Sharon, Mass. –
will begin on June
1 to sell its NAD and PSB home audio brands through in-house regional sales
managers for the first time after having sold exclusively through independent
reps since the company’s founding 20
years ago.
The company will drop all or almost
all of its independent reps in the U.S. and will decide on Tuesday whether to
keep one or two, said Dean Miller, who earlier this year was
president/CEO of the U.S.-based subsidiary of Canada’s Lenbrook Group.
Lenbrook will hire three to four
regional sales managers, each responsible for sales of the NAD, PSB, and Tivoli
brands. They will report to Miller.
The company eliminated the positions
of NAD national sales manager, PSB national sales manager and Tivoli national sales
manager. NAD national sales manager Stephen DeFuria left the company.”Jim Price, national sales manager for PSB and Tivoli, will become one of the company’s regional sales managers. Two other regional sales managers will be announced June 1.”
Mark Stone will continue in his capacity
as marketing manager for the NAD and PSB brands, with most Tivoli marketing
functions continuing to remain in the hands of Tivoli Audio, the tabletop audio
supplier.
Miller told TWICE that the decision
to go direct was difficult, given Lenbrook’s long relationship with U.S. rep
firms. “We’re grateful to these companies,” he said. Multiple factors, however,
forced the company’s hand, including retail consolidation in the specialty-A/V
channel, a flat audio specialty market, and continued rising business costs.
With the ranks of specialty dealers
having consolidated so much, added Lenbrook America marketing manager Mark
Stone, “We can reach them more cost effectively through direct sales.”
Overall, the company had used about
22 rep firms to sell the three brands, with some rep firms selling multiple
brands.
In Canada, parent company Lenbrook Group
has marketed PSB and NAD direct from the group’s inception in 1978, Stone
noted. The NAD Electronics and PSB Speakers brands, however, are both
celebrating 40-year anniversaries this year.
