ARC in receivership

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by PeterMusic

................but I don't think their target customers are buying Chinese stuff from MoFi............

Wish you were correct, but ARC vs Prima Luna (Chinese) at 1/3 the cost (or less) likely sways many folks.

[cleeds]

Originally Posted by audiojem

... Any way we can get a list of the companies who are owed money by ARC should be the who's who in the audio business.

It's all in the court filing (Minnesota Judicial Branch, Hennepin County Civil) and the case is online.

[crwilli]

I have read elsewhere that ARC is still operating, their former CEO is gone and they expect to have a new owner in a week or so.

[djcxxx]

Originally Posted by crwilli

I have read elsewhere that ARC is still operating, their former CEO is gone and they expect to have a new owner in a week or so.

Yes the information was provided by an ARC employee on another forum. It was stated that ARC remains up and running in all respects since the early April filing. Mr. Trent Scruggs is no longer CEO according to this posting. Although a buyer is anticipated no detailed information was provided.

[Antonmb]

Originally Posted by Formerly YB-2

Very sad. Hope they make it thru all this.
Again, am sure a big part of their problem is all the Chinese gear that is flooding the market and killing off NA manufacturers. And all the pimping of Chinese gear done by the large e-tailers like MoFi/Music Direct & Up-Scale, to name a couple. Folks I'll never do business with again.

Many American and European firms in the high end of the market, including I believe ARC, are not really directly competing with the Chinese. I don’t think the people buying brands like ARC, D’Agostino, Wilson, Pass, etc., are seriously distracted by Music Direct Chinese offerings. It looks a lot more like the vp of sales who purchased ARC less than 3 years ago simply was over-leveraged and underfunded, bought when the market was in a boom, and couldn’t sustain his debt payments when the market went into a post-Covid slow-down at the same time interest rates and supplier costs went up.

[Sound Dragon]

Being overly reliant on Russian Tubes probably doesn’t help. I do hope they come out of this stronger and able to sustain themselves and their customers.

[dkorbal]

Originally Posted by cleeds

It's all in the court filing (Minnesota Judicial Branch, Hennepin County Civil) and the case is online.

Case 27-CV-23-4399 if interested.

[tima]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

Many American and European firms in the high end of the market, including I believe ARC, are not really directly competing with the Chinese. I don’t think the people buying brands like ARC, D’Agostino, Wilson, Pass, etc., are seriously distracted by Music Direct Chinese offerings. It looks a lot more like the vp of sales who purchased ARC less than 3 years ago simply was over-leveraged and underfunded, bought when the market was in a boom, and couldn’t sustain his debt payments when the market went into a post-Covid slow-down at the same time interest rates and supplier costs went up.

Thanks Tony, this sounds reasonable to me. Granted there is more competition everywhere from Eastern manufacturers and the high-end market in the East is huge. Small distributors looking to gain a foothold in audio will pick-up smaller company products and promote them. So there is a lot more competition.

ARC is an iconic brand built from the ground up and the company has a long history of success. They have had several owners since the passing of their founder, some better suited to their culture than others. Owned by the McIntosh Group (a direct competitor) who also owned Sonus Faber, ARC was subject to management decisions no longer made in Maple Grove. Product wrapper design came out of Italy from Livio Cucuzza. Some of this was not a happiness for in-house ARC and its traditions. TWS LLC was a company created by Trent Suggs, a former ARC sales director, to return, I suspect, the company to its roots. But there was no financial backing behind Suggs.

I expect a financier to appear and the company to continue. Hopefully that will be someone who not only understands their value but is committed to sustaining it without trying to turn it into a lilfe-style product following fast moving trends. Several of the core people such as Dave Gordon, Warren Gehl are still there to keep WZJ's vision alive.

Imo, their challenges are building off proven designs, which they've done a lot -- from the Ref3 linestage, to adopting the 6H30 tube in the Ref2/Ref5 models and their follow-ons, the Ref 10 series and the Ref3/Ref6 sustained them through the 21st century thus far. And, to find new design talent.

[PeterMusic]

Originally Posted by Formerly YB-2

Wish you were correct, but ARC vs Prima Luna (Chinese) at 1/3 the cost (or less) likely sways many folks.

Ooo...I did not realize Prima Luna was made in China. I agree that's a fair comparison

[Charles]

I am very sad to hear this. I have always had great respect for ARC. I wondered why the 320 mono had not been launched. Now I know. I hope that an excellent buyer will emerge. The financial climate is very credit restrictive for the foreseeable future. It will be difficult to secure a line of credit.

Best

Charles