Upper Saddle River, N.Y. — Onkyo USA’s Integra brand is assuming marketing responsibilities for the high-end Cabasse speaker brand, which joins the Esoteric brand that’s also marketed by Integra.
The Esoteric, Cabasse and Integra brands offer complementary products.
Integra will become the exclusive U.S. distributor of Cabasse speakers starting March 1.Cabasse was previously marketed by Teac America.
Last October, Integra began distributing Esoteric in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. That responsibility was also handled previously by Teac America.
The Teac, Esoteric and Integra brands are owned in part by Gibson, which has ownership stakes in Integra owner Onkyo Corp. of Japan and Esoteric owner Teac of Japan.
“Integra’s strong presence in the U.S. along with a formidable network of representatives and dealers will help us establish our brand in this crowded market,” said Frédéric Lebreton, Cabasse’s international sales director. The partnership “will help demonstrate our commitment to the U.S. market with our extensive offering, including traditional and lifestyle loudspeakers, streaming systems, subwoofers and, of course, our custom-integration line.”
With the change, Integra reps will handle the Cabasse line, said Paul Wasek, Onkyo USA national marketing and product manager. Some reps handle all three brand, he noted.
“Cabasse distribution will be broader than the traditional space where Integra resides as the product line allows for that,” Wasek added. “The CI channel will naturally be part of the plan.”
However, he noted, “there are no plans to market the brand on-line or through distributors.”
Integra markets A/V receivers, A/V processors, amplifiers, and Blu-ray players designed specifically for custom audio/video systems installers. Cabasse is a complementary brand offering spherical speakers for stereo and home theater use, wireless spherical speakers incorporating both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and custom-install speakers. Esoteric’s line is also complementary. Esoteric offers such high-end home audio products as CD/SACD players, transports, digital-to-analog converters, amplifiers, phono stages, preamplifiers and audiophile cables.
In 2012, Gibson acquired a 51 percent stake in Onkyo USA and became the second-largest shareholder of Onkyo Corp. in Japan. In 2013, Gibson bought a 54.4 percent stake in Japan’s Teac.
