If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read “President Can’t Swim”.
Lyndon B. Johnson
Strategy in TECH...
by Ted 4 Comments
We told you last week about a shocking email received by a Sony dealer which proclaimed in a bold headline that “Sony Technical Support is now terminated.” This seemed to us like a pretty big deal, and yet we could find no official announcement surrounding this email. We dug deep and found sources who told us a hazy and vaguely troubling story that sounded as though the company may be going through some kind of reorganization of its support services.
D+M Group (formerly D&M Holdings), continues their program of divesting businesses it determines are “non-core” to the company’s central focus on the consumer-based Denon, Marantz and Boston Acoustics brands. This week, we learned that the company has cut a deal to license the professional products businesses done under both the Denon and the Marantz brand names to inMusic Brands, Inc.. This move closely follows the announcement last month that the company was selling off the Calrec Audio business to Electra Parters.
Alpine Electronics will be the first of ultimately several companies to offer a in-car infotainment system based on Apple’s CarPlay system according to a report late last week by the Nikkei. Alpine’s system, which will likely be replicated by others, allows drivers to listen to music, view maps, as well as access other iPhone capabilities.

We told you a few days ago about a rising chorus of opposition to the construction of LG’s new 143-foot tall U.S. headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, NJ – a borough which borders on a lush, green, wooded area of the state known as the Palisades – a National Natural Landmark. Now, in a scathing “Critic’s Notebook” article in Saturday’s New York Times, Michael Kimmelman compares how Samsung – also building a new headquarters building in San Jose, CA – took steps to be a good corporate citizen and fit in with the community…versus the approach by LG, “…a lousy neighbor.”
by Ted 6 Comments
J&R Music World has announced that it will close its Manhattan store location today. The announcement is likely a surprise to consumers – but those in the industry in the New York Metro market are not surprised. J&R has been struggling for years, starting with a major push down a slippery slope in the wake of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks which were close enough to damage their location in lower Manhattan.
by Ted 3 Comments
No…we’re not joking. This week, a Strata-gee SYNCH reader sent us a copy of an emailed dealer notification (see it below) from Sony. At the top, the email sported a large, bold, black Sony logo. And the headline centered under that logo? “Sony Technical Support is now terminated.”
Up and coming DIY and Pro home automation company iRule announced this week that it has appointed Adam Gold as its Vice President of Sales. Gold joins the company after leaving a position as Regional Sales Manager for Middle Atlantic Products.
In a report that is sure to surprise many and even stun some, the Korea Fair Trade Commission, South Korea’s fair trade watchdog, announced that just four large companies – or conglomerates – generate 90% of all of the total net profit earned in the country in 2013. The commission, which closely tracks the performance of what they call the largest conglomerate companies, issues their report every April with this year’s report showing the share of the top four have continued to grow since 2011.
A former dealer, manufacturer, distributor & more. Focusing on business strategy, my goal is to help you make better decisions for greater success.