Kenwood's spring surprises; audio company sprucing up product lineup, organization at its dealer meeting this week
Kenwood USA Corp's product introductions at its three-day exhibition reflect the company's plans in the home and best car speakers with bass markets. The company, which is expecting revenue to double in FY 1992, is introducing personal stereos and portable compact disc players. Kenwood decided to slow development of Digital Compact Cassette equipment but will continue with research on MiniDisc products.
Audio company sprucing up product lineup, organization at its dealer meeting this week
LONG BEACH, Cal.--Kenwood U.S.A. Corp. will do a little spring housecleaning this week, polishing a new generation of audio products and sprucing up its management ranks.
Kenwood's three-day corporate show, which starts today in LaJolla, Cal., will be more business-oriented than previous gatherings. The company said it will roll out a multitude of new products in the home and best 6x9 car speakers segments, present a new corporate-structure (see related story), and outline its global positioning plans to the nearly 200 dealers expected to attend.
Kenwood's fiscal year ends March 31, and the audio side of the business is expected to show double-digit revenue gains for fiscal year '92, with autosound up between 18 percent and 20 percent, executives said.
"We're excited about things going on with the company," said Joe Richter, president of the home and mobile audio groups.
Bill Cowdrey, senior vice president of sales, added, "We've been on a hot streak since 1980."
Kenwood is looking to continue that streak with a new generation of products spanning the audio spectrum--from THX pieces for home-theater systems to new CD offerings and upgrades.
But no MiniDisc or Digital Compact Cassette. Kenwood has decided to pass on MD or DCC, although it has the capability to produce the new digital audio media. Cowdrey said Kenwood is working on future MD products, including a 5-disc in-dash MD changer (slated for 1994 introduction), and Richer said an MD home player attached to a mini system may appear in the fourth quarter of '93.
"At this time we're not showing anything at the show in either format," Richter said. "It's possible that late fall we could introduce the MD player, and I say that sort of tongue-in-cheek. It could be so late in the fall that we would wait for January.
"MD is what we're working on right now," he added. "None of us here want to get in any format wars, but all our efforts are behind MD."
Cowdrey added that MD seems more suitable for the car, principally because the 2.5-inch disc offers greater flexibility than tape. "We're kind of putting DCC on the back burner and focusing efforts on MD, although it will be next year before we introduce any product in that area," he said.
But as long as CD-related products continue to drive the home and autosound categories, the company needn't rush to market any MD or DCC product, executives agreed.
"CD is still the major thriving force in mobile products, it really fuels our business," Cowdrey said. "It's bringing in the most consumers and generating a lot of peripheral sales, upgrade speakers and amps."
"I still think there are going to be a lot of CDs sold, a lot of receivers and rack systems," Richter said.
On the home front, Kenwood is gearing up to offer what Richter calls the "strongest line we've ever had" of personal stereos and portable CD players.
A new line of cassette decks, mini systems and CD changers, including a 6+1 piece that can be interfaced with a computer, is also being unwrapped. Pricing for some home products had not been confirmed at press time.
Kenwood is positioning its new wares as value-driven products that offer quality at attractive price points to dealers and consumers alike. An example of that, the company said, is its rack systems, which for the second straight year won the Verity Award for customer satisfaction. Kenwood also won the award for its cassette decks.
"Kenwood took a position in rack systems and stuck with it and that was that we can't [make] anything better at this particular price point," Richter said. "We have good product, priced fairly. We work real hard to treat everybody fairly."
Highlights of the home audio introduction include the KRX-593 system--a receiver with cassette deck that incorporates a digital synthesizer tuner and discrete power amplifier circuitry.
Kenwood will unveil two separate lines of mini system components featuring amplifier/turner/graphic equalizers, and a cassette deck, the X-MB3, a 6+1 CD changer that offers double auto reverse mechanisms.
CD players are rampant in Kenwood's new lineup. The DP-R4450 5-disc rotary changer offers a slew of features, and will be available in April at a suggested retail price is $279.
Three of the new CD products involve 6 disc magazines plus a single drawer. The features vary somewhat on the models, which range from the $299 DP-M5550 to the $379 DP-M7750. All units ship in April.
