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Core Brands Completes Downsizing of National Sales Force

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BREAKING NEWS

Nortek's Core Brands LogoStrata-gee.com heard this week from multiple sources that Core Brands had completed the analysis phase of its sales force consolidation, and was now executing the termination of the losing reps – and the reassigning of brands to the winning reps. Core Brands, a division of Nortek, Inc., had announced the downsizing process in a conference call with their entire sale representative network on April 19th – laying out a process for which the desired result was to create a smaller network of fewer authorized sales representative companies presenting most, if not all, of the company’s ten brands.

But there is some question as to how successful the process was, given continuing multi-rep territories… [Read more…] about Core Brands Completes Downsizing of National Sales Force

AudioSource Thinks Your Sound Needs a Little pOp

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AudioSource LogoAudioSource, Inc., a maker of an eclectic mix of unique solutions-oriented products, announced today a new item that is a combination Bluetooth speaker/hands-free speakerphone it calls Sound pOp. Spelled with a curious capital “O”, the sound pOp ties in with the growing popularity of devices that facilitate users streaming their favorite music from their smartphone.

With a cute/odd design that includes a big suction-cup, the big surprise is the price… [Read more…] about AudioSource Thinks Your Sound Needs a Little pOp

HDBaseT Alliance Says It Has Doubled in Size in Less Than One Year

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Logo for HDBaseTOriginally founded in 2010, the HDBaseT Alliance – a group of companies supporting a whole-house connectivity solution widely viewed as an alternative to HDMI – announced today that it has doubled in size in less than a year and now boasts over 60 member companies. We reported on the addition of Pioneer and Onkyo at this past Consumer Electronics Show, and the organization continues to add new members.

See more about this announcement and HDBaseT’s plans for InfoComm… [Read more…] about HDBaseT Alliance Says It Has Doubled in Size in Less Than One Year

To Skeptical Crowd, Apple’s Tim Cook Promises ‘Game Changers’ are Coming

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Apple, Inc. LogoWall Street analysts are getting increasingly concerned about the ability of Apple, Inc. to sustain its historic run of innovation. Some are suggesting the company’s best days may in fact be behind it. Exacerbating the growing drumbeat of discontent…it has been eight months – since October 2012 – when Apple last announced new products. And even they were more iterative than innovative. Clearly feeling the pressure, over the last couple of months Apple CEO Tim Cook has told anyone who was willing to listen to hang on, great things are coming.

Are ‘game changers’ really coming? Or is the innovation just a figment of Cook’s imagination?… [Read more…] about To Skeptical Crowd, Apple’s Tim Cook Promises ‘Game Changers’ are Coming

Nortek Reports Uneven Q1 Results, But TECH Actually Contributes This Time

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Nortek LogoNortek, Inc. reported their financial results from the first quarter of fiscal 2013 late last week. The results were mixed as the company deals with a struggling economy and a difficult internal restructuring that is impacting costs now, with any resulting benefits to be realized still down the road. But for the first time in several quarters, the company’s Technology Solutions Segment (TECH) actually offered a positive contribution with growth in both sales and profits offsetting losses in other divisions. But TECH’s success was largely due to a recent acquisition in the security business.

See more on Nortek’s results… [Read more…] about Nortek Reports Uneven Q1 Results, But TECH Actually Contributes This Time

NAD – Pulling High Performance Digital Away From the MP3 Muck

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Photo of NAD Digital Music SystemsSaying they want to move their traditional audiophile customers into the exciting new world of digital music – while at the same time offering higher sound quality solutions to attract the “digital native” computer music lover – NAD Electronics today in a press preview in New York launched three new digital audio products it calls “The New Digital Generation.” Staking out the high ground, NAD hopes to be able to offer affordable access to better quality digital music…while at the same time, offering an upgrade path to the ultimate digital system performance.

See more on this remarkable digital evolution by an upper mid-fi company… [Read more…] about NAD – Pulling High Performance Digital Away From the MP3 Muck

Better Late Than Never? KEF Enters Headphone Market with New M Series

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KEF logoWell, it’s a pretty crowded business these days, but KEF, the U.K.-based company launched in 1961 by ex-BBC electrical engineer Raymond Cooke, has chosen to enter the headphone market now with two “M” series headphone models – the M500 over-ear model and the M200 in-ear model. Now over 50-years old, KEF (Kent Engineering & Foundry) has a long history as a respected loudspeaker innovator. These are, however, their first headphone designs.

See more about these two new headphone models joining the crowded headphone market… [Read more…] about Better Late Than Never? KEF Enters Headphone Market with New M Series

Core Brands to Significantly Downsize Their Sales Rep Network

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BREAKING NEWS *EXCLUSIVE*

Nortek's Core Brands LogoJust three weeks ago, we had the opportunity to speak with Core Brands Senior Vice President of Marketing Paul Starkey, who confirmed information we had received from multiple sources about an impending announcement of significant changes in the way the company planned to go to market. Starkey confirmed much of the information we had uncovered, especially changes to systems and processes.

But regarding one major initiative we asked Starkey about – that of an extensive restructuring of its sales representative network – he was not able to confirm…at that time.

But that changed last Friday when the company told reps of a major sales force restructuring… [Read more…] about Core Brands to Significantly Downsize Their Sales Rep Network

Ube Successful in Getting Smart Dimmer Funded on Kickstarter

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BREAKING NEWS

Ube logoUbe, a start-up company that combines the processing power of your mobile device with the capability of cloud-based software to create a new level of affordability in home automation products for the rest of us, has successfully completed a funding project on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. As a result, the company’s first product, a Wi-Fi-enabled smart dimmer, is fully funded and will be built and shipped in just a matter of a few months.

See more on this exciting development and on Ube… [Read more…] about Ube Successful in Getting Smart Dimmer Funded on Kickstarter

First Onkyo – Now Gibson Guitar Acquires Majority of Teac; Can Gibson Put the Pieces Together?

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Graphic showing jigsaw puzzle piecesGibson Guitar Corp. announced last Friday morning at 4:00AM EDST that it would acquire a controlling interest in Japan’s Teac Corp, extending it’s entré into consumer electronics market via newly affordable, if struggling, Japanese companies. Last year, Gibson took a significant minority stake in Onkyo Corp., and additionally purchased a majority share of Onkyo’s American subsidiary, Onkyo USA. Teac, with both a consumer business under the Teac and Esoteric brands, and a professional business under the Tascam brand, broadens Gibson’s consumer and pro initiatives.

Can Gibson put the pieces together into a cohesive – and profitable – group?… [Read more…] about First Onkyo – Now Gibson Guitar Acquires Majority of Teac; Can Gibson Put the Pieces Together?