Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.strumenti.tastiere
Titolo: ciao ciao Alesis?

We were premature in our previous report on Alesis's status. It appears
that the new owner of Alesis has decided to move the entire operation to
New Jersey, lock, stock, and Nanoverb. We do not know how long this will
take but an announcement posted on Alesis's website states that product
should ship soon.

 
wrote:
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Beh, perche dici ciaociao? Gli americani sono abituati a spostarsi 
spesso, quindi e molto probabile che buona parte dei progettisti segua 
il marchio.
Certo, pero, che spostarsi dalla California a New York...
Paolo
-- 
Paolo Tramannoni
Porto Recanati, Italy

se vi interessano le sorti di aalesis, guardadevi pure ikl loro annuncio
ufficiale di qualche tempo fa:
 
http://www.harmony-central.com/News/2001/Alesis-New-Ownership.html
OK è in inglese ma vi spiega tutto .
E.Campus aka Kripto
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...e gia che ci siamo (casca a fagiuolo!), ecco cosa ho trovato poco fa 
nella cassetta delle lettere mentre scendevo in spiaggia:
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Da "AudioMedia", European Edition, Numero 128, Luglio 2001
http://www.audiomedia.com
Back on track
After rumours of financial problems in the Alesis camp, the company 
finally filed under 'Chapter 11' pending its sale. KEVIN BECKA talks 
with Jim Mack, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Alesis, about 
the recent changes at their company, and new hope for the future.
It was quite a shock hearing the news surrounding Alesis in recent 
months. Tell us what it was like from the inside.
"I have to admit it has been a very strange few months. The good news is 
that everyone here has been very committed to seeing this through. I 
think the fact that all the products we introduced at AES and NAMM were 
so well received has given everyone the confidence that we would come 
through this, one way or another."
In your opinion, what were the factors that led to your current 
situation?
"We have had a lot of time to look back and analyse how we got into such 
a tough financial position, but it really can't be attributed to anyone 
or two events or decisions. The main factors, in simple terms, were 
declining revenue and a very aggressive, and therefore expensive, 
product development schedule. The expected launch of the new products 
slipped only slightly; but enough to disrupt our forecasts. This, 
combined with a generally weak market for high-tech products through the 
end of the year; put us in a very tight cash situation. It became very 
clear by the beginning of 200 I that we would need an outside infusion 
of cash to make it through the introduction of the remaining products. 
With the general uncertainty in the economy and the large amount of 
investment capital that evaporated in the dot com crash, we found it 
more difficult than expected to find compatible financing."
There has been a lot of speculation about new ownership at Alesis. Tell 
us about recent developments.
"As of June II, Alesis has been under the ownership of Jack O'Donnell, 
who also owns Numark and distributes Vestax. Of the many companies that 
came in to evaluate a potential purchase or investment in Alesis, Jack 
was, far and away; the most persistent and dedicated to making a deal 
happen. While the brand equity and market potential was fairly obvious 
to anyone familiar with our industry, the financial picture was 
difficult to grasp. I suspect many companies thought it may be more 
complicated than it was worth, but Mr. O'Donnell and his team of 
advisers were able to put a deal together literally as time was running 
out."
How do you see the acquisition changing Alesis' development plans for 
future products?
"I really expect that we will pick up where we left off We have retained 
the core of our engineering group and our new product development team. 
The key technology areas have been kept in tact so very little of our 
near and mid-term product plans will be affected. Obviously; the delay 
in launching our current list of new products has been painful, but we 
have continued to work on these products and the follow-up plans."
What other changes will the acquisition bring?
"There will definitely be some consolidation of internal functions, 
especially since the distribution models are so complementary. But there 
are distinct differences in the product mix and market segments of the 
companies. We see several areas where our technology can be very useful 
in the markets where Numark is much stronger than Alesis."
You announced seven new products at Winter NAMM. When do you see those 
products shipping?
"Although the actual launch of these products has been slightly delayed, 
the development of the products has continued unchecked. In fact, the 
HD24, which everyone has been so excited about, will probably launch 
with version 2.0 software, as opposed to the original version 1.0. We 
expect first units to hit the street late this Summer. The same is true 
of most of the other products."
What are your plans for supporting your repair and parts network for 
existing products? 
"We expect the change of ownership to be fairly transparent to our 
customers regarding these and a host of other issues. They should feel 
comfortable with their current Alesis products and confident in their 
purchases of new Alesis products."
Since Alesis has become a household name in the industry, a lot of 
consumers will be glad to hear that you're not going away. What do you 
have to say to the audio-buying public?
"First and foremost, we want to thank them for their unending support. 
As we've been talking to customers about their concerns through this, 
one thing kept coming up. These people are fiercely loyal to the Alesis 
brand name. So many people have 'Alesis Studios'. It was understandable 
that they would be concerned about the company's future once the rumour 
mill kicked in. The thing that has made Alesis such a leader in the pro 
audio and MI industry is that the products have allowed people to make 
and record music on a level that was unattainable to them before. Our 
product have consistently changed the way music is produced and put more 
of the creative power in the hands of the musician This is the goal for 
Alesis - to move forward as well as continue to improve the tools 
available."
Where do you see Alesis in five years?
"I see us doing what we've always done creating products that, to borrow 
a phrase make people think differently and allow them to do things they 
couldn't do before Just like the original ADAT changed the way people 
record music, HD24 will do that again. The market seems to be looking I 
for where to go and the general consensus, even among some of o 
competitors, is that we've just legitimise the stand-alone hard-disk 
recorder ma with the introduction of the HD2 You can expect this same 
kind innovation in the years to come."
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