TWICE back issues from June 2003:
May retail sales make a comeback.(Sales of some leading retailers)
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- Consumers seemingly celebrated the quick conclusion of the war in Iraq by loosening their purse strings in stores. At Best Buy; total sales for its fiscal first quarter ended May 31 grew 11 percent to $4.67 billion while same-store sales edged up 22 percent. Broken ...
Top Majap dealers boost sales 9.5%: home improvement channel racks up gains at expense of traditional dealers. (TWICE Top 100 Appliance Retailers).
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- Despite a tough retail environment, the 100 largest major appliance dealers in the land managed to boost their white goods sales 9.5 percent in 2002 to a record $15.2 billion, handily outpacing CE's rate of growth. That was the good news coming out of this year's ...
Thomson buys Recoton accessories biz for $60 mil. (TWICE News).
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- In a move that took the consumer electronics accessories business by surprise, PariS-based CE giant Thomson, known for its RCA brand, last Wednesday submitted a winning bid of $60 million for the CE business of bankrupt Recoton. Staying well below the radar in the ...
Audiovox wins Recoton audio bid. (TWICE News).(Audiovox Electronics)
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- Audiovox Electronics will focus initially on stepping up shipments of Jensen, Advent and Acoustic Research products now that a federal bankruptcy court approved its bid to buy Recoton's electronics businesses in the U.S. and Europe. Bankrupt Recoton suffered ...
HD boxes set to highlight cable show. (Video/Home Satellite).
Jun 09, 2003; ... CHICAGO -- High-definition television will take center stage at this week's National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) show, as manufacturers introduce expanded lines of HD-capable digital cable receivers and cable operators continue to explore opportunities for selling HD ...
Sony's Ron Boire joining Best Buy. (TWICE News).(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... MINNEAPOLIS -- Ron Boire has left his post as president of Sony Electronics Consumer Sales Co. to join Best Buy as executive VP/GMM of its flagship store group. Boire succeeds Mike London, who has been tapped to lead Best Buy's new customer centricity initiative, the most ...
DirectTV introduces HDTV programming tier.
Jun 09, 2003; ... EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. -- DirecTV formally announced plans to offer a new high-definition programming tier that will combine three previously unavailable HD channels with the current HDNet channel. Other channels in the package will include ESPN HD, Discovery HD Theater and the new ...
Thompson rolls out expanded digital TV lines. (TWICE News).(Thomson Consumer Electronics)
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- Thomson formally unveiled its 2003-04 A/V home and portable entertainment product lines, including expanded models of flat-panel TVs, and nine fully integrated HDTV sets highlighted by a pair based on Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing (DLP) micro-display engines. ...
iBiquity vows to cure AM codec woes. (TWICE News).
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- iBiquity Digital vows to improve the AM-band performance of its PAC audio codec in time for digital-radio receiver launches planned for later this year, but that timeframe might be overly optimistic. That's because iBiquity had been upgrading its PAC codec for ...
Palm signs deal to purchase its rival handspring. (TWICE News).
Jun 09, 2003; ... MILPITAS, CALIF. -- Palm announced it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Handspring. Both PDA companies said the merger would result in a single market leader with a wide product offering, including the phone-centric TREO brand of PDAs from Handspring and the ...
Chase Carey says News Corp. backs retailers, HDTV. (TWICE News).(Retailers will help take DirecTV to next level of growth under stewardship of News Corp)
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- Retailers will continue to play an important role in taking DirecTV to its next level of growth under News Corp. stewardship. That was the vow of Chase Carey, a News Corp. executive who is in position to become the next president and CEO of DirecTV-parent Hughes ...
XM, Sirius look outside the car for more growth. (TWICE News).(XM Satellite Radio, Sirius Satellite Radio)
Jun 09, 2003 ... NEW YORK -- XM Satellite Radio and Sirius are stepping up their drive to expand usage outside the car, with Sirius planning later this year to offer its first commercial receivers and its first multizone receivers for use with custom-installed distributed-audio systems. ...
Replay TV to boost promotions, distribution. (TWICE News).
