• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Strata-gee
  • Contact Us
  • Free Newsletter
  • Sponsor Strata-gee
  • Privacy Policy

Strata-gee.com

Strategy in TECH...

Crestron Infra-Bass
AudioControl Single Zone Amps
What Savant Can Do
Sonance James Small Aperture Series
  • Latest Posts
  • Strategy
  • Technology
  • Products
  • People
  • Statistics
  • Financial
  • Legal
  • Economic Data
  • Shows & Events
You are here: Home / Archives for Velodyne

Velodyne

Let’s Get Ready to Ruummbbblllleee…Subwoofer Powerhouse Velodyne is Back

November 12, 2020 by Ted 5 Comments

Velodyne Acoustics' insane 1812 subwoofer
Velodyne Acoustics’ insane 1812 subwoofer with 18″ & 12″ drivers

When we last visited with Velodyne, it was all the way back in 2014 when the company quietly laid off audio staff, and suddenly – without warning – fired all of their manufacturer sales representatives and their dealers. Shortly after this, the company hired a high-powered retail executive (who would go on to eventually go to prison) to launch a direct-to-consumer business. Our coverage drew the attention of then Velodyne President Marta Thoma Hall, who is wife of company founder and chief engineer David Hall, leading to an interview with her on the many dramatic changes taking place at the company. Whew! That was a lot of action in a very short period of time.

Ultimately, it appears that David Hall got bored with audio and moved on with his new prized invention – an improved Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor technology that is important to the autonomous vehicle market. According to a report by Audioholics, Ford and China’s Baidu partnered to invest $150 million in Velodyne’s Lidar technology and Elvis…er…Hall…has definitely left the audio building. Velodyne split into two companies (Velodyne Lidar is now a $100 million public company [NASDAQ:VLDR]) and for a time last year, it looked like curtains for the audio division.

But now Velodyne’s audio division is back…

[Read more…] about Let’s Get Ready to Ruummbbblllleee…Subwoofer Powerhouse Velodyne is Back

Filed Under: Brands, Financial, Management, Manufacturers, News, Products, Strategy Tagged With: Desmond Fretz, Scott DeLoache, subwoofers, Velodyne

Federal Criminal Charges Brought Against Former Vann’s CEO Manlove

January 21, 2016 by Ted Leave a Comment

Prosecutor’s Plea Deal with Co-Conspirator Appears to Have Fallen Through

Photo of George Manlove, now with Velodyne
George Manlove

George Leslie Manlove, former CEO of Missoula, Montana-based Vann’s, Inc. has been arraigned on federal criminal charges brought against him by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Labor. The charges, more than 200 of them in total, allege extensive criminal conduct, including: conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, bankruptcy fraud, bank fraud, and making false statements. Manlove has pleaded ‘not guilty’ and was released on his own recognizance.

See more on this stunning fall from grace by a former tech retail star… [Read more…] about Federal Criminal Charges Brought Against Former Vann’s CEO Manlove

Filed Under: Law, News, Pivot Point, Retailers Tagged With: BigSkyCountry.com, ESOP, George Leslie Manlove, George Manlove, indictment, ON Store, Paul Lyn Nisbet, Pete Vann, PRO Group, Vann's, Velodyne

Velodyne President Calls Strata-gee to Set the Record Straight

June 26, 2014 by Ted Leave a Comment

Velodyne LogoRegular readers of Strata-gee know that we have recently covered news of layoffs and distribution changes by Velodyne – a long-time specialty industry player. Although we had made many attempts to get the company to comment prior to our posting of these stories, we were told that no company executives were available at that time.

However, the day after our second story appeared, we heard from Velodyne’s press representative who said the company’s President was now available to speak with us about what is going on at Velodyne.

