AVAD, one of the custom integration industry’s leading distributors, is in the process of going through a major transformation, out from under the – some would say – clueless shadows of its previous owner, monster I.T. distributor Ingram Micro…to a more focused posture under new owner Kingswood Capital Management. Now being managed by CEO Tom Jacoby and President Fred Farrar, the company has begun a series of initiatives to transform their geographic footprint, business model, and push to higher revenues.
Strategy
LG Targets Home Cinema with ProBeam Compact Laser Projector
LG Electronics announced this week an interesting new compact laser projector targeted at the home cinema enthusiast. Although quite affordable, this light and compact projector – called the LG ProBeam – features some very cool technology and features sure to delight residential movie fans.
Check out the LG’s new ProBeam… [Read more…] about LG Targets Home Cinema with ProBeam Compact Laser Projector
Sony CEO Predicts 20-Yr High Op. Profit; Says Co. Needs More Innovation
Sony 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
What 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
My 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
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
Will Use Harman Audio Tech as Smartphone Differentiator
In 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?
Bloomberg 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
Network 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
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?
