Jeremy Burkhardt wants his company Origin Acoustics to be more than a loudspeaker manufacturer. He wants to build a “luxury brand portfolio” that now includes iRoom, the Austrian maker of high-end iPad mounts and docking stations.
Come September 1, Origin will become the exclusive distributor for iRoom in the U.S. and Mexico. iRoom has released its reps in the territories and all Origin reps will now carry the line.
“All Origin Acoustics dealers will become authorized iRoom dealers,” Burkhardt tells CE Pro. “But iRoom dealers will have to qualify for Origin, just like any other Origin dealer.”
Barely over two years old, Origin currently has about 1,000 active dealers in the U.S., while iRoom has about 400, according to Burkhardt.
Many of those 400 dealers came from the efforts of Chris Lehnen, a former SpeakerCraft sales exec who became iRoom’s U.S. president in 2013. Lehnen has joined Origin as regional VP of sales. He joins newly appointed regional VP Jim Moran, who also hails from SpeakerCraft. Origin nabbed 14-year Klipsch sales veteran Marc Fisher last year.
The ‘Luxury Brand Portfolio’
iRoom products will be incorporated into Origin’s online ordering, sales programs and dealer incentives.
It’s all part of a plan to “align ourselves with luxury brands,” Burkhardt says. “It gives dealers another product to sell through us.”
Shall we expect to see more luxury brands in the Origin portfolio? Stay tuned for CEDIA 2016.
CEDIA 2016 Tease: iRoom’s Lockable iPad Tabletop Charger and IP Controller
