Coby Electronics Sold: "Value Brand" Doesn't Equal Success

Traveller

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With all the talk lately that consumers are migrating away from higher-end electronics to focus only on “value brands,” at least one value brand manufacturer needs help keeping up with the trend.
The assets of Coby Electronics Corp., a manufacturer of less expensive consumer electronics headquartered in Lake Success, N.Y., with approximately $400M in annual sales, were sold to Gordon Brothers Group, a global advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in the retail, consumer products, industrial and real estate sector.

Gordon Brothers Group has signed an agreement to purchase all inventory, fixtures, equipment, intellectual property, global trademarks and patents of Coby Electronics, which was founded in 1991.

The CE Pro 100 Brand Analysis 2013 revealed that many integrators were turning more toward value-branded components as their businesses shift from being reliant on product margin to being reliant on labor from installation and design expertise.

The Coby development is a lesson for both consumers and integrators that being a less-expensive, mass-market brand does not equal success. You still need to pick the right brands.

Coby’s product line includes tablets and netbooks, televisions, home theater systems, MP3 and MP4 players, speakers, home and portable stereos, digital photo frames, digital camcorders, headphones and other electronic accessories. Coby’s most popular product lines include its exclusive brands: Kyros tablets, which are powered by the Android operating system, and Jammerz headphones. Products are sold at major retailers in the U.S. and globally, including Best Buy, K Mart, Wal-Mart and Amazon.com.

Gordon Brothers Group will infuse capital into the company in support of the development of new products and go-to-market strategies for Coby that will enable an expedited return of the company’s various product lines to the marketplace.

“As a niche market leader for over 25 years, Coby’s brand recognition and wide array of products leaves it well-positioned to continue successfully serving consumers in search of
electronics at a popular-price point,” comments Robert Himmel, co-president, commercial & industrial division, Gordon Brothers Group. “Our goal over the next few months is to transform the structure of the company allowing for a flow of new products into the marketplace in late 2013.”

This transaction denotes the latest brand redevelopment initiative by Gordon Brothers Group. The firm recently completed turnarounds of Polaroid, The Sharper Image and The Bombay Company and continues to explore more brand redevelopment opportunities.

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Source

Boston - Gordon Brothers Group signed an agreement to purchase all Coby Electronics inventory, fixtures, equipment, intellectual property, global trademarks and patents and revive the business.

Gordon Brothers said it “will infuse capital into the company in support of the development of new products and go-to-market strategies for Coby that will enable an expedited return of the company’s various product lines to the marketplace.”

“As a niche market leader for over 25 years, Coby’s brand recognition and wide array of products leaves it well-positioned to continue successfully serving consumers in search of electronics at a popular-price point,” said Robert Himmel, co-president of Gordon’s commercial and industrial division. “Our goal over the next few months is to transform the structure of the company, allowing for a flow of new products into the marketplace in late 2013.”

Gordon Brothers said it recently turned around Polaroid, The Sharper Image and The Bombay Company and “continues to explore more brand redevelopment opportunities.” The company described itself as an advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in the retail, consumer products, industrial and real estate sectors.

Coby Electronics, founded in 1991, had about $400M in annual sales, Gordon Brothers said. Coby offers tablets and netbooks, televisions, home theater systems, mp3 and mp4 players, speakers, home and portable stereos, digital photo frames, digital camcorders, headphones and other electronic accessories. Products are sold at major retailers in the U.S. and around the world, including Best Buy, K Mart, Wal-Mart and Amazon.com.

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I'll be posting links to this in the Coby forums shortly, but anyone with a defective tablet should not be sending it to Coby. Seek a resolution through the place of purchase, explaining the situation to them.
 
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edap

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Isn't this old news? The acquisition happened back in September.

More precisely, August 28.
 
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Traveller

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It is old news, but I don't recall it being reported here. Also, most people, like myself, are probably unaware of Coby being sold. Thus it's newsworthy.
 

tpaine

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Aug 18, 2012
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Sad to see this, but it seems coby made some decisions that really hurt the tablet brand. The current tabs seem much better, but too late. Even though they are all made in china, my choice of coby was partly because it was a US company. Still love the 7042 and use it every day. (Only used livesuite once)
 

SEMIJim

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Aug 20, 2011
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“As a niche market leader for over 25 years, Coby’s brand recognition... "? TBH: I never heard of "Coby" before I came to these forums.

Jim
 

Spider

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I never heard of "Coby" before I came to these forums.

Coby is why I came to these forums.:D A local drugstore was selling Coby tablets and I wanted to learn more about them before buying one. I felt the folks in the Coby forum were being treated badly by them and got a Nook Color instead.:cool:
 

Traveller

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I recall someone commenting yesterday there was no point in sending his tablet back to Coby, since they weren't there any more. Makes more sense now.:D
It's because of that comment that I looked for info. It's also why I posted the news item as well as an announcement in the Coby forums.
 

Traveller

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It saves me from having to type the same thing in a dozen different forums. :)
 

edap

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Coby is why I came to these forums.:D A local drugstore was selling Coby tablets and I wanted to learn more about them before buying one. I felt the folks in the Coby forum were being treated badly by them and got a Nook Color instead.:cool:

Doesn't surprise me then, that the company went under. I guess that even 'value brand' manufacturers need to be aware of customer satisfaction and respond rapidly to after-sales service needs.
I'm wondering if any users have experienced issues with their device since the company dissolved back in August? I haven't come across any complaints here at the Forum, so far.
 

Spider

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It's been 2½ tears since I had looked into getting a Coby and maybe things changed after that. At the time, their before and after sales support seemed lacking. They'd announce a new model with an availability date and then not meet the date or the new date. If/when it did become available, the specs were different from the original announcement. If someone had a question, they'd refer you to their website or a FAQ neither of which answered the question etc. etc. I finally decided, for me, a $250 USD Nook Color was actually a better buy than a drugstore bargain.
 

edap

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Dec 12, 2012
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It's been 2½ tears since I had looked into getting a Coby and maybe things changed after that.

If things did change for the better in the last few years, I guess that it was too little, too late, as the saying goes.
 

Traveller

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