While the roster of storied high end names is pretty long, don't think for a minute that the blue-blood part of the market has not experienced consolidation. D&M Holdings is a prime example of this: D&M's owner, RJH International, has managed to fit
Denon,
Marantz, McIntosh,
Boston Acoustics,
Snell and
Escient under one umbrella over the years. And now RJH is looking to cash in on the concentrated dollop of high end, offering up 49-percent of its shares in D&M. Philips has agreed to offer its12-percent stake to a winning bidder as well. Our math tells us that's more than a controlling percentage. Harman International, apparently satisfied with its own high end roster (including Harman Kardon, Infinity, Revel and Mark Levinson), has bowed out of bidding. That leaves Bain Capital (Kenwood) and
Best Buy as the most prominent bidders, both of which scare us a little. One of the things we really enjoy about the D&M brands is the individual "personalities" behind them, and that's a credit to the management overlords. There's no guarantee that this variety of flavor will survive an en masse transition to new ownership.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ken @ Apr 21st 2008 1:35AM
Funny thing is, if Best Buy won it, wouldn't there be a little conflict of interest in supplying Circuit City, Tweeter, etc, with products?
Kevin G @ Apr 21st 2008 4:21AM
i recommend denon receivers, marantz control systems, and boston speakers to my clients first because these are the best brands in their categories before entering into the high-end market (levinson, mcintosh, revel, crestron, being a bit too expensive for my current client base, and also harder lines to get).
it upsets me that they keep switching hands. reminds me of how land rover and jaguar were just bought by an indian company.
doesn't being the best at your price point count for anything? if best buy ends up owning mcintosh, the world really is coming to an end. i don't think there's much chance the new managers will be able to restrain themselves and leave well enough alone. if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it!
Kevin G @ Apr 21st 2008 4:22AM
i recommend denon receivers, marantz control systems, and boston speakers to my clients first because these are the best brands in their categories before entering into the high-end market (levinson, mcintosh, revel, crestron, being a bit too expensive for my current client base, and also harder lines to get).
it upsets me that they keep switching hands. reminds me of how land rover and jaguar were just bought by an indian company.
doesn't being the best at your price point count for anything? if best buy ends up owning mcintosh, the world really is coming to an end. i don't think there's much chance the new managers will be able to restrain themselves and leave well enough alone. if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it!
Kevin G @ Apr 21st 2008 4:23AM
i recommend denon receivers, marantz control systems, and boston speakers to my clients first because these are the best brands in their categories before entering into the high-end market (levinson, mcintosh, revel, crestron, being a bit too expensive for my current client base, and also harder lines to get).
it upsets me that they keep switching hands. reminds me of how land rover and jaguar were just bought by an indian company.
doesn't being the best at your price point count for anything? if best buy ends up owning mcintosh, the world really is coming to an end. i don't think there's much chance the new managers will be able to restrain themselves and leave well enough alone. if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it!
MegaZone @ Apr 21st 2008 8:16AM
Your graphic is out of date - they sold ReplayTV to DirecTV a while back. ;-)
Captain Blu-ray @ Apr 21st 2008 9:01AM
I shudder to think of Denon products sharing any shelf space with the Best Buy Private Label brands like Insignia.
Best Buy actually does a great job of presenting their high end stuff at "Magnolia Home Theater" stores. I just hope that if they buy D&M they'll let the existing management do what they need to do and keep Denon and the like in their upscale home theater stores.
Eric D-J @ Apr 21st 2008 8:23PM
Denon has been sold in non Magnolia Best Buy locations. Best Buys have had Denon HTIB'S and such.
rip @ Apr 21st 2008 12:08PM
Berkshire should buy this company. Assuming, of course, that D&M is actually profitable. Thing is, they would probably want to buy all of it, not just 49%.
Kevin G @ Apr 21st 2008 1:07PM
sorry about the duplicate posts, they weren't showing up last night.
it's not just 49%, philips is also offering their share, another 12%.
magnolia is ok i guess.... it just feels weird to think of a manufacturing company being bought by a retail outfit. makes me feel like costco is buying chevy or something.
Andrew @ Apr 21st 2008 3:08PM
well I know there has been talk for some time about BBY opening standalone Magnolia Home Theater stores in the eastern and central US where there are are no Magnolia Audio Video stores like in Oregon, Cali, and Washington. Perhaps this would be something to go along with this idea.
Yeah I think BBY does do a good job with the Magnolia stuff, the stores I've been into had impressive products and displays and the sales people were very informed and knowlegable.
Doesn't Circuit City carry a lower end Denon line? and don't they have Boston Acoustics? Magnolia used to I think but they dropped them when CC got them I think. I dunno.
Britboyj27 @ Apr 21st 2008 5:42PM
Boston just started shipping their TVee Sound bars to Best Buys across the country. If your main brick-and-mortar outlet is about to go out of business, wouldn't you?
The red-tape for Magnolia A/V to open a new location is insane, because of the standing contracts and distribution agreements with their vendors.
Best Buy getting their hands on this line would make this process much easier, cut through half the red-tape, get higher quality audio that isn't Klipsch into Best Buy core stores (Let's see, I can have theater quality sound... or complete shit... which to choose) as well as bring high end equipment to the masses on the other side of the country.
Will I see McIntosh Amps next to Insignia receivers? No. Will the inevitable Insignia Blu-Ray be stacked next to the Marantz? No. Will Klipsh now be flanked by Boston and Polk (coming in mid-summer)? Yes.
And I can't wait. The masses need some better audio and you all know it.
Eric D-J @ Apr 21st 2008 8:27PM
Best Buy stores have sold Denon units in non Magnolia locations. They were HTIB systems that were equal to a lower end Denon 1500 series model.
kcjones @ Apr 23rd 2008 11:07AM
Denon is probably the only brand bringing in any real revenue. McIntosh and Snell have long histories in the high end market, so those two can easily be revived into profitable companies. The rest aren't worth much of anything.
Bestbuy's buying of D&M would only drive retailers to Harmon International. What retailer would want to sell a product owned by its biggest competitor? A brand with only one vendor has no credibility in the marketplace, so my guess is that Bestbuy will only buy if D&M can be had for a song, or a if Walmart starts peeping. Actually, Walmart has the most to gain by purchasing D&M holdings. D&M will help Walmart gain credibility into a "Higher-end" market.