From Sea to Shining Sea
May 1st, 2008 by Murray HuppinOne of the benefits of my career in the consumer electronics business has been the opportunity to visit regions and cities across the country to attend dealer shows put on by our vendors. These events give me and the buyers from Huppin’s / OneCall an opportunity to see new products, learn first-hand about new technology, visit with factory people and network with other retailers from around the country. While not exactly junkets, I have stayed at some great hotels and eaten at some of the finest restaurants in the country…not a bad way to spend a day or two out of the office!
For example, in the past couple of weeks I attended the Mitsubishi Dealer Summit where I had a view of the Pacific Ocean from my room in Huntington Beach, CA, and then I attended Onkyo’s line show where I gazed at the Atlantic Ocean from my room overlooking South Beach in Miami!
The hot product at Mitsubishi was the new Laser HDTVs. When I first saw the laser prototypes at CES 2006, I was instantly sold. What could produce a sharper picture than a laser? Laser is the purest light source available and delivers twice the color of LCD and Plasma. The reds, in particular, were flat-out spectacular. The sets will be available in 65″ and 73″ screen sizes with a depth of only about one foot. They are “green” friendly because they use only about one-half the power of a similarly sized LCD panel, the current leader in energy efficiency. These sets will become available later this year…we’ll keep you posted.
Onkyo had a spectacular year, growing their overall market share by 50%. For Onkyo, it is “all about the sound.” They did it on the strength of an incredible receiver line-up that delivered HDMI 1.3a connectivity to market leading affordability (around $400 street price). In fact, Onkyo receivers were three of the top five selling receivers for 2007. Onkyo has the longest standing relationship in the audio business with THX, and this year they have the broadest THX certified receiver offerings in the business — there is even a complete Home Theater System including THX certified speakers.
Onkyo in Japanese means Sound (On) and Harmony (Kyo).
The first year we were married, my wife gave me a golden retriever/yellow lab puppy for my birthday. She (the puppy) yipped and yapped so much that I affectionately named her Onkyo — or “Onky” for short. Even though she (again, the puppy) is gone, Onky will live on as my sidekick in our old Huppin’s retail store ads!
Onkyo the dog, circa 1985.
Thanks for listening.
