SpringDeck, an industry-focused marketing content aggregator, announced this week that they are expanding their model to offer custom integrators a free app to access their content database. In the past, integrators could only access SpringDeck’s extensive content stored in manufacturer-centric “libraries” by paying a fee. Now, through this special app called SpringDeck Lite, integrators gain this access for free.
Management
World Wide Stereo Re-Imagines Specialty Store Design
What a weird Spring we’re having in the Northeast. It can be 80+ degrees one day, only to be followed by two or three days of cold and rain. Such was the case last Thursday as we traveled to a pre-Grand Reopening event at Bob & Ron’s World Wide Stereo in Montgomeryville, PA. It was raining and in the low 50-degrees as we arrived for the early evening event, motivating us to turn up our collar as we exited our vehicle for a little extra protection from the cold and the rain.
But walking through the front door transported us to another world… [Read more…] about World Wide Stereo Re-Imagines Specialty Store Design
B&W Acquired by EVA Automation
BREAKING NEWS
Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) announced this morning that they have been acquired by EVA Automation, a Silicon Valley-based technology company founded just two years ago by Gideon Yu. Yu is a well-known sports and technology executive that has launched EVA Automation with the expressed goal of “reimagining the audio/video experience by making products that will change how people interact and think about the home.”
He is also, apparently, a B&W enthusiast. See more… [Read more…] about B&W Acquired by EVA Automation
Chaos in Cupertino: Apple’s First Quarterly Sales & Profit Decline in 13 Years
iPhone Sales Fall for the First Time in Its History
Cupertino, CA-based Apple, Inc. announced its fiscal first quarter results yesterday and it wasn’t a pretty picture. And although Wall Street acted with shock, no one should have been surprised as Apple had warned this would be a tough quarter back in January. Apple remains a huge and cash-rich company, but the deeper you dig into this latest report, the more obvious it becomes that there is a legitimate cause for concern.
See more on this tough quarter by the Tech’s largest company… [Read more…] about Chaos in Cupertino: Apple’s First Quarterly Sales & Profit Decline in 13 Years
McIntosh Program to Supply Celebrities Cut Dealers Out
Company Says No Such Program Exists Today
We’ve recently learned about a program at McIntosh Laboratory, Inc., in which the company approached select prominent individuals, such as famous musicians or other celebrities, and provided them with McIntosh products directly, without the involvement of its dealers. The program, according to sources, was launched by Linda Passaro, a former Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for McIntosh when it was part of D&M Holdings. Passaro was terminated in November 2011 by President Charlie Randall, but the program apparently remained in force for some time.
See more on this program that is a sore spot with some McIntosh dealers… [Read more…] about McIntosh Program to Supply Celebrities Cut Dealers Out
Tidal Targets Netflix – Adding Movies to Service
Company Reports Stunning Growth Numbers
Tidal, the high quality music streaming service purchased by rapper Jay Z one year ago, is said to be adding movie streaming to their service, Page Six (part of the New York Post) reported yesterday. According to the report, Tidal has already notified Apple that it intends to add movie streaming to its app, formally starting the required approval process.
Tidal has had an exceptionally challenging year, with three CEOs in nine months. Will opening up to competition on a movie service make things better?
See more on this surprising development… [Read more…] about Tidal Targets Netflix – Adding Movies to Service
On Saturday, Sharp Becomes Taiwanese
Savvy Negotiating by Gou Lands Him Sharp At a Discount
Hon Hai Presicion
Foxconn
The Boards of both Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (better known as Foxconn) and Sharp Corp. have approved the acquisition of 66% of the outstanding shares of Sharp by the Taiwanese OEM manufacturer of largely Apple, Inc. products. This day came largely as a result of some savvy negotiations and tactics from Foxconn’s CEO Terry Gou, who overcame tremendous odds to score this win.
Gou not only won Sharp, but he won it at a discount…see more… [Read more…] about On Saturday, Sharp Becomes Taiwanese
Gibson Brands Puts Assets Up For Sale
Just two weeks after we told you about Moody’s Investors Service downgrading Gibson Brands credit to junk status, the company has put two of their properties up for sale in an apparent effort to raise some much-needed cash. According to local reports, both properties contain warehouses and are located in redevelopment areas in downtown Nashville.
See more on this new Gibson development… [Read more…] about Gibson Brands Puts Assets Up For Sale
Moody’s Downgrades Gibson Brands Credit to Junk
Gibson Brands CEO Responds to Moody’s Downgrade
The music industry is positively buzzing about the announcement late last week by Moody’s Investors Service that, for the second time in three months, it has downgraded the credit rating of Nashville, Tennessee-based Gibson Brands. Gibson (formerly Gibson Guitars) is a tightly held private company that launched an aggressive diversification strategy a few years ago, focusing on acquiring several consumer electronics brands such as Onkyo Corp. and Teac, Corp. and recently Philips.
Now Moody’s suggests the debt used to acquire these brands is dragging the company down… [Read more…] about Moody’s Downgrades Gibson Brands Credit to Junk
After Big Setback, Sharp-Foxconn Deal Expected Soon
Newly Discovered Liabilities Nearly Derail Deal
In what most Japanese media are calling a due diligence blunder, a potential deal for Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, to buy Sharp Corp. was nearly scuttled when over $3 billion in potential additional liabilities suddenly came to light. The development caused Foxconn to pull back and, ultimately, launch an even deeper and more detailed analysis of the opportunity.