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- Strengthened by its acquisition by D&M Holdings, formerly cash-strapped Replay TV plans to ramp up production; resume national TV advertising after a two-year pause, and expand its distribution to all RadioShack stores. The PVR maker is also adding more networking ...
Tweeter launches strategic plan. (Twice News).(Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... CANTON, MASS. -- Tweeter Home Entertainment Group has initiated what it describes as "a major strategic repositioning" designed to return the company to its growth track and restore profitability. Dubbed Foundations for Winning, the two-pronged plan addresses the "challenges of ...
DVD+R dominates format war in PC channel. (Twice News).
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- The tug of war taking place over which rewritable DVD format will dominate the market appears to be finally working its way to a conclusion, at least on the PC drive side of the business. Data from The NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y., has the plus format dominating ...
Rex says fiscal Q1 sales Rose 2%. (Twice News).(REX Stores)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... DAYTON, OHIO -- Focusing on high definition televisions, Rex Stores boosted fiscal first quarter sales 2 percent, hitting $95.4 million, up from $93.5 million in the same three months last year. Higher sales in the quarter reflected increased dollar volume in HDTV-ready ...
Best Buy. (People).(Kal Patel joins firm as as VP/strategic planning)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... Kal Patel has joined Best Buy as VP/strategic planning, responsible for managing ...
Cerwin-Vega. (People).(Ken Koga is promoted to national sales manager for the mobile audio division)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... Ken Koga promoted to Cerwin-Vega national sales manager for the mobile audio division, responsible ...
Dolby Laboratories. (People).(Michael DiCosimo, longtime head of Dolby Laboratories' New York office, forms Digital Presentation Consultancy Group )(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... Michael DiCosimo, longtime head of Dolby Laboratories' New York office, has formed The Digital Presentation ...
Kodak. (People).(Matthias Freund is named acting president of consumer imaging products and services )(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... Matthias Freund named acting president of consumer imaging products ...
Path Group. (People).(Michael Johnson becomes VP/sales director)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... Michael Johnson has joined Path Group as VP/sales director, Path owns ...
SanDisk. (People).(Jose Flahaux is promoted to senior VP of worldwide operations)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... Jose Flahaux was promoted to senior VP of worldwide operations, SanDisk, Erik Moss, ...
ELAN Home Systems. (People).(Cat Fowler is named marketing VP at ELAN Home Systems )(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... Cat Fowler, ex-Escient and AMX, named marketing VP at ELAN Home Systems to direct all ...
Lexar Media. (People).(Brian McGee is named named chief financial officer/VP )(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... Brian McGee named chief ...
The changing Majaps market. (Viewpoint).
Jun 09, 2003; ... In senior editor Alan Wolf's expert analysis of the TWICE Top 100 Appliance Retailers the headline on page 24 blares, 'Top Majap Dealers See 9.5% Sales Gain.' While we think our numbers are accurate, our report shows that the industry is bigger than ever and the Top 100 owns more of the ...
Industry calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
Jun 09, 2003 ... June 18-20 7th Annual CEA CEO Summit Vail Cascade Resort & Spa Vail, Colo. www.ce.org ...
Klipsch balances specialists needs, while changing distribution model. (Twice News).
Jun 09, 2003; ... INDIANAPOLIS -- Klipsch has adopted multiple strategies to maintain strong relations with its core A/V specialty-dealer base as it enters Best Buy stores for the first time, COO T. Paul Jacobs said. The strategies include stock balancing and a policy against online sales of ...
MARTA expands with four new members. (Twice News).(MARTA Cooperative of America )(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- The MARTA Cooperative of America has added four new members to its ranks, bringing its roster up to just over 100 dealers and distributors, and pushing its annual group-wide sales to more than $2 billion. The new additions are Grand Furniture in Norfolk, ...
Panasonic e-wear gear to have role in new 'Lara Croft' movie.(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... SECAUCUS, N.J. -- Angelina Jolie, reprising her role as heroine Lara Croft, uses Panasonic's palm-sized e-wear four-in-one SD AV recorder in Paramount Pictures' "Lara Croft Tomb Raider:The Cradle of ...
