seti Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 They needed to do some more fact checking but still good news for Hope. http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?zone=AB%255FDailyReport%255FWednesday&lID=&sID=&ms=&cID=Z&aID=129913.54928.142039&utm_source=DailyReport&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1252012 Last year's acquisition of Klipsch Group Inc. of Indianapolis by Voxx International of Hauppauge, N.Y., (formerly Audiovox Corp.) carried a high price tag: $169.6 million. Almost a year later, Klipsch still maintains a presence in Arkansas that could increase. Paul Klipsch founded the audio company in 1946 in Hope. By 1989, his cousin Fred Klipsch, a businessman from Indianapolis, had acquired it and moved some of the corporate offices to his hometown. The company's headquarters had totally migrated to Indianapolis by 2001, but all of Klipsch's engineering, manufacturing and logistics are still performed at the 65-employee facility in Hope. Now, the company develops and manufactures a wide variety of high-end sound equipment. A few years after the move to Indianapolis, Klipsch executives were looking at the company's future. "In 2003 and 2004, we worked on a long-term strategy," said Klipsch President and CEO Paul Jacobs. "We were looking at what would happen in the global loudspeaker industry, changes in technology and such." Jacobs said Klipsch was positive about its expertise in loudspeaker development and was planning to expand globally. To become more sustainable, Jacobs said, Klipsch took a minority investment from a private equity investor and began an acquisition strategy. During the next few years, Klipsch acquired Jamo, a Danish speaker company, and three Canadian companies: Energy, Mirage and Athena. By the time the recession hit in 2008, Klipsch was three years into its strategy and had used up funding from the private equity investor. The souring economy wasn't unkind to Klipsch, however. "We came out of the recession with our overhead very much at benchmark levels," Jacobs said. "We had paid off our debt and we had a very stable base of business. Lots of people were willing to invest." Then along came Voxx. "We are always on the lookout to acquire companies that enjoy good margins," said John Shalam, Voxx's founder and chairman. "Traditionally, in our field of consumer electronics, it's a very competitive field. We do a lot of business with large retailers like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target. Those margins are always small." Shalam said Voxx was attracted not only to Klipsch's profit margins but its product lines as well. Voxx is traditionally a dealer of automotive sound systems, Shalam said, and the company was looking to extend its grasp into the home market. "Home installations, home theaters, television viewing rooms, sound systems - this was a very attractive area to diversify, and Klipsch will certainly fulfill that," he said. Shalam said Klipsch would retain its brand identity, and in fact Voxx has happily adopted a laissez-faire approach toward managing its subsidiary. "It's very fine, very well run, with an extraordinarily terrific marketing team," Shalam said. "So from that point of view, Klipsch operates entirely on its own. We don't get involved; we don't interfere." Voxx will help with warehousing and transportation, Shalam said. Local Ramifications An upside of the Voxx purchase is that the Klipsch manufacturing and engineering hub in Hope is looking at expansion. "Over a period of time, we'll probably be emphasizing and encouraging more manufacturing in Hope as we emphasize our quality and products," Shalam said, noting that he had visited the facilities himself. "We find we have excellent value in Hope, with a well-trained and dedicated workforce. Our plan over time is to introduce more high-end products in Hope." Jacobs at Klipsch is similarly enthusiastic. "We're starting to do some investments in Hope already," he said. "There's a tremendous opportunity by applying our engineering to new technologies. "This is what our business partners and customers around the world would like to see. With rising prices in China, it's a perfect opportunity to start handcrafting production in America again, but this time, use technology developed by bigger companies, making it easier for a larger group of people to use. There's an incredibly bright future with these products." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 It's good to see American companies moving manufacturing back to the states from overseas. I'm seeing articles about more and more American companies either doing it or considering it. Between rising labor costs overseas and increases in shipping costs due largely to increased fuel prices it's beginning to make sense to manfacture here the things being sold here. Good for Klipsch!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT FAN Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Always nice to see positive information on our favorite speaker company. Since Voxx is located in Hauppauge Long Island, PERHAPS THEY CAN OPEN A KLIPSCH HERITAGE DEALER SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SOUTHAMPTON, L.I. & NYC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Long live the HORN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivernuggets Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks for the article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 25, 2012 Moderators Share Posted January 25, 2012 Good to hear, very smart of them, why mess with success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bracurrie Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Did ya'll see this? http://itishifi.blogspot.com/2012/01/klipsch-console.html Don't ya just love retro? Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 One of the smartest strategies I've seen that was able to actually work...........keeping their manufacturing presence in the US and not selling the machines, buildings, and ability to manufacture like many companies did. Now they can react to China's rising prices without a forced high investment cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 One of the smartest strategies I've seen that was able to actually work...........keeping their manufacturing presence in the US and not selling the machines, buildings, and ability to manufacture like many companies did. Now they can react to China's rising prices without a forced high investment cost. Very smart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ousig Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 hope it happens and soon. companies need to relize the American consumer will pay slightly more to see Made in USA on the box - for the most part. If it is a plastic bag then I dont care but for any products that quality is sought after I would and do search out USA on the label. I hated seeing Made in China on my new RF62ii boxes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tblake10 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Good to see!. Thanks for shairing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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