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Sharp-Foxconn Joint Venture LCD Factory Falls into Sea of Red Ink

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Arial photo of Sharp factory
Sharp/Hon Hai Sakai LCD Factory

The giant LCD panel manufacturing plant built by Sharp Corp. and now a joint venture between Sharp and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Foxconn’s parent company, has reported that it generated a net loss of ¥7.4 billion ($75.7 million) for the April-December fiscal period. The news is another indicator of the degree of desperation that Sharp is facing in trying to turn around its financial condition which, like many Japanese manufacturers has struggled as a result of the global slowdown and declining profitability.

See why Sharp suggests that the situation is improving… [Read more…] about Sharp-Foxconn Joint Venture LCD Factory Falls into Sea of Red Ink

Nortek’s TECH Segment’s Troubled Transformation

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Nortek LogoIn a recent fiscal year 2012 fourth quarter and full-year report, Nortek, Inc. showed a mixture of hit-and-miss results with fourth quarter sales dropping 5.6% to $505.4 million as compared to Q4 2011’s $535.2 million. Worse yet, the company’s Q4 net loss increased from last year’s $800,000 to a substantial $12.5 million. These results were in spite of the fact that this year’s calendar for the quarter had two more days in it than the quarter last year.

However, Nortek’s overall annual results showed a brighter picture with 2012 sales increasing to $2.2 billion, up 2.8% from the previous year’s $2.14 billion. Net profits in 2012 came in at $9.5 million – a substantial improvement over 2011’s net loss of $55.9 million.

But one other thing came through loud and clear…Nortek’s TECH segment remains troubled… [Read more…] about Nortek’s TECH Segment’s Troubled Transformation

Happy New Year!

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Graphic of Happy New Year

To all of our clients, subscribers, colleagues, friends, and family:

Thank you for your support in 2012. It was a challenging year for the industry, and it was a challenging year for Stratecon as we changed addresses on the web and launched a whole new kind of presence.

I thank you all for following us to our new www.strata-GEE.com location and for continuing to read and discuss our articles, stories, and posts. We look forward to an even bigger and better 2013!

Wishing you and your family a SAFE, HEALTHY & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Ted

The Stratecon Group & www.strata-GEE.com

 

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Taking Sales Factory Direct at Lenbrook – One Year Later

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Lenbrook Website Image<April 25, 2012> Almost exactly one year ago, the specialty electronics world was stunned to learn that Lenbrook America, the company that distributes NAD and PSB in the United States and often looked upon as a paragon of the specialty A/V community, had decided to fire its sales manager, public relations company, and independent specialty sales representative sales force to go factory direct. While not the first company – nor likely the last – to make such a decision…the company’s long time commitment to the specialty channel and abrupt announcement sent shock waves around the industry. [Read more…] about Taking Sales Factory Direct at Lenbrook – One Year Later

Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s…HiFiMAN

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See UPDATE below article…

>See a slideshow with images from the HiFiMAN press conference here<<

2012cesreport<January 25, 2012> One of the more pleasant surprises of the show was an opportunity to meet a company – new to me but apparently known amongst many high end aficionados for awhile now – with a name that struck me as a little goofy – HiFiMAN. But, as I was soon to learn, the name fits…owner Dr. Fang Bian is a man truly dedicated to high fidelity sound reproduction…even in the face of our portable, overly-compressed, MP3 digital music world. Bian is truly a HiFiMAN. [Read more…] about Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s…HiFiMAN