Audio sales hit 12-yr. lows for March, 1st quarter. (By The Numbers).
Jun 09, 2003; ... ARLINGTON, VA. -- Factory-level audio sales fell to a 12-year low during March and the first quarter, driven by declines in all four key audio segments during both periods, CEA statistics show. March sales fell 20.1 percent to $498.4 million, their lowest level since 1991's ...
Video industry sales scorecard. (By The Numbers).(Illustration)
Jun 09, 2003 ... <Pre> Video Industry Sales Scorecard Factory and distributor sales to dealers, as reported by the Consumer Electronics Association: WEEK TO 2002 % PRODUCT MAY 9 WEEK CHG. Total Analog-Color 301,422 357,620 ...
RadioShack lays out core solutions strategy. (Retailing).
Jun 09, 2003; ... FORT WORTH, TEXAS -- RadioShack detailed an overarching strategy of differentiation at its annual shareholders meeting here last month that's founded on providing families with accessories, CE solutions and proprietary novelty products while improving back-end efficiencies. ...
R'Shack reduces Asia travel. (Retailing).(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... FORT WORTH, TEXAS -- RadioShack, like many retailers spooked by SARS, has curtailed travel to the Far East, but may make the policy permanent even after the disease is vanquished. "We found we can conduct business by teleconferencing and e-mail, and we're doing just as well as ...
MEGA Group holds mega show. (Retailing).(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... ORLANDO, FLA. -- MEGA Group/ Best Brands Plus lived up to its name in May when it hosted the largest buying show in the organization's 20-year history during its annual convention, held here. The five-day conclave, which also marked the buying group's 20th anniversary, ...
NYC's J&R does more with less. (Retailing).(J&R World)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- For Manhattan CE retail icon J&R Music World, trimming its marketing budget proved to be a blessing in disguise. Forced to cut marketing costs after losing much of its customer base with the collapse of the nearby World Trade Center, J&R nevertheless boosted sales by ...
Loewe looms large at Harvey.(First U.S. in-store shop is opened)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... NEW YORK -- Loewe's Kevin Sullivan and Paul Fredrickson flank Harvey store manager Gordon Friend within the vendor's first U.S. in-store shop. The gallery concept, brought over from Germany, made its stateside debut at the New York A/V chain's flagship store in midtown Manhattan earlier ...
D&H marks 85th year with convergence fair. (Retailing).(D&H Distributing)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... HARRISBURG, PA. -- You can often tell a person's age by which analog products appear in his childhood memories. Likewise, you know D&H Distributing has reached a sagely age if it first entered the CE business when crystal radios were hot. D&H opened its doors and began ...
Cambridge starts free in-home consultations. (Retailing).(Cambridge SoundWorks )(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... ANDOVER, MASS. -- Cambridge SoundWorks launched a free in-home consultation program in mid-May to help consumers looking for advice on A/V products. Now, customers in the New England and San Francisco Bay areas can schedule an appointment with Cambridge audio experts who will ...
QVC slates summer product search event. (Retailing).(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... WEST CHESTER, PA. -- QVC is offering vendors a rare chance to get their foot in the door of its buying matrix this summer. The leading televised shopping network will hold a product search on August 8-9 at QVC Studio Park, here, giving manufacturers, designers and inventors a ...
Ritz interactive Q1 sales up 30%. (Retailing).(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... IRVINE, CALIF. -- Ritz Interactive, a network of 10 e-commerce sites including RitzCamera.com, WolfCamera.com, CameraWorld.com and PhotoAlley.com, defied the weak economy by posting a 30-percent ...
Harvey Q2 sales down 3.5%. (Retailing).(Harvey Electronics)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... LYNDHURST, N.J. -- Harvey Electronics said fiscal second quarter net sales and comps slipped 3.5 percent, or $364,000, to $10 million. President Franklin Karp noted that the company's results "are down slightly but compare favorably to other ...
GERS sets retail world dates. (Retailing).(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... SAN DIEGO -- GERS Retail Systems has announced that its annual user conference, Retail World 2003, will return to the Westin Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego on August 11-14. The theme of this year's show, "Framework for the Future," will be reflected in all sessions, workshops and ...
