As we recently told you, Russound has announced that it would be launching a line of 70-volt products designed to facilitate integrators’ entry into the commercial market. Now the company has released more details on just what their 70-volt offerings will include – and it appears to be a solid first step into the more commercial business.
Strategy
One Look at This and You’ll Understand Why Wal-Mart Bought Jet.com
Wal-Mart may be the world’s largest retailer, but when it comes to their ecommerce efforts…well, they’ve been much less than that. As behemoth Amazon.com continues to show strong growth, dominating category after category, Wal-Mart has seen its results lag.
See why Wal-Mart needed to do something to spark online sales…
[Read more…] about One Look at This and You’ll Understand Why Wal-Mart Bought Jet.com
Factory Tour: James Loudspeaker, The Inside Story
Factory Tour Shows James Loudspeaker To Be More Than You Realized
In our work lives, we all try to project the most positive image of ourselves. Sometimes the only way to really get to known someone is to visit them in their home. Here, you can find a lot of clues to their true selves.
So it is with companies as well. Polished marketing and great looking products can give you an impression of a large, professional, smoothly-running operation. But, as we can attest from direct experience, that simply is not always the case.
And sometimes, as in the case of James Loudspeaker, you get surprised.
See James Loudspeaker in a whole new light… [Read more…] about Factory Tour: James Loudspeaker, The Inside Story
LeEco, the Netflix/Apple/Tesla of China, Acquires Vizio
Le Holdings Co. Ltd. (LeEco), a Chinese company with unusual multi-business aspirations, announced this week that they had acquired Vizio, a U.S. manufacturer of affordable televisions, in a deal worth $2 billion. The deal will serve as LeEco’s entry into the U.S. market with its unusual mix of products.
See more on this deal which will bring a whole new line of technology to the U.S… [Read more…] about LeEco, the Netflix/Apple/Tesla of China, Acquires Vizio
Email Marketing Remains Tops For SMBs
Eye-Popping Effectiveness Stats
Market researcher eMarketer reports that the latest research on marketing trends for small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) – and in this case, retailers – shows that email marketing remains the top tactic for both customer acquisition and retention. This research, pushes back the notion expressed by some, that email is losing momentum.
See more on why you should be using email to attract and retain customers… [Read more…] about Email Marketing Remains Tops For SMBs
Remember When Crestron Said It Was Pulling Out of CEDIA Expo? Surprise!
BREAKING NEWS
Even Bigger Surprise: Who Crestron Has Partnered With
We have learned from multiple sources, and now confirmed with the company, that leading control systems provider Crestron will in fact have a presence at the upcoming CEDIA Expo this September in Dallas, TX. This news will come as a surprise, perhaps even a shock, to many considering that just a few months ago, the company announced its departure from the residential custom integration industry’s biggest annual event.
But perhaps a bigger surprise is with whom they’ve chosen to partner… [Read more…] about Remember When Crestron Said It Was Pulling Out of CEDIA Expo? Surprise!
With BluOS, is Lenbrook the Apple of High-End Distributed AV?
Company Expands BluOS into NAD Line, Expanding Its Options
Back in the Fall of 2013, we told you about the birth of a new brand called Bluesound – a new networkable, high-quality wired and wireless multiroom music system. Almost simultaneously, and in response to the obvious success of Sonos we suspect, new systems from Bose, D&M Holdings (HEOS), and Lenbrook were all introduced. But Lenbook officials maintained that their system had an advantage over most of the other systems – they had created their own operating system called BluOS.
And now BluOS is expanding in very interesting ways… [Read more…] about With BluOS, is Lenbrook the Apple of High-End Distributed AV?
Look Out Nortek, Here Come the Lawyers
Acquirer Melrose Offers a Peek at Its Plans
The ink is barely dry on their agreement to be acquired by Britain’s Melrose Industries PLC, and already Nortek Inc. finds themselves the subject of multiple investigations by several major law firms who have publicly notified shareholders this deal may not be a good one for them. It is not clear if these law firms intend to take action yet, but if so, it could be a complicating factor in the transaction.
See who is stepping up to investigate Nortek… [Read more…] about Look Out Nortek, Here Come the Lawyers
AVAD Sold to Private Equity Company
BREAKING NEWS
Industry Veteran Tom Jacoby is AVAD’s New CEO
News comes this 4th of July holiday week that Ingram Micro, itself just recently acquired by a Chinese shipping company, has sold off AVAD, LLC and AVAD Canada Ltd., to Kingswood Capital Management, a private equity company. In an announcement from Kingswood, the company says it has brought in a new upper management team – including a new CEO, industry veteran Tom Jacoby.
See more on the sale of AVAD to private equity… [Read more…] about AVAD Sold to Private Equity Company
LCD Kingpin Sharp, Under New Management, Pursues OLED
Sharp to Cut Another 7,000 Employees

Big changes are coming to Sharp, Corp. in the wake of their acquisition by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co – better known as Foxconn. News out of Japan notes that the deal between Sharp and Foxconn officially closes at the end of this month. According to both parties, the acquisition is proceeding smoothly and is fully expected to close on time.