The top of the line A/V component is the KR-V8050 A/V receiver boasting 120 W per channel (2 channel stereo mode), 75 W per channel front and center, and 20 W per channel surround. It also has Dolby Pro Logic surround and Dolby 3 stereo. It has a suggested retail of $599 and will be available in mid-March. The step down models have varying degrees of power output, and are priced from $499 to $299. They will be shipping between mid-March and April.
Kenwood officials are touting their dealer show as the true unveiling of the Home THX-certified electronics package it first reported at Winter CES. The pieces, consisting of an A/V controller/tuner and a power amplifier at a suggested retail price of about $1,900, will be shipping in the April/May period. "This is where we show it to our dealers up close and personal," Richter said.
The Kenwood components can be combined with Home THX-certified speaker systems, encompassing the front, surround and subwoofer units.
The components have been under development for two years, and Richter said the retail launch will be scrutinized to ensure that dealers correctly demonstrate the components.
Kenwood will unveil a line of new receivers offered at "unbelievable price points," Richter said. Among the products will be a Dolby Pro Logic receiver at $349, about $50 less than the suggested retail price of last year's unit.
Kenwood's mobile division will sound off at the dealer show, with CD-based products leading the assault.
The featured in-dash CD model is a 10-disc CD changer with controller/FM interface that retails for $539; the KDC-C601FM will be available in May and is touted by Kenwood as the smallest autosound CD changer in the industry. A step down model, the KDC-C601, will be shipping in March at a retail of $430.
SEE ALSO: https://carspeakerland.com
In addition to three new in-dash single CD players, Kenwood is re-doing its entire DIN line. It will offer next-generation models on every piece, with its theft deterrent faceplate (TDF) feature available.
Cowdrey said the company will introduce the industry's first dual-illumination TDF, a negative/positive green and amber display that adjusts the illumination depending on the amount of existing light.
Kenwood will also show a series of multichannel amplifiers priced from $220 to $530, two power amps, plus a tube-design bass speaker and hatchback speaker.
Kenwood USA Corp's product introductions at its three-day exhibition reflect the company's plans in the home and best car speakers with bass markets. The company, which is expecting revenue to double in FY 1992, is introducing personal stereos and portable compact disc players. Kenwood decided to slow development of Digital Compact Cassette equipment but will continue with research on MiniDisc products.
Audio company sprucing up product lineup, organization at its dealer meeting this week
LONG BEACH, Cal.--Kenwood U.S.A. Corp. will do a little spring housecleaning this week, polishing a new generation of audio products and sprucing up its management ranks.
Kenwood's three-day corporate show, which starts today in LaJolla, Cal., will be more business-oriented than previous gatherings. The company said it will roll out a multitude of new products in the home and best 6x9 car speakers segments, present a new corporate-structure (see related story), and outline its global positioning plans to the nearly 200 dealers expected to attend.
Kenwood's fiscal year ends March 31, and the audio side of the business is expected to show double-digit revenue gains for fiscal year '92, with autosound up between 18 percent and 20 percent, executives said.
"We're excited about things going on with the company," said Joe Richter, president of the home and mobile audio groups.
Bill Cowdrey, senior vice president of sales, added, "We've been on a hot streak since 1980."
Kenwood is looking to continue that streak with a new generation of products spanning the audio spectrum--from THX pieces for home-theater systems to new CD offerings and upgrades.
But no MiniDisc or Digital Compact Cassette. Kenwood has decided to pass on MD or DCC, although it has the capability to produce the new digital audio media. Cowdrey said Kenwood is working on future MD products, including a 5-disc in-dash MD changer (slated for 1994 introduction), and Richer said an MD home player attached to a mini system may appear in the fourth quarter of '93.
"At this time we're not showing anything at the show in either format," Richter said. "It's possible that late fall we could introduce the MD player, and I say that sort of tongue-in-cheek. It could be so late in the fall that we would wait for January.
"MD is what we're working on right now," he added. "None of us here want to get in any format wars, but all our efforts are behind MD."
