It’s the time of year for saving money!
Fine Sounds announced the acquisition of Sumiko a couple of days ago. This follows Fine Sounds purchase of Wadia at the end of December. Wadia’s president, John Schaefer, remained with Wadia/Fine Sounds after the purchase. Sumiko principals Donald Brody and John Hunter will also remain with Sumiko and will have seats on Fine Sounds SpA’s board of directors.
U.S. consumers shouldn’t see any major changes except that Sumiko will no longer be distributing Vienna Acoustics. All Sumiko’s remaining inventory has been shipped to Listen Up where it is being sold at close-out prices. So if you are a Vienna Acoustics fan you might want to pick up those extra speakers NOW.
In an industry where cash flow is becoming more and more critical to survival, it makes sense for mid-size companies to merge to form larger, more viable commercial entities. Given Fine Sounds’ track record with Audio Research I suspect that both Sumiko and Wadia will remain vibrant high-end manufacturers for the foreseeable future.
