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Sony to Close Major Malaysia Audio Factory; Begins Refocus Away from A/V

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Sony audio factory in Malaysia that is closing in September 2021
[Photo: Sony]

Closing a Separate Audio & TV Factory in Brazil as Well

Sony Corporation has two large factories in Malaysia – one manufacturing audio products, and the other manufacturing predominantly video products. A new report out of Japan indicates that the company plans to close its audio factory in Malaysia by no later than the beginning of 2022 – or in other words, during the upcoming year of 2021. This move is likely a result of a previously announced strategic refocusing on businesses other than a/v electronics at the major consumer electronics manufacturer.

See more on this expected/shocking move by Sony…

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Sonos & Google Patent War Gets Ugly, Each Accuses the Other of Bad Faith

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Photo of lawyers arm wrestling

A hearing before a California federal judge brought an ugly exchange between attorneys for both Sonos and Google – with each side pointing their finger at the other and accusing them of bad faith. That attorneys got ugly against their counterparts is not in itself surprising. However, the speed with which this dispute devolved to that point was a surprise.

Learn more about this escalating battle between Sonos & Google…

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In a New Twist, CEDIA Board Names Not One, But Two Interim Co-CEOs

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cedia logo

CEDIA, the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association, announced earlier this week that it has named Giles Sutton, current Senior Vice President of Member Success and Sales, and Kory Dickerson, current Senior Vice President of Operations, as Interim Co-CEOs, replacing Tabatha O’Connor – the current CEO whose contract is ending in January. The Board of Directors had previously announced that it decided not to extend O’Connor’s contract, but didn’t say why. Ostensibly, the organization is still searching for a more permanent solution, but for now, we get two CEOs instead of one.

See more on this eyebrow raising CEDIA announcement…

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Rega Appoints The Sound Organisation as Its Canadian Distributor

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High end audio manufacturer Rega Research has appointed The Sound Organisation as its authorized distributor for Canada. Based in Arlington, Texas, The Sound Organisation is a well-known distributor of fine high-end, high-performance specialty audio brands and has been Rega’s U.S. distributor for two decades.

Learn more about Rega’s appointment of The Sound Organisation for Canada…

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Happy Thanksgiving? YES, Let’s All Happily Give THANKS

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Happy Thanksgiving!

In 2020, maybe now more so than ever before in our lives…it is an especially good time to pause and contemplate giving thanks at Thanksgiving. But…are you finding it hard to feel thankful about 2020?

See my thoughts on this more special than usual Thanksgiving holiday…

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EVA Automation Escapes Forced Bankruptcy; But Shuts Down Anyway

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eva automation executives
EVA Automation in happier times

EVA Admits ‘Financial Distress’ & A Business ‘Wind Down’

EVA Automation, the now former owner of Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) dodged a bullet when late last month U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, the Honorable Hannah L. Blumenstiel, entered an order dismissing the involuntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy brought against them by Top Victory Investments Limited (whose attorneys use the acronym TPV). With that decision, a forced bankruptcy was avoided. However, as court records clearly demonstrate, the company did feel some pain as a result of this filing, and according to their attorneys were in the process of conducting an orderly shut down of the business.

Not only that, but we learn much more about EVA Automation‘s relationship with Bowers & Wilkins – and their degraded circumstances based largely on the failure of their Formation wireless speaker line marketed under the B&W brand.

Learn more about EVA Automation’s situation…

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October Housing Starts Gets Its Act Together, Shows Solid Growth

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Photo of a new home

For the last couple of months, I’ve reported that residential construction – commonly known as housing starts (as in starting construction) – have returned mixed results, suggesting the housing industry recovery was potentially stalling. Now, in new data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, we see that housing construction began a more durable return to growth.

Learn more about the October housing starts data…

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Guitar Center, Owner of AVDG, Files for Bankruptcy

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Guitar Center store
Guitar Center store [Click to enlarge]

In an unusual Saturday night filing, Guitar Center, Inc., parent company to AV integration company Audio Visual Design Group (AVDG), filed for bankruptcy protection. The move was widely expected by many industry watchers for years, and caps a difficult business history for Guitar Center, starting back in 2007 when they were first acquired by Bain Capital.

See what we know so far about the Guitar Center and AVDG bankruptcy…

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Sonos is Getting Hooked on D2C Biz; Revenues & Profits Exceed Expectations

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But Is Everything Really as Good as It Looks?

Sonos, Inc. [NASDAQ: SONO] released their fourth quarter and full year financial results for fiscal 2020. Their performance pleasantly surprised Wall Street and their stock value exploded well over 20% in Thursday trading as the company exceeded analysts’ estimates for both revenue growth and profits. But is everything as it appears here?

See more on Sonos financial results…

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2020 Audio Shows Were a COVID Bust; Here’s the Status of 2021 Shows

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a photo from a past AXPONA audio show

Compiled by Bill Leebens

UPDATED – All Dates and Status Info Updated – For the most part, when it comes to audio shows, either trade or consumer, 2020 has been a bust. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, with one exception – the Florida Audio Expo in Tampa, FL in February – all other events were cancelled. So what does that mean for 2021? Guest poster Bill Leebens has compiled a list of top audio shows for 2021 showing their current status…

See today’s status for 2021 shows…

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