Strategy in TECH...
AudioControl said today they will introduce the greatest number of new products they have ever launched at a show at the upcoming 2019 CEDIA Expo taking place next month in Denver, CO. A specialty electronics supplier of high-performance residential, automotive, and commercial products, the company will show all-new home theater products, 70-volt amplifiers, and more.
Emerald Expositions Events, Inc. (NYSE:EEX), a leading provider of trade shows and events and the current owner of CEDIA Expo, announced their financial results today for the first fiscal quarter of 2019. And while this tends to be a rather mundane or even robotic process, there were a few things unique about this report from Emerald – most notably their head-scratching comments that dramatically contrasted with the numbers.
On March 28th CEDIA held a grand opening gala to celebrate their brand new $14 million glass and stone castle in Fishers, IN with about 250 of their closest friends. Depending on your viewpoint, this new facility is either a shining shrine to the strength of the custom integration tech association – or it is a monument to the monumental arrogance and ego of an association that is drifting further away from the very community it purports to serve.
But what many of these guests to the opening celebrations didn’t know was that, as they sipped champagne and oohed an ahhhd over the new gorgeous digs, there was yet another small member flare-up taking place in the background…with significant members expressing strong dissent on yet another Association initiative.
Last week, I posted an extensive report on CEDIA’s annual State-of-the-Association presentation which took place last month via a webinar for members. Certain staff and board members offered a long and detailed presentation on the many aspects of the Association’s activities in 2018. As I said then, it at times felt more like a sales pitch, than a report to members, but nonetheless they did have much to talk about.
However, my antenna went up when a chart of the number of members was shown, seeming to indicate a signficant decline. I followed up with CEDIA after the presentation for clarification – and now we know – CEDIA membership has most likely declined in 2018.
Emerald Expositions’ stock nose-dived 19% in early afternoon trading last Thursday as the company released its third quarter fiscal results and announced that David Loechner has resigned as the company’s President and CEO. Current CFO Philip Evans takes over as Interim President and CEO.
Emerald Expositions Events, Inc. (stock symbol: EEX) reported last week that attendance at CEDIA Expo 2018, the first Expo run totally by Emerald Expositions employees, had an attendance of “more than 20,000 home tech pros” or flat as compared to their announcement of “more than 20,000 home tech professionals” at the event last year.
As I mentioned in my CEDIA wrap-up post recently, Savant surprised me with an entirely new category they call microgrid. Created in partnership with sister company Racepoint Energy, a microgrid is sort of your own energy substation for your residential (or commercial) clients – giving them much greater control over their energy systems.
And microgrid brings integrators a new significant revenue and profit opportunity addressing a category well beyond traditional “power protection.”
AudioControl, the Seattle, WA-based specialty electronics maker of innovative solutions, announced three new gems at CEDIA Expo 2018 – a new Rialto 400 zone amplifier, the Avalon G3 four-channel amplifier, and a new CM Series 70-volt line of commercial amplifiers. These new products are not only clever solutions to integrators needs, they absolutely personify the concept of flexibility.
At CEDIA Expo 2018, I had the opportunity to meet with Krell Industries executives Walter Schofield and Gordon Shackelford to learn more about the steps the company is taking to address market concerns in the wake of a lot of nasty rumors about Krell’s viability. Step one of the new direction for Krell involved the hiring of Walter Scofield as its new Chief Operating Officer as Strata-gee recently reported just a few weeks ago. In this meeting, I was to learn of more steps coming.
Cool Things I Saw at CEDIA Expo 2018San Diego, we hardly knew ye’! CEDIA Expo 2018 wrapped up this past Saturday and after three days of running between meetings and walking the show floor, I emerge relatively unscathed. The bottom line – this first Emerald Exposition-produced show was a bit of a mixed bag with some positive elements and some dropped balls. But overall, most came away satisfied that it was a good show.