See what Velodyne’s President told us about these recent events… [Read more…] about Velodyne President Calls Strata-gee to Set the Record Straight

Filed Under: Brands, Industry Trends, Manufacturers, News, Strategy Tagged With: autonomous car, David Hall, headphones, Lidar, Marta Hall, Marta Thoma Hall, self-driving car, soundbar, subwoofer, Velodyne

Velodyne Authorizes Powerhouse Alliance as National Distribution Partner for Subwoofers

June 18, 2014 by Ted Leave a Comment

PowerhouseAllianceLOGOJust one day after we reported on layoffs at Velodyne’s audio division, we received word from the company that it is authorizing the Powerhouse Alliance, a national group of distributors, for its line of subwoofers. The agreement will make Velodyne subwoofers available to Powerhouse Alliances’ nationwide network of retailers and installers.

See more on this new announcement from Velodyne… [Read more…] about Velodyne Authorizes Powerhouse Alliance as National Distribution Partner for Subwoofers

Filed Under: Brands, Distributors, Industry Trends, Manufacturers, News, Pivot Point, Strategy Tagged With: Dennis Holzer, Powerhouse Alliance, Velodyne

Layoffs Hit Velodyne’s Audio Division as Company Bets All on LIDAR

June 17, 2014 by Ted 1 Comment

BREAKING NEWS

Velodyne LogoMultiple sources are reporting that Velodyne Acoustics, Inc. – a once high-flying specialty subwoofer manufacturer – has had a significant layoff in its audio division last week as the company seeks to redeploy its resources full-scale behind its LIDAR business. The company, which is driven by its enigmatic founder, David Hall, is betting its future (betting the farm, some would say) on its LIDAR technology which is used in self-driving vehicles (such as Google’s).

See more on this dramatic shift in business by a former audio high-flyer… [Read more…] about Layoffs Hit Velodyne’s Audio Division as Company Bets All on LIDAR

Filed Under: Brands, Industry Trends, Management, Marketing, News, Pivot Point, Specialty, Strategy, Tech Trends Tagged With: David Hall, George Manlove, Lidar, PRO Group, subwoofers, Vann's, Velodyne

Reps: Are They On the Right Track? Or Have They Run Off the Rails?

December 13, 2012 by Ted 13 Comments

Photo of Railroad TracksOn Tuesday last week, much like any other day, after arriving at my office I powered up my computer and began wading through the usual 100-150 emails that greet me every morning. Some of these are client-related emails, some are personal, but most are press releases or announcements. On that day, however, one in particular caught my attention – it was from Richard Glikes of Azione and it included a link to a video which was…remarkable.

This press release caught my attention not because it was from Azione, that is an common occurrence. Rather it caught my attention because it was from Azione on a topic that I am not used to dealer buying groups concerning themselves with – sales representative companies.

Little did I suspect that this would be the beginning of a strange turn of events… [Read more…] about Reps: Are They On the Right Track? Or Have They Run Off the Rails?

Filed Under: Industry Trends, News, Pivot Point, Strategy Tagged With: Azione, CEPro, Dave Humphries, Dean Miller, IPRO, Jason Knott, Lenbrook, McIntosh, Nortek, Reps, Richard Glikes, Sherbourn, Velodyne

Former Retail Shining Star Vann’s Declares Bankruptcy

August 15, 2012 by Ted Leave a Comment

Vann's LogoBased in Missoula, Montana, Vann’s Inc. has been a shining star of the retail business – for years a hearty player in a rugged part of the country where only the strong survive. Founded in 1961 by Pete Vann, the company has steadily grown over the years – adding locations, diversifying retail formats, and even expanding into online sales. But signs of stress began to emerge this year with the company closing one location in February, then replacing long-time CEO George Manlove in June with a CEO from outside the company, losing the support of a key lender in July, and finally declaring bankruptcy just a little over one week ago.

