Fueled by the strong performance of Klipsch and the company’s other premium audio lines—all of which are overseen from Indianapolis by longtime Klipsch CEO Paul Jacobs—Voxx shares have risen more than 200% this year.
The manufacturer has reinvigorated its product line, brokered new partnerships, and greatly expanded its sales footprint, but the tune from parent New York-based Voxx International Corp. is far less melodic.
Voxx International Corp.’s Premium Audio segment—essentially Klipsch—has seen three straight quarters of strong sales growth, including a 27-percent showing in the latest quarter.
The stock market value for Voxx today is just $118 million—far less than it paid just for Klipsch, one of a long list of acquisitions it made dating back a decade.
Michael Klipsch, who stepped down in September as chief legal counsel and president of business development, had been with the indianapolis-based speaker maker nearly 20 years.
The Indianapolis-based manufacturer will supply Klipsch Image One headphones to be part of a rear-seat DVD entertainment system for Cadillac’s 2015 and 2016 Escalade Platinum edition.
The Indianapolis-based speaker maker is responding to challenges in its industry by returning to its roots—emphasizing premium products, including home speaker systems costing $2,500 to $10,000.
The homegrown speaker and headphone maker Klipsch Group in recent weeks released a bevy of new products and launched a marketing campaign headlined by high-profile athletes and a rock band.
Voxx International Corp.’s $166 million buyout of Indianapolis-based speaker maker Klipsch Group two years ago so far hasn’t generated the excitement on Wall Street that Voxx wants.
Indianapolis-based speaker maker now owned by Voxx International posted year-end sales of $169.5 million, which appeared to be flat compared with prior periods.
The order enables the Indianapolis speaker maker to disable the websites where the suspected knockoffs are sold and allows it to restrain the funds of the accused.
Klipsch Group parent company Voxx International Corp. said its earnings nearly doubled in its fiscal third quarter, thanks in part to the Indianapolis-based speaker maker it acquired last year.
Audiovox's CEO credited Klipsch with helping Audiovox report strong financials Tuesday. Audiovox completed its purchase of the Indianapolis speaker maker in March.
Indy Audio Labs is shipping its first finished product and had it certified by THX Ltd., the gold standard in consumer electronics, in time for a major industry trade show this month.
Audiovox Corp., the Hauppauge, N.Y.-based company that recently bought the high-end audio firm Klipsch Group, hopes to use the $167 million deal to win over Wall Street.
Longtime Klipsch Group executive Paul Jacobs will take the helm, giving the Indianapolis company its first leader not named Klipsch.
Klipsch will become a subsidiary of Audiovox and operate as a stand-alone operation in Indianapolis under the leadership of the current management team, Audiovox said.
Audiovox said in a statement, though, that the deal is “subject to a number of contingencies.” Indianapolis-based Klipsch was founded in 1945 and has 130 local employees.
An upstart audio products company with offices at Purdue Research Park at AmeriPlex has brought in big guns to launch sales.
Making money in earphones will require higher sales volumes, but Klipsch CEO Fred Klipsch thinks there are plenty more consumers
left for his company to tap.
