D&M Moves to Single Organization for Boston Acoustics, Denon, Marantz
MAHWAH, N.J. -- D&M Holdings is combining its U.S. sales and marketing for the Boston Acoustics, Denon and Marantz brands under a single organization in breaking up previously independent groups, CEO Jim Caudill said at a product line show here.
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In bringing the brands under a single management structure, D&M slashed the number of rep groups selling its products to 18 from 32, said Brian Poggi, president of D&M sales and marketing-Americas. About 95 percent of the rep groups that remain are handling all three brands, he said. D&M also increased the number of retailers being served as direct accounts and is tripling spending on marketing this year, he said.
"We are now operating as a group of companies rather than a series of independent organizations,” Caudill said. “It’s been all about setting the right cultural tone so we are operating as one organization."
At Boston Acoustics, the restructuring meant moving late last year into a new 13,000-square-foot office in Woburn, Mass., with 30 employees, including marketing and engineering, Mitch Nollman, vice president and general manager of Boston Acoustics, told us. Boston Acoustics was previously housed in a 135,000-square-foot facility in Peabody, Mass., that doubled as a product assembly plant and peaked with 350 employees, Nollman said. Boston Acoustics has dropped its aftermarket car audio products and scaled back on its OEM business, Nollman said. With aftermarket car audio representing less than 10 percent of its sales, Boston Acoustics was better served focusing on home speakers, Nollman said. Boston Acoustics will introduce new TVee soundbars this fall along with a line of high-end floorstanding speakers, Nollman said.
For Europe, Boston Acoustics and Marantz will share a combined sales and marketing group, while Denon remains separate, Nollman said. Boston Acoustics also will launch distribution in China, he said. In the U.S., Boston Acoustics will seek to widen distribution through new products aimed at national and regional chains, Nollman said.
As for products, Denon and Marantz will throw some support to emerging 4K video products with AV receivers that pass through and up-scale to the high-resolution format, D&M executives said. Marantz unveiled a new Airplay-equipped SR Series of receivers consisting of three 7.2-channels to sell for $849, $1,199 and $1,799, depending on power. One model, the SR7007, allows for two-source, two-zone AV distribution via HDMI, while another, the SR6007, has dual HDMI simultaneous output to two displays.
At the high end, Marantz will introduce the PM-11S3 integrated amplifier ($4,999) and SA-11S3 Super Audio CD player ($3,999). The PM-11S3 deploys a feature called Constant Current Feedback for more stable power amplifier performance, D&M said. As for the SACD deck, it features a newly designed transport mechanism with componentry developed by Asahi Chemical to reduce vibration. The deck features a USB-A port on the front panel for iPhone, iPad and iPod playback and an HDAM-SA2 headphone output.
Boston Acoustics unveiled its SoundWare XS Digital Cinema surround system ($499) that consists of two, 2.4-inch satellite speakers paired with a 100-watt, eight-inch subwoofer. The system contains many of the same features found on the brand’s TVee soundbar. Denon unveiled its DBT-1713UD Blu-ray player ($499), designed to be paired with Denon’s AV receivers. The Internet-capable player has access to Hulu, Netflix, Vudu and YouTube. Also available is a remote application that allows the DBT-1713UD to be controlled by a Series 13 AV receiver.