The Beat Goes On.......

[surf123]

That is exactly what Steve Jobs said about Apple in 1997 and then once in charge he implemented it by reducing the size of the product line.

Of course this holds true for any business...focus on what the company does best.

[lwschwartz]

There have been many interesting posts on this thread. It sounds that many of the folks here could have a major positive impact on McIntosh if management was willing to listen. The problem with McIntosh is actually very similar to what happened at Apple. When someone starts a company, they have a passion for the products and an ego investment in the success of the company. When "managers" take over, they lose touch with the customers because sales people should be able to sell whatever they decide to make. Frequently, what they decide to make is not in response to customer demand but they come up with ideas out of the blue. They lose focus of the goals of the company. Managers usually think the only goal is how to squeeze a few more dollars per share in this quarter. When Mac and Gordon ran the company, they knew who their customers were and what they wanted. I don't put any blame on Passaro. She was hired simply to find more people to buy boxes. Mac needs someone who understands operations, knows their own and the company's limitations, and has the authority to fix the problems on the line. They should build what the customers ask for rather than find customers to buy what they decide to build. It seems they have a problem with many of their digital products. Their analog products, in my opinion, are the best in the industry. They should take the salary savings from the VP and use the funds to hire someone to run the digital development department. Someone who has the sense and the authority to either fix the firmware or admit they can't and subcontract firmware development to Denon or some other capable company. None of us require them to design and build their own DAC chips. We expect them to find the best sounding and make them work. Same with the firmware.

[Formerly YB-2]

Think the finger should be pointed more at the owners (Bain Capital, who owns D&M) in NJ rather than the managers at McIntosh in Binghamton. Am guessing that in this economy none of the managers are willing to 'fall on their sword' in order to stand up to their corporate masters. Am also guessing that the margins that Bain/D&M want will be next to impossible to achieve and they will continue to have a difficult future, whether digital or analog. Unfortunately, that large facility in Binghamton is something of a millstone. For instance, BAT operates out of a single ~50x150 bay in an industrial strip-mall. Being a retired 'operations guy', the 'management' has my sympathy.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by lwschwartz

There have been many interesting posts on this thread. It sounds that many of the folks here could have a major positive impact on McIntosh if management was willing to listen. The problem with McIntosh is actually very similar to what happened at Apple. When someone starts a company, they have a passion for the products and an ego investment in the success of the company. When "managers" take over, they lose touch with the customers because sales people should be able to sell whatever they decide to make. Frequently, what they decide to make is not in response to customer demand but they come up with ideas out of the blue. They lose focus of the goals of the company. Managers usually think the only goal is how to squeeze a few more dollars per share in this quarter. When Mac and Gordon ran the company, they knew who their customers were and what they wanted. I don't put any blame on Passaro. She was hired simply to find more people to buy boxes. Mac needs someone who understands operations, knows their own and the company's limitations, and has the authority to fix the problems on the line. They should build what the customers ask for rather than find customers to buy what they decide to build. It seems they have a problem with many of their digital products. Their analog products, in my opinion, are the best in the industry. They should take the salary savings from the VP and use the funds to hire someone to run the digital development department. Someone who has the sense and the authority to either fix the firmware or admit they can't and subcontract firmware development to Denon or some other capable company. None of us require them to design and build their own DAC chips. We expect them to find the best sounding and make them work. Same with the firmware.

[jdubbs]

Here's another article with a little more info:

Passaro Leaves McIntosh - 2011-11-17 14:18:16 | TWICE

It seems pretty clear from this that with or without Passaro, McIntosh will continue its current marketing strategy.