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Budding Onkyo & Voxx Romance Grows, Adds Teac & Esoteric to 11 Trading Company

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photo of teac component once part of Onkyo now to be distributed by 11 Trading Company

This week we learned that 11 Trading Company…part of Premium Audio Company…which itself is part of Voxx International (love those big corporate structures), has added the only remaining Onkyo brands – Teac & Esoteric – to their distribution line list. They did not include these brands in the original announcement of their agreement with Onkyo, but most people expected it to be added in time. With this new development we get a nice progression of the budding relationship between the companies – Voxx distributing Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, Pioneer Elite, Teac & Esoteric – while Onkyo Corp. becomes the Klipsch distributor in Japan. Where could this be heading?

See more on Onkyo & Voxx/11 Trading Company partnership…

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Making Space for Onkyo Brands, Voxx Announces Subsidiary Reorganization

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Voxx International logo

Voxx Expects Big Growth; That May Be a Bigger Challenge Than Anticipated

As part of an internal restructuring to accommodate their recent acquisition of the distribution rights to certain Onkyo brands, Voxx International Corporation announced this week that it has renamed the existing Klipsch Holding LLC to the rather generically named Premium Audio Company LLC. This is just the first change, as I’ve learned more announcements are just around the corner.

See more on the Voxx & Klipsch plans for Onkyo…

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Reader’s Choice: The Top 10 Strata-gee Stories of 2019

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Grahic of Top Ten

As we hurtle headlong into the a new decade – the 2020s – it’s a good time to pause and take stock of some of the major events of our industry’s recent history by ranking the Top 10 Strata-gee stories of 2019 based on total page views. This ranking shows just what stories drew the most attention of Strata-gee’s eminently intelligent and inquisitive readers.

See which 2019 Strata-gee stories were tops with readers…

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Onkyo to Slash Overall Company Headcount by 30%, Cutting Management by 50%

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Also: Consolidating Facilities & Moving Headquarters

Onkyo logo

It appears that the other shoe is dropping in the wake of the failed acquisition of Onkyo Corporation’s branded A/V division by Sound United last month, as the company now says it will reduce its overhead by cutting jobs. This appears to be the first step in a major reorganization of the company, as it seeks to right-size the organization for the industry’s new, smaller, and more competitive environment in which electronics manufacturers find themselves.

See more on Onkyo’s restructuring…

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With Loss of Two Potential Buyers, Onkyo’s Future is a Question Mark

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onkyologo

As you most likely know by now, Onkyo Corp. and Sound United have called off their transaction which would have transferred ownership of the 73-year old Onkyo brand, as well as the Integra, Pioneer, and Pioneer Elite brands to Sound United. The shocking news capped off a nearly five month process where many in the industry tried to figure out just how this deal made sense.

This was the second loss of a potential buyer for Onkyo, which admits it is re-evaluating its future based on the failure to sell off its brands.

See why Onkyo’s future is a question mark…

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CEDIA 2019: Onkyo USA Says It Will Become a Retailer of Sonos, a Distributor Too

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onkyologo

Onkyo USA announced this week that it will become a retailer of Sonos wireless music systems – selling the company’s wireless music systems on Onkyo USA’s website. The company also says it will distribute the brand nationally as well.

See more on Onkyo’s partnership with Sonos…

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Sound United to Acquire Onkyo’s Audio Division

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Sound United logo

We seem to be in a week of big deals. First, we learned that SnapAV had acquired Control4, then we learned that the original founder of Paradigm has acquired back the Paradigm, Anthem, and Martin Logan brands from the private equity company that had bought the company from him some time back. Now we learn that Sound United, owner of Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, HEOS, Classé, and Boston Acoustics has entered into an agreement with Onkyo Corp. to purchase Onkyo’s premier lineup of brands, including: Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer and Pioneer Elite.

But does Sound United’s purchase of Onkyo make sense?…

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Gibson Investment Gone, Onkyo Sells Off European Operations

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In Restructuring, Company Scales Back to ‘Core Competencies’

onkyologoAll the way back in 2012, Onkyo Corp. and Gibson Guitar Corp. came together to partner in what both hoped would become an entity where the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. Just months after their announcement, Onkyo forged ties to another Japanese audio brand, Teac/Tascam – just as Gibson stepped in to buy a majority share of them…and the combined entity began to grow.

Little did they know that just six short years later, Gibson, the investor in Onkyo, would implode into bankruptcy – forced to extricate itself from its Onkyo aspirations. Onkyo was hit as well, losing its Gibson investment – forcing them to reassess their direction. We now learn that Onkyo has sold off its entire European operations to an accessory distributor known as Aqipa GmbH.

See more on this surprising announcement by Onkyo… [Read more…] about Gibson Investment Gone, Onkyo Sells Off European Operations

Docs Show Gibson Bankruptcy Bigger Than You Think

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Photo of Gibson CES promoFounded in 1894, it is a mark of their long-term brand success that Gibson has become such a large and far-flung international organization. In a cursory review of documents submitted to the court as part of their bankruptcy filing shows, legendary performers such as Muddy Waters, BB King, Elvis Presley, Pete Townsend, Keith Richards, Duane Allman, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, Slash, Dave Grohl, Joe Bonamassa all used various Gibson products that, in some cases, became a signature of that performer. And yes, the bankruptcy filing promotes these iconic names.

But from these Gibson filings, we’ve learned so much more… [Read more…] about Docs Show Gibson Bankruptcy Bigger Than You Think

Options Narrowing as Gibson & KKR Talks Fail

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Photo of Gibson CES promoWe learned last week that talks between Gibson Brands and deal making king KKR Credit Advisors fell apart in a dispute over “the appropriate consideration for the various parties involved,” according to a statement from Gibson Brands. As yet another bail-out opportunity slips by them, Gibson Brands sees their options narrowing, with an August deadline on a required financial restructuring of more than $500 million of debt rapidly approaching.

See more on this dire situation at Gibson Brands… [Read more…] about Options Narrowing as Gibson & KKR Talks Fail