NARDA sponsors finance site. (Retailing).(North American Retail Dealers Association )(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... LOMBARD, ILL. -- The North American Retail Dealers Association (NARDA) has become a sponsor of the Retail Owners Institute (ROI), a Web site devoted to finance training and forecasting, As a result of sponsorship, NARDA members can use the "practical, powerful retail financial training ...
A-1 taps installation market. (Retailing).
Jun 09, 2003 ... ATLANTA -- Since its launch seven years ago, installation and repair provider A-1 Home Services has built its business into a coast-to-coast resource with 525-plus technicians and six regional offices. Its nationwide coverage for major appliances and consumer electronics has helped it land ...
The top 100 major appliance retailers. (TWICE Top 100 Appliance Retailers).(ranked by appliance sales in 2002)(Illustration)
Jun 09, 2003 ... <Pre> The Top 100 Major Appliance Retailers RANK RANK 2002 2001 STOREREVISED TYPE (a) STORE NAME 1 1 MM Sears 2 2 HICLowe's 3 4 HICHome Depot 4 3 EA/N Best Buy 5 NR ...
The top 100 Majap retailers by retail channel. (TWICE Top 100 Appliance Retailers).(Illustration)
Jun 09, 2003 ... <Pre> THE Top 100 Majap Retailers By Retail Channel RANK RANKESTIMATED MAJAP SALES (b) 2002 2001 IN MILLIONSREVISED STORE NAME 2002REVISED 2001 Total Catalog Showrooms $4 ...
The top 30 Majap retailers, A-Z. (TWICE Top 100 Appliance Retailers).(Directory)
Jun 09, 2003 ... #9 ABC Appliance Inc. 1 Silverdome Industrial Park Pontiac, MI 48342 248-335-4222 www.abcwarehouse.com 2002 majap sales in millions: $215 Privately held ABC, best known as ABC Warehouse, is a member of the NATM buying ...
Sony to give passage updates. (Video/Home Satellite).(at National Cable & Telecommunications Association show)
Jun 09, 2003; ... CHICAGO -- Sony will venture to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) show this week to unveil a new generation of HD capable set-top boxes, while evangelizing its new Passage technology designed to open cable systems to equipment based on multiple conditional access ...
Vendors bow summer digicams. (Digital Imaging).(latest digital cameras from Minolta, Nikon, Minolta)
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- According to the calendar, if not the weather, summer is around the corner, bringing barbecues, pool parties, and potentially drenched digicams. With this in mind, Sony and Minolta announced cameras meant for high portability and pool-side photography, while Nikon has courted ...
Digital Frames ships 1st product. (Digital Imaging).(DFP404 digital picture frame)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... LAKELAND, FLA. -- One-year-old Digital Frame announced it is shipping its first product, the DFP404 digital picture frame. The frame features a 10-inch color STN LCD screen with a resolution of 800 by 600. It accepts SmartMedia and CompactFlash memory cards and displays as many ...
Samsung shoots for share gains. (Digital Imaging).(firm wants to increase share in the digicam market)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... RIDGEFIELD PARK, N. J. -- Samsung is aiming to upend the current digicam market share triumvirate of Sony, Olympus and Kodak by grabbing the No. 3 spot in 2005, said Samsung's Ken Gerb, VP/nationals sales. "We're looking to do in digital cameras what we did with analog 35mm ...
Companies Sirius about receivers with lower prices. (Mobile Electronics).(Audiovox, Kenwood plan low-priced transportable car-to-home receivers for satellite)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... NEW YORK -- Audiovox and Kenwood will deliver next month the lowest-priced transportable car-to-home receivers for satellite radio to date. Both systems receive Sirius Satellite Radio and will carry a $99 estimated street price plus $69 for either a car or home adapter kit. ...
In-dash DVD: the new CD. (Mobile Electronics).(latest trends in automotive sound, video systems)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... New low prices on DVD players are helping to drive sales of mobile video this summer. Instigated in part by the release this spring of Pioneer's in-dash DVD with touch-screen monitor at $1,600, prices on in-dash DVD/monitors have declined by nearly 30 percent since last year. ...
