July 29, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

Future of Nortek a Question

Melrose plc, parent company to Nortek, Inc., has taken some serious incoming hits this month – hits from both major credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service. And these hits hurt. Fitch was first when they announced a couple of weeks ago that in a review of GKN Holdings Limited – Melrose’s largest holding by far – it was maintaining its credit rating at current levels, but it was changing its future “Outlook” to “Negative.” Today, Moody’s announced they too were changing their outlook on GKN from “Ratings Under Review” to “Negative.”

See why credit pros are downgrading the mighty Melrose bet on GKN…

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Sources: Nortek Security & Control Shutting Down Niles and Sunfire Brands

July 23, 2020 by Ted 8 Comments

Multiple sources are confirming to Strata-gee that Nortek Security & Control (NSC or Nortek) is planning to shut down two of their brands – Sunfire and the once iconic Niles. The move is said to be the result of their relative under-performance as the company shifts its focus to the apparently more successful brands, such as Elan.

See more on the closing of Niles & Sunfire by Nortek

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Is the Residential Wellness Segment About to Explode?

July 22, 2020 by Ted 2 Comments

A New National Rep Group is Counting On It

A national network of sales representatives have formed a group to promote and sell products supporting the residential wellness segment – sometimes known as the “healthy home” segment. Called the PureTech Alliance, the organization was conceived and formed by two former founding members of another national group – this one of regional specialty A/V distributors – known as the Alliance of Value Added Distributors (AVAD).

AVAD went on to become a successful $200 million national distributor that helped drive the growth of the custom installation channel and was ultimately acquired by Ingram Micro. Will lightening strike twice?

See more on PureTech Alliance and residential wellness…

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Sonos Slashes Headcount by 12%, Closes NY Store, and Cuts CEO Spence’s Pay 20%

June 24, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

In a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sonos, Inc. [SONO:NASDAQ] announced a series of measures to try and get company costs under control in the wake of the COVID-19 impacted economy. More drastic than previous announcements, Sonos said it will cut its global headcount, close its New York retail store, close six satellite offices, cut the CEO pay, and further cut the executive team’s pay.

See more on these serious Sonos cutbacks…

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B&W Offers New Products & Old Friends as Sign of Strategy Change

June 24, 2020 by Ted Leave a Comment

B&W 702 Signature Series speakers — *702 Signature [Click to enlarge]*

Intros 700 Series Signature Models & Rehires Past PR Agency

Bowers & Wilkins (B&W), a leading high-end specialty loudspeaker brand for 54 years, that recently zigged and zagged when it was acquired by EVA Automation and launched a whole new line of wireless multi-room audio systems, has taken steps to demonstrate its re-focus on their high-end, high-performance roots. These moves include re-hiring the company’s long time PR company and now launching new products that are true to its heritage as an undisputed leading premium brand.

Learn more about B&W’s latest moves…

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Strategy

Best Buy Blows Away Fiscal 2nd Quarter Estimates – Yet Its Stock Drops; Why?

See why Best Buy stock got hit, on good news…