In a big announcement in Tokyo today, JVC Kenwood CEO Haruo Kawahara said the company will drastically overhaul its business – more so that previously announced – turning away from consumer electronics and towards more commercial businesses, according to the Nikkei. The CEO, in his most specific comments since the company revised its forecast from a profit to a loss for the current fiscal year, is signaling a significant sea change for the company…
Brands
The DaVinci Group Adds New Sales & Distribution Partners
The DaVinci Group (TDG) announced that it has added new partners to its sales representative and distribution network, expanding its sales force backbone to help better serve dealers and integrators as the company continues to grow. The Ontario, CA-based company launched at the end of last year and says it has experienced rapid growth through the end of 2013. This growth continues to accelerate as the company brings more regions on board,
See which reps and distributors have joined TDG as well as what regions they serve… [Read more…] about The DaVinci Group Adds New Sales & Distribution Partners
Seeing Through to the Essence of ClearView
Sometimes making no impression is the way to make the biggest impression of all! Massachusetts-based ClearView® Audio (www.clearviewaudio.com/) launched an innovative transparent music system at CES 2014 and is enjoying a great response from dealers, domestic and international. Called Clio, this first product stands just over 9 inches tall, streams over Bluetooth, and has an MSRP of $349. [Read more…] about Seeing Through to the Essence of ClearView
Aim High Audio Appointed Reps for Denon, Marantz & Boston Acoustics in Southeast
Aim High Audio Sales & Distribution announced that they have been appointed the manufacturer sales representative of record for Denon, Marantz, and Boston Acoustic brands for the Southeastern states. The appointment is effective immediately and represents a pretty serious expansion of brands available through the Marietta, GA-based rep firm and distribution company.
See more on this unexpected change by D&M in the Southeast territory… [Read more…] about Aim High Audio Appointed Reps for Denon, Marantz & Boston Acoustics in Southeast
Gibson Brands Goes ‘Back to the Future’ to Celebrate 120 Years
Gibson Brands took advantage of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to make a bit of a show of their own to celebrate 120 years in business. The company, which serves up 23 different brands of musical instruments, professional audio products and, more recently, consumer electronics products, chose a unique way to mark the occasion by going “Back to the Future.”
See more on how Gibson chose to celebrate their 120-year anniversary… [Read more…] about Gibson Brands Goes ‘Back to the Future’ to Celebrate 120 Years
CES Opens to Press and Already…A Couple of Surprises
Press Day at CES is – to put it mildly – a bit of a grind. A seemingly never-ending series of scheduled press presentations that are scheduled one hour apart so the press can run from one supposedly 45-minute (of course they all run long) event to the next. The hallways often look more like a mosh pit as reporters, bloggers, and editors push, shove, and elbow their way to the next presentation hoping to get a seat close enough that the presenters don’t look like ants.
It’s easy to become jaded, as one sits through slickly produced, Hollywood-style presentation after another. Rarely, do we get surprised.
But this time…we got a couple of surprises… [Read more…] about CES Opens to Press and Already…A Couple of Surprises
Readers’ Choice – The Top Strata-gee.com Stories of 2013 as Picked by Readers
2013 ends today and it is fun to look back on the top stories of the last year. Many times, this yields surprises as stories from early in the year are easy to forget. In this post, we are revealing the top Strata-gee.com stories from 2013 based on which stories generated the most page views…therefore, those stories that you – the reader – found most interesting.
See Strata-gee.com’s Readers’ Choice for top stories of 2013 below – Do you remember these?… [Read more…] about Readers’ Choice – The Top Strata-gee.com Stories of 2013 as Picked by Readers
Azione Unlimited Adds Thorens Turntables
Azione Unlimited, a national dealer buying group, announced earlier this week that it has added Thorens turntables to its vendor lineup. Thorens is distributed in the United States by Vancouver, BC-based Rutherford Audio, who also has outlets in Seattle, WA and Denver, CO.
See why Azione is excited about adding Thorens, one of the oldest names in audio… [Read more…] about Azione Unlimited Adds Thorens Turntables
Redbox, Once a Blockbuster Buzzsaw, Finds It Must Now Cut Itself
Outerwall, Inc. (f/k/a Coinstar), owner of Redbox – the national video rental kiosk powerhouse – made several surprising announcements on Tuesday that suggest the company is dealing with some serious business issues. First, the company announced that Redbox division president, Anne Saunders, has left the company. And second, the company said that it would make significant cuts to its staff…and to other projects.
How significant did Outerwall say the staff and project cuts would be? See more below… [Read more…] about Redbox, Once a Blockbuster Buzzsaw, Finds It Must Now Cut Itself
Smart! Spotify Streamed to Your Smartphone is Now Free; Now Offers Led Zeppelin
Spotify, the popular music sharing app, announced today that it will offer streamed music to smartphones for free (ad-supported), starting today. Spotify has long offered this capability on desktop computers for free (again supported by advertising), but had required a paid subscription (ad free) for mobile devices. Now…everything changes.
The company also announced that it has exclusively licensed the rights to stream music from rock icons Led Zeppelin…also starting today.