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Pioneer Outlines Future Strategies “Post Plasma”
Wed Aug 19, 2009 at 10:00 AM ETTags: Pioneer, Industry Trends (all tags)
Surviving without Plasma will mean stressing A/V expertise.
Pioneer has a long road ahead of it, and as a part of the recently announced restructuring plans, that’s a road devoid of plasma televisions. In a conversation with Twice, Russ Johnston said that the company’s core philosophy won’t change. Pioneer will still be “focused on engineering excellence and a maniacal commitment to create the best possible home-theater experiences.”
After spending time researching the competition’s brand messages, marketing, and of course benchmarking their products, Pioneer has come forward with a three pronged process to ensure their place in the future of home entertainment.
To start, Pioneer will be reminding customers of the quality of their offerings. After significant benchmarking, the company found, in the words of Russ Johnston, “our products stood on their own and stood out as leadership products.” In the past, he and others felt that the company lost sight of that on many of their products due to their focus on displays.
Pioneer will be stressing its relationship with professionals, including musicians, movie producers, and production houses. They’ll also be focusing on their work with London’s Air Studios and THX, to explain and stress the importance of certification from both.
Lastly, Pioneer will focus on the balance of their product line. While some companies may make excellent displays, they might also make terrible speakers. Pioneer wants consumers to know that they do it all and they do it all well.
Pioneer isn’t dropping quality, nor are they making themselves more commonplace. “The current economy put a lot of pressure on companies” said Johnston, “They put custom-installation lines online, and others are in or will be in retailers they've never been in before.” Pioneer on the other hand, won’t be expanding distribution, and the Pioneer Elite line will remain a non-internet brand.
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Pioneer’s Legendary Kuro Brand Not Completely Dead
Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Pioneer, Industry Trends, Plasma TVs, Kuro (all tags)
It’s only a flesh wound! A revival is “theoretically possible.”
Mike O’Mahony stated in a recent conversation with Tech Radar that the Kuro brand revival is “theoretically possible.”
That might not seem like much, but plasma enthusiasts are already speculating on the revival of Pioneer’s unmatched televisions. The Kuro line of televisions are well known for their quality of picture, and the announcement in February that they would be discontinued was in many minds the death knell of Plasma television.
Don’t get too excited though, as the return of the brand doesn’t necessarily mean the return of the TVs. As O’Mahony elaborated, "To my knowledge, there are no immediate plans to resurrect the brand. The plan for the moment is to focus on the core areas – audio is absolutely key. Maybe the Kuro brand is too ingrained in the flat-panel market – we're just not sure"
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Pioneer’s Legendary Kuro Brand Not Completely Dead
Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Pioneer, Industry Trends, Plasma TVs, Kuro (all tags)
It’s only a flesh wound! A revival is “theoretically possible.”
Mike O’Mahony stated in a recent conversation with Tech Radar that the Kuro brand revival is “theoretically possible.”
That might not seem like much, but plasma enthusiasts are already speculating on the revival of Pioneer’s unmatched televisions. The Kuro line of televisions are well known for their quality of picture, and the announcement in February that they would be discontinued was in many minds the death knell of Plasma television.
Don’t get too excited though, as the return of the brand doesn’t necessarily mean the return of the TVs. As O’Mahony elaborated, "To my knowledge, there are no immediate plans to resurrect the brand. The plan for the moment is to focus on the core areas – audio is absolutely key. Maybe the Kuro brand is too ingrained in the flat-panel market – we're just not sure"
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
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