Cowdrey added that MD seems more suitable for the car, principally because the 2.5-inch disc offers greater flexibility than tape. "We're kind of putting DCC on the back burner and focusing efforts on MD, although it will be next year before we introduce any product in that area," he said.
But as long as CD-related products continue to drive the home and autosound categories, the company needn't rush to market any MD or DCC product, executives agreed.
"CD is still the major thriving force in mobile products, it really fuels our business," Cowdrey said. "It's bringing in the most consumers and generating a lot of peripheral sales, upgrade speakers and amps."
"I still think there are going to be a lot of CDs sold, a lot of receivers and rack systems," Richter said.
On the home front, Kenwood is gearing up to offer what Richter calls the "strongest line we've ever had" of personal stereos and portable CD players.
A new line of cassette decks, mini systems and CD changers, including a 6+1 piece that can be interfaced with a computer, is also being unwrapped. Pricing for some home products had not been confirmed at press time.
Kenwood is positioning its new wares as value-driven products that offer quality at attractive price points to dealers and consumers alike. An example of that, the company said, is its rack systems, which for the second straight year won the Verity Award for customer satisfaction. Kenwood also won the award for its cassette decks.
"Kenwood took a position in rack systems and stuck with it and that was that we can't [make] anything better at this particular price point," Richter said. "We have good product, priced fairly. We work real hard to treat everybody fairly."
Highlights of the home audio introduction include the KRX-593 system--a receiver with cassette deck that incorporates a digital synthesizer tuner and discrete power amplifier circuitry.
Kenwood will unveil two separate lines of mini system components featuring amplifier/turner/graphic equalizers, and a cassette deck, the X-MB3, a 6+1 CD changer that offers double auto reverse mechanisms.
CD players are rampant in Kenwood's new lineup. The DP-R4450 5-disc rotary changer offers a slew of features, and will be available in April at a suggested retail price is $279.
Three of the new CD products involve 6 disc magazines plus a single drawer. The features vary somewhat on the models, which range from the $299 DP-M5550 to the $379 DP-M7750. All units ship in April.
The top of the line A/V component is the KR-V8050 A/V receiver boasting 120 W per channel (2 channel stereo mode), 75 W per channel front and center, and 20 W per channel surround. It also has Dolby Pro Logic surround and Dolby 3 stereo. It has a suggested retail of $599 and will be available in mid-March. The step down models have varying degrees of power output, and are priced from $499 to $299. They will be shipping between mid-March and April.
Kenwood officials are touting their dealer show as the true unveiling of the Home THX-certified electronics package it first reported at Winter CES. The pieces, consisting of an A/V controller/tuner and a power amplifier at a suggested retail price of about $1,900, will be shipping in the April/May period. "This is where we show it to our dealers up close and personal," Richter said.
The Kenwood components can be combined with Home THX-certified speaker systems, encompassing the front, surround and subwoofer units.
The components have been under development for two years, and Richter said the retail launch will be scrutinized to ensure that dealers correctly demonstrate the components.
Kenwood will unveil a line of new receivers offered at "unbelievable price points," Richter said. Among the products will be a Dolby Pro Logic receiver at $349, about $50 less than the suggested retail price of last year's unit.
Kenwood's mobile division will sound off at the dealer show, with CD-based products leading the assault.
The featured in-dash CD model is a 10-disc CD changer with controller/FM interface that retails for $539; the KDC-C601FM will be available in May and is touted by Kenwood as the smallest autosound CD changer in the industry. A step down model, the KDC-C601, will be shipping in March at a retail of $430.
SEE ALSO: https://carspeakerland.com
In addition to three new in-dash single CD players, Kenwood is re-doing its entire DIN line. It will offer next-generation models on every piece, with its theft deterrent faceplate (TDF) feature available.
Cowdrey said the company will introduce the industry's first dual-illumination TDF, a negative/positive green and amber display that adjusts the illumination depending on the amount of existing light.
Kenwood will also show a series of multichannel amplifiers priced from $220 to $530, two power amps, plus a tube-design bass speaker and hatchback speaker.
