'Too Soon' to Say Whether B&W Distribution Will Change After Sound United Buy

“It's too soon to answer this with any degree of accuracy,” emailed Sound United CEO Kevin Duffy Friday in response to our questions on how the distribution of Bowers & Wilkins premium speakers will change after the company’s purchase by Sound United (see 2010090057). It’s also too early to know whether Sound United will use a separate sales force for the high-end speaker line vs. the team that handles the rest of the Sound United portfolio, Duffy said. On whether B&W’s engineering and manufacturing operations will remain in Worthing, England, he said, “At this juncture we have no intention of shifting B&W manufacturing.” Sound United’s Oct. 9 announcement of its purchase of the esteemed loudspeaker brand suggested Sound United was exploring developing new B&W products to "support the brand’s position in the premium acoustic home audio market.” Duffy told us Friday its aim is “to give B&W the tools and support they need to continue the amazing work they do, developing the best loudspeakers in the world.” Sound United will be “working to best position products across each brands' portfolio to maximize value for each unique company.” Other Sound United speaker brands include Boston Acoustics, Definitive Technology and Polk. B&W is the premier global speaker brand for Sound United and price segments "currently unoccupied by other Sound United brands' products.” Sound United, which also owns the Denon, Heos, Marantz and Classe Audio brands, employs 1,600 with the B&W buy; it didn’t answer whether any B&W employees lost jobs after the sale, or from which departments. Geoff Edwards “will ensure continuity” by becoming the president of the Bowers & Wilkins brand within the Sound United portfolio, Duffy said.