Klipsch to Distribute Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer Brands Via New Voxx Subsidiary

Voxx expanded its alliance with Onkyo and Pioneer to distribute the Onkyo, Pioneer, Pioneer Elite and Integra brands in the Americas, it said Thursday. Onkyo became the distributor of Klipsch audio products in Japan last year and will continue to do so, said Voxx. Distribution will run through a newly created subsidiary, 11 Trading Co., and will include AV receivers, hi-fi equipment, mini systems, smart speakers, turntables, sound bars, home theater systems and optical disc players. Klipsch will become an “innovative and complete audio solutions provider in consumer technology and better equipped to address consumer demand with state-of-the-art AV solutions,” said CEO Paul Jacobs. Klipsch will continue to look for ways to expand the business, he said. Jason Sausto, CEO of Onkyo USA, will become a senior adviser for the Americas partnership, said the companies. Consumer electronics sales were down $9.1 million in Voxx’s fiscal Q1 ended May 31 (see 2007130035). The Voxx consumer segment was “essentially break-even” in Q1, despite the sales decline, said Voxx CEO Pat Lavelle on a mid-July call, saying consumers are expected to be “our higher profit generator this year,” assuming a “more normalized environment.” Klipsch-branded products were "doing very well,” he said then, despite the COVID-19 impact.