How did this all happen?…. [Read more…] about Former Retail Shining Star Vann’s Declares Bankruptcy

Filed Under: Economic Trends, Industry Trends, Law, News, Pivot Point, Retailers, Specialty, Strategy Tagged With: BigSkyCountry.com, Denon, GE Capital Solutions, GE Commercial Distribution, George Manlove, Jerry McConnell, Klipsch, Marantz, ON Store, Onkyo, Pete Vann, PRO Group, Vann's, Velodyne, Yamaha

Velodyne Hires Major Retail Executive to Guide their Direct-to-Consumer Model

July 25, 2012 by Ted 4 Comments

Velodyne LogoVelodyne Acoustics, Inc. announced today that it has hired George Manlove – formerly of Vanns, Inc. – as its Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing. Manlove is a very high-profile executive best known for his 26-year tenure as President and CEO of Vann’s, Inc., a Montana-based traditional bricks-and-mortar and Internet retailer. Manlove also served as chairman of the Progressive Retailers Organization (PRO Group), a national retailer buying group. [Read more…] about Velodyne Hires Major Retail Executive to Guide their Direct-to-Consumer Model

Filed Under: Manufacturers, Marketing, News, Retailers, Strategy Tagged With: David Hall, direct-to-consumer marketing, George Manlove, PRO Group, subwoofers, Vann's, Velodyne

Velodyne Vaults into Direct-to-Consumer Sales Leaving Sales Reps Behind

August 3, 2011 by Ted Leave a Comment

Velodyne Logo<August 2, 2011> Velodyne Acoustics, Inc. (Velodyne) surprised many in the industry last week by summarily dismissing their independent sales representative force and announcing that they would begin selling Velodyne subwoofers direct to consumers via a new online ecommerce website. The webstore was already open by the time some of the sales representatives received their termination notice. [Read more…] about Velodyne Vaults into Direct-to-Consumer Sales Leaving Sales Reps Behind

Filed Under: Industry Trends, Management, Manufacturers, Marketing, News, Pivot Point, Sales Reps, Specialty, Strategy Tagged With: B-stock, Bruce Davison, Bruce Hall, David Hall, ecommerce, Lenbrook, Lidar, Marta Hall, ProMark Marketing, subwoofers, Velodyne

Primary Sidebar

Search

Sign-Up for Our FREE Newsletter

loader

Latest Posts

T-Day+1: Tariffs…And So It Begins…

STORY UPDATED 4/30/25 - See a Selection of Tariff Increases from Around the … [Read More...] about T-Day+1: Tariffs…And So It Begins…

Masimo Tells SEC It Was the Victim of a Cyberattack

I recently reported that I had discovered that the primary website for Masimo … [Read More...] about Masimo Tells SEC It Was the Victim of a Cyberattack

  • T-Day+1: Tariffs…And So It Begins…
  • Masimo Sells Sound United to Harman; Excited? Temper Your Enthusiasm
  • Strata-gee Founder Hospitalized After Suffering Injuries in Accident on Monday
  • Masimo.com Has Been Down for ‘A Few Days’

Categories

Sponsors

Crestron Infra-Bass
AudioControl Single Zone Amps
Sonance James Small Aperture
Savant
Oasys Residential Technology Group

Tag Cloud

acquisition Amazon Apple AudioControl B&W Bowers & Wilkins CEDIA CEDIA Expo CES Control4 Core Brands COVID-19 Crestron D&M Holdings Denon Emerald Expositions Foxconn Gibson Brands Gibson Guitar Google Henry Juszkiewicz Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. housing starts Integra Joe Kiani LG Marantz Masimo Nortek OLED Onkyo Panasonic patent infringement Pioneer Samsung Savant Sharp smart home SnapAV Snap One Sonos Sony Sound United SpeakerCraft Toshiba

Footer

Got News?

HEY PR & Marketing Pros: Have NEWS for Strata-gee readers?

Send it to: HotNews@strata-gee.com

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Sponsor Strata-gee

Strata-gee Ads

Archives

Translate

Ted Green Bio

A former dealer, manufacturer, distributor & more. Focusing on business strategy, my goal is to help you make better decisions for greater success.

Follow Ted Green

  • Facebook
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram

Copyright © 2025 Strata-gee.com · The Stratecon Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved · Log in