Strategy in TECH...
WAVE Electronics (WAVE) announced this week that it has opened a new full service warehouse location in Dania Beach, FL, which is located in the more populous southern part of the state – just north of Miami between Hollywood and Ft. Lauderdale. Part of WAVE’s continuing national roll-out, just one month ago the company opened a new full service warehouse in New Jersey. This new Florida location brings their total to 10 locations.
Toshiba Corp., in a bid to drive its LED lighting business, said today it will acquire LED technology research and development (R&D) assets from American start-up company Bridgelux, Inc. The assets Toshiba seeks to acquire are related specifically to the R&D of the company’s white LED chips.
Just three weeks ago, we had the opportunity to speak with Core Brands Senior Vice President of Marketing Paul Starkey, who confirmed information we had received from multiple sources about an impending announcement of significant changes in the way the company planned to go to market. Starkey confirmed much of the information we had uncovered, especially changes to systems and processes.
But regarding one major initiative we asked Starkey about – that of an extensive restructuring of its sales representative network – he was not able to confirm…at that time.
Samsung Electronics Co., one of the fastest growing and most popular electronics brands in the world, is the subject of an investigation by the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission that is acting on tips it received that the company’s marketing department has allegedly been placing, or contracting for, fake reviews on the web. These reviews, which were said to be positive on Samsung products and negative on Samsung competitors, were not visibly identified as paid or sponsored reviews.
The AP is reporting that Apple, Inc. saw its stock price hit hard in trading today on Wall Street, dropping 23.44 points or 5.5%, to close at $402.80 per share – well below yesterday’s close of $426.24. During today’s session the stock traded as low as $398.11, setting a new 52-week low and triggering analysts to buzz about trouble in Cupertino. What happened? Another Apple supplier, Cirrus Logic, Inc., released a disappointing financial report that hinted that the real problem lays with Apple.
The giant LCD panel manufacturing plant built by Sharp Corp. and now a joint venture between Sharp and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Foxconn’s parent company, has reported that it generated a net loss of ¥7.4 billion ($75.7 million) for the April-December fiscal period. The news is another indicator of the degree of desperation that Sharp is facing in trying to turn around its financial condition which, like many Japanese manufacturers has struggled as a result of the global slowdown and declining profitability.
Amanda Dai loves competition. In an excellent blog post on Huffington Post, she talks about competition in a way that sets her apart from a large number of people, including many of my tech industry colleagues. For many of us, competition is the enemy…and we are at war. For others, the competition is someone to be (too) closely watched…so much so that they dictate our actions. “Price Shack has the Mega 456 on sale?!? Drop our price immediately!”
Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. announced today two new Elite A/V receivers that offers multi-room and multi-source capabilities and 4K Ultra HD compatibility. The new receivers, the VSX-43 7.1-channel and the VSX-70 7.2-channel receivers are designed to appeal to advanced hobbyists and the custom installation community alike.
Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. reported today that sales for the first quarter had dropped by 19 percent from the same period last year. Hon Hai, better known by the name of a large division called Foxconn, is a key supplier to Apple, Inc. and analysts point to this as another indicator of Apple’s slipping dominance of the smartphone business.
Yamaha Corporation last week announced a new medium-term management plan titled Yamaha Management Plan 2016 (YMP2016) which sets forth management’s strategies for the time period of fiscal 2014-to-fiscal 2016. The new plan succeeds the previous Yamaha Management Plan 125 (YMP125) which was just completed March 31, 2013.
