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Sony CEO Predicts 20-Yr High Op. Profit; Says Co. Needs More Innovation

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Photo of display of Sony TVsSony CEO Kazuo Hirai is feeling pretty good these days. After an incredibly tough turnaround period where many questioned his plan, Hirai said this week that the company expects to book an operating profit of ¥500 billion ($4.5 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2018, its highest operating profit in 20-years according to a report by the Nikkei. But the CEO admits that, as good as this news is, the company is still short of a full turnaround.

What’s needed for a complete turnaround of Sony’s business? Innovation…

See more on what Sony’s CEO says the company needs to do… [Read more…] about Sony CEO Predicts 20-Yr High Op. Profit; Says Co. Needs More Innovation

LeEco Appears to be Falling…Hard

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LeEco logoWhat started as a roar appears to be ending as a whimper, as Asian wannabe-giant LeEco announced this week plans to lay-off nearly 70% of their entire U.S. workforce. This significant retrenchment occurs just weeks after its proposed $2 billion acquisition of Vizio fell apart just before closing, and suggests the company, which is in multiple businesses, may have gotten ahead of itself…and ahead of its funding.

See more on this dramatic announcement from LeEco… [Read more…] about LeEco Appears to be Falling…Hard

CEDIA Layoffs & New Headquarters

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cedia logoMy assistant spotted it immediately. “There’s a strange letter in today’s mail,” she said with a slight hesitation in her voice one day last week as she handed me a small stack of mail that she had just picked up from our company post office box. That hesitation in her voice wasn’t so much concern as it was uncertainty as to whether she should bother to bring it to my attention. After all, it could simply be just another example of cleverly disguised junk mail.

But when I opened it, I knew immediately – this was not junk mail… [Read more…] about CEDIA Layoffs & New Headquarters

Toshiba Machine Buys Its Independence from Toshiba

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Toshiba Machine logo

You know things aren’t going well when divisions of your own company want to break the chains of their association with you. That is essentially what happened when Toshiba Machine “bought” its independence by buying out the shares of its stock held by parent company Toshiba Corp.

A new and strange twist in the saga of the stumbling Toshiba… [Read more…] about Toshiba Machine Buys Its Independence from Toshiba

And You Thought Samsung Bought Harman for Car Audio

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Will Use Harman Audio Tech as Smartphone Differentiator

A Harman concept carIn November 2016, we learned that Samsung had acquired Harman International Industries in a deal valued at $8 billion. At that time, everyone pretty much assumed the deal was all about automotive audio – and area that inside-Samsung sources had identified as a market the company sought to penetrate. Now we learn that it wasn’t just about cars.

See a newly emerging strategy that Samsung plans to use Harman for… [Read more…] about And You Thought Samsung Bought Harman for Car Audio

LeEco Just Missed Its Payroll, Can It Still Buy Vizio?

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Vizio logoBloomberg is reporting that Chinese mega brand LeEco missed its normal payroll at the end of March, telling employees it would pay them a few days later. While this is a situation that is not unfamiliar to many small business owners, LeEco is anything but your typical small business owner. They are supposedly in the final stages of a $2 billion acquisition of major TV brand Vizio.

But if LeEco can’t make their own payroll…how can they still buy Vizio?

Read on to see what we know about LeEco and Vizio… [Read more…] about LeEco Just Missed Its Payroll, Can It Still Buy Vizio?

Access Networks CEO: Network Security is an ‘Existential Challenge’ for Industry

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Access Network's Roy BeiserNetwork systems provider Access Networks announced this week that it has hired Roy Beiser, a former Intel executive, as its first ever Director of IT. But even more than that, Beiser, who is said to be highly credentialed in network technologies and cyber security issues, will assist in helping Access Networks to establish “the highest IT and cyber security standards for the company’s base of integration professionals and their clients.”

See what Access Networks plans to do to raise the security bar for itself, and the industry… [Read more…] about Access Networks CEO: Network Security is an ‘Existential Challenge’ for Industry

Radio Shack’s 2nd Bankruptcy in 2 Years; The Era of The Gadget is Over

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Radio Shack sign
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

In yet another clear sign that the era of the gadget is over, once prodigious gadget-seller Radio Shack files for bankruptcy on Wednesday…again. This is the second bankruptcy filing for the company in just two years. A strategy of partnering with Sprint didn’t produce the revenue the new owner’s anticipated and this second filing was unavoidable. So what happens now?

See what is in store for wounded giant Radio Shack… [Read more…] about Radio Shack’s 2nd Bankruptcy in 2 Years; The Era of The Gadget is Over

D+M Group Sold From One PE Company to Another

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Sound United logosWe learned Wednesday that private equity powerhouse Bain Capital has apparently found a buyer for D+M Group, selling it off to another private equity company – Boston-based Charlesbank Capital Partners. CCP is the owner of DEI Holdings, a division of which is Sound United LLC, parent company of Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, and Polk BOOM. It is Sound United that will now also take over D+M Group and its brands Denon, Marantz, HEOS by Denon and Boston Acoustics.

See more on what we know about this deal for D+M… [Read more…] about D+M Group Sold From One PE Company to Another

Control4 & Triad CEOs Explain to Strata-gee Why Their Deal Makes Sense

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Control4 logo, newControl4 Corp. announced Tuesday that it has decided to get into the speaker business – doing so by acquiring Triad Speakers, Inc. – whom it describes as “a leader in advanced audio technology with best-in-class, customizable speaker-solutions.” The lofty language in the announcement in praise of Triad caught us by surprise and, unlike some of their other acquisitions, we did not find this one immediately obvious.

So when given the opportunity to interview both CEOs about this unexpected development, we jumped at the chance to learn more about the “hows” and the “whys” of this unusual partnership.

See what the two CEOs told us about Control4’s acquisition of Triad… [Read more…] about Control4 & Triad CEOs Explain to Strata-gee Why Their Deal Makes Sense