JVC and Kenwood merger finalized.

[Smokey]

Shareholders of Japanese consumer electronics maker JVC and audio visual equipment maker Kenwood Corp. approved at a meeting last Friday a plan to merge the two companies on October 1. The combined company will be called JVC Kenwood Holdings.

JVC (sister to Panasonic) which pioneered in making VHS video recorders has been struggling due to a lack of popular products in the digital consumer electronics market, combined with shrinking margins and intense competition from southeastern Asian manufacturers.

Every JVC share will be exchanged for two shares in the new company, while Kenwood stock will get a 1-for-1 rate. JVC's current president will continue on in that role with the new company.

Home and mobile electronics are expected to provide the new company with 43 percent of its sales over the coming fiscal year, followed by car electronics at 18 percent, professional systems at 14 percent, and entertainment business at 9 percent. And possible fifth division involving a/v wireless networking.

[filecat13]

Hmm. Good or bad? I don't know.

My first real receiver was a Kenwood KR-6160, which I bought with a Dual 1219 turntable and JBL L100 Century speakers in 1970. It was a great receiver, the envy of my dorm, and it lasted through most of my kids' early years.

I still run late 70s Kenwood KA-801 and KT-815 gear with those original JBLs, and it's an analog wonder to listen to.

However, I've not been tempted by any Kenwood gear for over 20 years, and I've never auditioned a JVC product that I decided to buy.

So, two mediocre companies joining to consolidate mediocre product lines--hmm. I don't know if it's worth the paperwork.

[Smokey]

So, two mediocre companies joining to consolidate mediocre product lines--hmm. I don't know if it's worth the paperwork.

I imagine we will see more these small to mid size companies merging to compete with big boys and competition from cross the water. As you said, JVC is mediocre company and their products seem to be hit and miss. Back n the 90’s. JVC products were famous for lasting as long as warranty on the product.

Have not tries any of Kenwood products (except from their communication line), but I imagine their product is higher quality than JVC. Kenwood’s communication receivers and transmitters are highly regarded in ham and shortwave world. I have Kenwood’s R-1000 communication receiver from 80’s, and after 20 years it is still solid as a rock.

Lets hope JVC leave Kenwood’s communication line alone

[pixelthis]

Hmm. Good or bad? I don't know.

My first real receiver was a Kenwood KR-6160, which I bought with a Dual 1219 turntable and JBL L100 Century speakers in 1970. It was a great receiver, the envy of my dorm, and it lasted through most of my kids' early years.

I still run late 70s Kenwood KA-801 and KT-815 gear with those original JBLs, and it's an analog wonder to listen to.

However, I've not been tempted by any Kenwood gear for over 20 years, and I've never auditioned a JVC product that I decided to buy.

So, two mediocre companies joining to consolidate mediocre product lines--hmm. I don't know if it's worth the paperwork.

Right, its like a merger between goldstar and emerson.
A friend had a JVC receiver, it lasted quite awhile, but with its performance that wasnt a good thing.
And KENWOOD? What ever happened to them?
THIS is like the old saw about rearanging the deck chairs on the titanic, I am afraid

[Ajani]

It doesn't sound like an industry shaking merger... As pix said, it has as much significance as goldstar and emerson merging...

What I do wonder is since Panasonic will now own both JVC and Kenwood, why not just merge all 3 under the Panasonic brand and stop launching multiple competing low level products??

[pixelthis]

It doesn't sound like an industry shaking merger... As pix said, it has as much significance as goldstar and emerson merging...

What I do wonder is since Panasonic will now own both JVC and Kenwood, why not just merge all 3 under the Panasonic brand and stop launching multiple competing low level products??

MARKETING, MOSTLY.
Although I fail to see the advantage of these two names, both have shot their street cred to blazes by putting out cheap junk for years.
If they do merge their brands, it should be under the Technics logo, if indeed they still make technics

[Woochifer]

It doesn't sound like an industry shaking merger... As pix said, it has as much significance as goldstar and emerson merging...

Difference is that LG (Goldstar's their former U.S. moniker) is a conglomerate that generates upwards of $95+ billion of annual revenue and ranks among the global leaders as a distributor of OEM components like LCD panels and semiconductors. Emerson's not even a real company anymore -- it's merely a trademark that Funai currently licenses. LG's a standalone company with over 160,000 employees, while Emerson has no independent capacity and only maintains a skeletal staff of about 100 employees. A merger there would not be anywhere close to a marriage of equals.

With JVC and Kenwood, you actually have two viable (albeit struggling) companies with their own R&D, marketing, manufacturing, and customer support capacity. This is merely a reshuffling of the deck, as JVC has had private equity investment for years, and groups like Cerberus are simply packaging up their investment and spinning it off.

What I do wonder is since Panasonic will now own both JVC and Kenwood, why not just merge all 3 under the Panasonic brand and stop launching multiple competing low level products??

In actuality, this move is Panasonic divesting itself of its majority stake in JVC (they've never held any stake in Kenwood, which had been an independent company). They will retain an ownership interest in the newly formed company with Kenwood, but they have less of a stake in JVC now than they did a decade ago, and once this Kenwood merger goes through, they will have even less.