Audiobahn bows head unit with CF. (Mobile Electronics).(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003; ... BREA, CALIF. -- Audiobahn is launching its first head unit line this summer that includes a CD player with an outboard reader for CompactFlash cards. The new A3851 is an in-dash AM/FM/CD player with DVD-changer controls and MP3 playback. It can accept a plug-in CompactFlash card ...
CEA sets new amp standards. (Mobile Electronics).(Consumer Electronics Association)
Jun 09, 2003; ... ARLINGTON, VA. -- CEA has ratified a new 12-volt amplified power specification. The R6 Engineering Committee published in May a "voluntary" standard for advertising and promoting power ratings so that amplifier specs will be reported on a uniform basis. "This will ...
Niles evolves in 25th yr. but retains its A/V mission. (Home Audio).(Niles Audio)
Jun 09, 2003; ... MIAMI -- Niles Audio will celebrate its 25th anniversary: this year with the broadest product launch in its history and the completion of an expanded engineering facility, which will support the company's exclusive focus on audio/ video lifestyle products. "We'll stick with what ...
Archos expands A/V portable selection. (Home Audio).(with new portable hard disc-drive audio/video players)
Jun 09, 2003; ... IRVINE, CALIF. -- Archos is rolling out an expanded selection of portable hard,disc-drive (HDD) audio/video players and plans a downsized HDD music portable that will use a 1.8-inch HDD instead of a 2.5-inch drive. In April, the French-owned maker of mobile computer peripherals ...
Atlantic churns with change. (Home Audio).(Atlantic Technology)
Jun 09, 2003; ... NORWOOD, MASS. -- Organizational changes at Atlantic Technology will expand customer support, improve training and accelerate product development, according to majority owner OAC Group. The changes will help improve the potential for the company's first distributed-audio system, ...
Corrections.(Correction Notice)
Jun 09, 2003 ... * The retail price of Teac's TRD-2000 dual-tuner component tuner was misstated on p. 32 of the May 5 issue. The price ...
Triton offers danger's wireless-data device. (Communications Briefs).(Triton PCS Inc.)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... BERWYN, PA. -- AT&T Wireless affiliate Triton PCS has begun offering Danger's hip-top wireless-data phone, a QWERTY-keyboard-equipped phone with Web browsing, e-mail, AOL IM, PIM functions and optional digital camera. T-Mobile already offers the device. Triton markets under the SunCom ...
Bluetooth Blues. (Communications Briefs).(Probe Group sees Bluetooth problems)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J. -- Cellular carriers might view Bluetooth as an important element in driving 2.5G and 3G-network usage, but don't tell that to market research company Probe Group. "Bluetooth is hobbled by several factors, such as complex and technical device set-up and ...
Sprint tries Bluetooth. (Communications Briefs).(Sprint PCS plans CDMA phone with Bluetooth technology for second quarter)(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... KANSAS CITY, MO. -- Sprint PCS plans a late second-quarter launch of the country's first CDMA phone with integrated Bluetooth. The Sony Ericsson T608 is also the ...
Virgin adds card dealers. (Communications Briefs).(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... WARREN, N.J. -- Virgin Mobile has expanded the availability of its prepaid Top-Up cards to thousands more storefronts through agreements with four prepaid phone-card distributors. They are CellCards, GTS ...
FCC: more unlicensed spectrum needed to meet demand. (Communications).
Jun 09, 2003; ... WASHINGTON -- More spectrum and more spectrum-sharing solutions are needed to keep pace with the rapidly growing market for electronics devices that operate in unlicensed spectrum, according to a white paper issued by Federal Communications Commission staff. The devices include ...
Plantronics adds 2.4GHz cordless. (Communications).(Brief Article)
Jun 09, 2003 ... SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. -- Plantronics introduced its first 2.4GHz DSS cordless headset telephone to give consumers hands-free telephony over a landline. The CT12 joins the 900MHz CT10 in the company's line of hands-free cordless phones. The CT12 phone includes a wearable remote ...