Colarado VNet whose IP based home automation gear, is distributed in Australia by Smart Home Distribution, is shutting up shop for the second time in 12 months after initally being rescued by Russound.
Colarado VNet whose IP based home automation gear, is distributed in Australia by Smart Home Distribution, is shutting up shop for the second time in 12 months after initally being rescued by Russound.
The decision to quit the high end home automation market comes as consumers move to low cost IP based systems.
The company will refocus on R&D until it sorts out its future, which could include a revival of the line “in a different format for a broader market,” a Company spoksperson said.
Company technology includes IP-based multi-room-audio distribution and RF wireless lighting controls. The brand’s high-end custom position was “too small to support the business,” Petro Shimonishi, vNet’s sales and marketing VP said.
Twice Magazine said that it’s not certain yet whether the vNet brand will be resurrected. The company also has no plans “today,” Shimonishi continued, to bring vNet’s products or technology to sister company Russound, the multi-room-audio company that operates as a separate corporation. “Russound is known for multi-room audio, not for home automation,” she said. Rebranding a product line “is not the answer.”
The majority of vNet’s assets were purchased in October 2009 by Russound owner and president Maureen Baldwin after previous management effectively shut the company down, the company said. But given the state of the economy and the difficulty of turning around a company after an “abrupt closure,” Shimonishi said, the company decided to close down sales and marketing operations to maximize its investment.
vNet’s technology and intellectual property “still has a tremendous amount of potential,” she noted.
