The Here, Now and What Next Bit

As I write this in the Spring of 2008, we are approaching 14 years in business. We’ve been in these Walton on Thames premises for almost 10 of those 14 years – and we’re still trying to get a few companies to stop sending mail to our old address. We’ll be here for another few years to come.

Fourteen years ago the audio business was very different to today. I’ve made that statement a few times in 30 odd years I’ve been in this game – and longer if you count the years as a pro-musician prior to that. That’s where the founding members (Paul Ward, Gary Ashton & myself) of this organisation come from – and that background is true of many “old timers” in this industry.

30 years ago, the Stones were doing open air concerts in the UK using old Charlie Watkins Wem columns and Woodstock in the US was done using bits of Altec Lansing, JBL, Crown & Shure (among a few other peripherals) which had previously never been deployed in such a way. Columns were around but Line Arrays as we know them today would take 20 years to appear outside of the early “experimenters”. If someone had told me back then that by now over 50% of the world’s premium speaker/amp/processing product would be coming out of Europe, I would have sent the sad chap away for intense psycho-analysis. Mixing consoles – OK – but not the other stuff. Now the Far East will eventually start to innovate versus copy, and things will move on again. Fun stuff.

We started this business to fill a need for excellent product knowledge, service and logistics skills. For many years we met and often exceeded those goals – to generally positive acclaim from our customers. A few years ago we became the victims of external corporate manoeuvring and the subsequent impact on our portfolio was significant. It wasn’t a surprise - but it created some extensive challenges as the process of general change was in full flow. Furthermore, the cost of doing business, as we all know, has been only upwards for years now. Loyalty is almost an ex factor. Yet, expectations remained high while everything was falling in price - but that’s fast becoming an ex issue. We’ve spent the last 3 years gradually re-defining our business and how we do things. Strengthening the Board recently by the addition of Tony Torlini, Beckie Hughes and Ed Draycott has been a hugely positive step and we are very excited by the objectives we have set for the next 24 months
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We’ve never been “Box Shifters” but it became clear that we were in danger of partially falling into that trap. Box shifting is not what we do exceptionally well (although we have our moments). Adding true value is much more our style. The recent creation of a Technical Resources Team – Jez Hunter & Dan Jeremiah under the guiding hand of Ed Draycott further exemplifies our commitment to support. The skills gathered by these individuals span all areas of what we (and our clients) do. The added technical resource of Gary Ashton & his team fill in any likely gaps. It’s an awesome collection of ability.

Our portfolio of audio products is again totally coherent and now includes two premium lighting brands – Coemar & Compulite. Both suppliers are truly at the sharp edge of their game and fantastic to work with. For Contractors & System Integrators we are on the verge of launching Quota, a software based quotation & budgeting package we believe to be the single most significant productivity improvement ever released. Fuzion products will automatically & continually update with access to support data, images & technical information at the touch of button. Sales margins can be manipulated with ease & presentation is slick. It’s not restricted to our own product portfolio – other products can be added to the data base at the user’s discretion. OK, the auto update feature will not exist for other brands (we’re not totally altruistic) but the advantages remain legion. Those we have shown Beta versions to are literally biting our collective arms off for the final product. We are behind schedule (it’s software – alright) but it will be out there long before the British weather feels anything like summer. We have a host of other developments in progress to improve how we communicate with our clients and enhance the experience of dealing with Fuzion.

Six years ago we started a partner operation in Bangkok, Thailand – Fuzion Far East Limited. With co-Directors Sutat Kohkiat and Varuit Rattapong plus a great team (we now have 14 on the payroll) working with General Manager Siri Wongkamolchun, FFE has gone from strength to strength. Despite a host of external issues, which have affected the local or global economy, we have steadily grown every year. It’s fun and making money – what else matters? Just over a year ago we made Kelsey Acoustics Ltd dormant and integrated Kelsey into Fuzion as a brand. This allowed us to streamline processes and focus on the product rather than administration. Kelsey is going through a really exciting time. We’ve got a host of innovative new products released over the last 12 months and more in the pipeline. Watch this space. Most of our suppliers have world beating new product recently out or about to be released. For example (to name a few): Nexo’s Geo S12 system, RAY Sub and Nexamps have been stretching the supply chain till it creaks. Camco are about to launch some Class D amps with power output beyond belief. Mipro’s new premium digital wireless system is ahead of the field and considered “best in class” (sounds like Crufts). Vity have some very sexy new toys – including a device to turn your coffee table into a control surface. There’s piles more and we’ll be using our best endeavours to make sure you are aware of what is available. Meanwhile – have a look around the site and check out what’s on offer. Any suggestions (even rude one’s) will be gratefully received and, if possible, acted on. We just want to do it better. That way it’s a win, win - all round.

Regards

Tony Oates