If anything, Matsush*ta has been consolidating its brands under the Panasonic umbrella since the 1990s. In October, the company as a whole will officially rename itself Panasonic. It's not a big deal in the U.S. since the Panasonic label has been Matsush*ta's primary brand ever since they gradually phased out the Technics name (except in the DJ turntable market, where Technics remains the dominant brand).

But, in other markets where the Panasonic name is not used as much, this is the completion of a major transition. Their National appliance brand (which is huge in Asia) has been gradually phasing out, as National products are rebadged as Panasonic.

[Smokey]

Difference is that LG (Goldstar's their former U.S. moniker) is a conglomerate that generates upwards of $95+ billion of annual revenue and ranks among the global leaders as a distributor of OEM components like LCD panels and semiconductors.

That company have come a long way since their Godsta hay days back in the 80's. Goldstar catered to low end market, and brand was not most reliable name. Their VCR was legendary for breaking down only after three months, and eating up tapes

[filecat13]

Well, keeping our OT theme going, my girlfriend (Korean) tells me that LG stands for Lucky Goldstar, which itself was a merger of Goldstar and Lucky, both Korean companies. Lucky was a chemical company that made toothpaste, soap, etc.,, and Goldstar was as we know an electronics company that made cheap gear.

How and why they got together is a mystery to me, but the results seem pretty spectacular. Now they promote "LG" as "Life's Good" but the corporate name change from Lucky Goldstar to LG in the mid 90s was just a way to submerge the identities of the two former companies into a more global corporation.

So if a toothpaste maker and cheap electronics maker can create a pretty good company through merger, maybe JVC and Kenwood can be greater than the sum of their parts.

Oh shoot, I got back on thread, didn't I?

[pixelthis]

Well, keeping our OT theme going, my girlfriend (Korean) tells me that LG stands for Lucky Goldstar, which itself was a merger of Goldstar and Lucky, both Korean companies. Lucky was a chemical company that made toothpaste, soap, etc.,, and Goldstar was as we know an electronics company that made cheap gear.

How and why they got together is a mystery to me, but the results seem pretty spectacular. Now they promote "LG" as "Life's Good" but the corporate name change from Lucky Goldstar to LG in the mid 90s was just a way to submerge the identities of the two former companies into a more global corporation.

So if a toothpaste maker and cheap electronics maker can create a pretty good company through merger, maybe JVC and Kenwood can be greater than the sum of their parts.

Oh shoot, I got back on thread, didn't I?

just dont let it happen again.
Doesnt matter if you call a turd a baby ruth bar, it will still stink.
Maybe goldstar has "rehabed" their image, doesnt mean they have rehabed their quality control.
goldstar stuff wasnt just bad, it was stinky bad.
Cheaply made, but also had the lifespan of a fruitfly.
SHARP used to make cheap crap too, but instead of rehabbing their "image" they rehabbed their product.
But heres the main problem, mainly that this stuff is expensive,
so why take a chance on an unk quanity when you can get Onkyo,
Denon, Yamaha, etc?
If you merged two high q brands, or even a highq brand with a
crap brand, that might make sense.
But to merge two crap brands, well, that is just crap squared
I am not gonna touch it

[Woochifer]

Well, keeping our OT theme going, my girlfriend (Korean) tells me that LG stands for Lucky Goldstar, which itself was a merger of Goldstar and Lucky, both Korean companies. Lucky was a chemical company that made toothpaste, soap, etc.,, and Goldstar was as we know an electronics company that made cheap gear.

How and why they got together is a mystery to me, but the results seem pretty spectacular. Now they promote "LG" as "Life's Good" but the corporate name change from Lucky Goldstar to LG in the mid 90s was just a way to submerge the identities of the two former companies into a more global corporation.

So if a toothpaste maker and cheap electronics maker can create a pretty good company through merger, maybe JVC and Kenwood can be greater than the sum of their parts.

Oh shoot, I got back on thread, didn't I?

Actually, I think they were one company all along, but with two brand names. The LG brand was their way of upscaling the brand and unifying the company name globally (I don't think the Goldstar name was used in all markets). Remember that Samsung had a similar reputation for making cheaply made gear, and now they are the #1 company in many of their core markets, with LG not that far behind. Even people who vow never to buy from LG because of previous experiences with Goldstar products, in all likelihood already have LG products throughout their house -- that LCD panel inside their TV/computer monitor; the semiconductors inside their cell phone, computer, TV, car, or audio component; the CD/DVD drive inside their computer or DVD player, etc. might have come from LG.

It's not uncommon for Asian companies to develop into conglomerates that serve seemingly disparate markets. Just look at the other markets that the consumer electronics giants are in.

Panasonic makes a whole slew of items -- home appliances, massage chairs, rice cookers, notebook computers, bicycles, professional video equipment, etc.

Hitachi makes power tools, industrial robots, forklifts, and dump trucks.

Hyundai makes cars, semiconductors, memory chips, and computers.

Yamaha makes motorcycles, car engines, musical instruments (pianos, drums, woodwind, brass, MIDI instruments, synthesizers), DSP processors, pro audio mixing boards and monitors, golf clubs, tennis rackets, archery equipment. They also have a network of music schools and hotel resorts.

JVC and Kenwood share more in common than these companies' own internal divisions. JVC has more of a professional production presence, while Kenwood has strengths in the mobile market and with radio communications (looks like they've dropped out of the home audio market).