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AKM Responds to Strata-gee Request for Comment on Damaged Factory

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Last week, I updated the story of the Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) factory fire that destroyed one of the world’s largest fabs producing semiconductors, particularly LSIs (large-scale integrated circuits) for digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) widely used in audio for consumer, pro, and commercial applications. [See post: AKM Fire Update: Co. Makes Progress, Interim Solution Shows Promise] At the time I was working on that report, I reached out to AKM for comment on what I was learning from my sources, but did not receive a reply by the time the story was posted.

This morning, AKM responded to my request…

See what AKM said in a statement to Strata-gee…

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Sonos Has Another Record Quarter…But Just Barely

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Revenues Up 3%, But Net Income Drops 6.7%

Sonos Inc. released the results for their fiscal 2022 first quarter on Wednesday and the results were mostly mixed. While a quarterly revenue record was set, net earnings dropped. CEO Patrick Spence called it “an excellent quarter, with record-setting revenue” but the tone of the company’s management seemed slightly more muted on a conference call with financial analysts as compared to previous such events. Perhaps this was because their financial performance was slightly more muted as compared to past quarters.

See more on the Sonos finanical results for Q1 2022

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Don’t Revamp Your Business for the Latest Fad Guru; Be Your Own Guru

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business guru at a trade conference

GUEST POST: All It Takes is Common Sense to Improve Your Biz

Recently, an integrator I know goes to a trade conference. The principal hears a presentation on a new way to run his business, which is already generating a solid $5-6 Million in revenues. The presenter, a sort of business guru, is impressive and has authored a book.

This guru has a “system” he wants to sell you on…

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AKM Fire Update: Co. Makes Progress, Interim Solution Shows Promise

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burned out AKM factory
[Click to enlarge] [Photo: nikogorio (Twitter)]

Commits to Deliver New DACs & ADCs in 2022!

In one of the most-read stories ever posted on Strata-gee.com, I reported on a fire in October 2020 at an AKM factory in Japan. AKM is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of large-scale integrated circuits (LSI) used in a variety of products, including digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for the audio industry. In that post, I warned you that this fire threatens to “disrupt the global supply of critical digital ICs.” It was the bright red flag of what was to become a massive supply chain headache that the world continues to struggle with to this day.

UPDATE: What’s happening now after the AKM fire

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Sony Forecasts a Record Profit; Says NOT Entering the Car Building Biz

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New Financial Info Shows Sony Continues to Transform Biz

On the eve of closing out their current fiscal year (fiscal 2021) on March 30, 2022, Sony Group announced their latest financial results for the first nine months of the fiscal year…and included a surprising new upgrade of their forecast, now saying they’ll have a record operating profit for the year. This was a high note for the company, a company that has benefitted from consumers spending more time at home playing video games on their PlayStation, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the company also answered the question that many – including me – had about Sony entering the automobile business via their new Sony Mobile division – and in so doing, reiterated their plan to move away from a hardware-centric business.

See more on where tech leader Sony is headed

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U.S. Economy Grew at Record Pace in 2021

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The U.S. economy showed great positive momentum in 2021 with the gross domestic product (GDP) growing at a record pace, recouping much of the drop in GDP in 2020. In fact, a new report from Axios shows that the current GDP growth trend is now within just 1% of the pre-pandemic trend.

See more on the economic rebound

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Joe Whitaker Leaves His Integration Company to Take a Position at Origin Acoustics

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Origin Acoustics logo

Joe Whitaker, a former partner in Thoughtful Integrations out of St. Louis, MO/Dallas, TX, is leaving his integration life behind to join Origin Acoustics as its Vice President of Business Development. Whitaker has been an active promoter of Origin products in his former life as an integrator and has already been consulting with the company on products for years.

See more on Whitaker at Origin Acoustics

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Dave Nauber, Head of Classé for Nearly 20-Yrs, Leaves Company at End of March

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Dave Nauber - Sound United Director of Brand for Classe

BREAKING NEWS

In an internal email circulated to company employees on Monday, Joel Sietsema, Sound United’s Brand President of Marantz and Classé, announced a “change to the leadership structure of the Marantz and Classé organization.” That change is a big one – Dave Nauber, leader of the Classé brand for nearly 20-years, will be leaving the company at the end of March, “to pursue new opportunities.”

Read more about this change at the top of Classé

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Leaked Internal Amazon Docs Show Users Quickly Tire of Smart Speakers

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Amazon products

End of the Smart Speaker Era?

Amazon is widely credited with having created the entire smart speaker category with their Alexa voice-controlled Echo smart speaker and other products. The company has sold millions of them since their introduction in 2015, especially at often insane sale prices during the holiday selling season. But Bloomberg Businessweek has come into possession of leaked internal Amazon documents that paint a portrait of a category that appears to be in serious trouble, principally because it fails – often miserably – to retain consumer interest.

And, the documents show, not only do consumers lose their interest…they lose it quickly.

See more on smart speaker problems identified in Amazon internal docs

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New Residential Sales Jump to 9-Month High

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New residential sales data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development show a sharp rise in the sale of newly constructed homes for the month of December. This is the second month in a row when sales of new homes rose as compared to the sales the previous month and are at the highest rate of sales since March – a nine-month high.

See more on new residential sales

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