Harman Lets Go of Two Reps

Harman has terminated at least two of its car audio, lifestyle audio and home audio manufacturer representatives this month, electing to sell through factory direct salespeople instead,  according to numerous industry members.

The two reps were notified of Harman’s termination on December 1.

Several industry members confirmed Harman is switching to factory direct salesmen in some markets.  It was not known if this was related to Samsung’s purchase of Harman last year.

However four additional Harman car audio reps we contacted said they were not terminated. No reps wished to identify their names on the record.

As one source told us, Harman is currently re-evaluating its position with reps market by market.

Interestingly, it was recently reported by ChannelNews that Harman confirmed it is consolidating distribution in Australia for its pro audio division, with two local distributors taking over 7 Harman brands.

Harman did not respond to our inquiry.

Many industry members believe Harman is in a strong position to take a leadership role in the aftermarket if it chooses.  It claims to be the leader in OEM “connected car solutions” and has the R&D and design resources to innovate.

At the time of its purchase by Samsung in March, Harman audio and connected car solutions were in more than 30 million vehicles.  About 65 percent of Harman’s $7 billion in sales was automotive related. And as of June 30, 2016 it had a backlog in OEM automotive orders worth $24 billion.

By the way, Samsung, of which Harman is now a subsidiary, sees automotive as its future, according to Forbes.  The semiconductor business where Samsung makes much of its money is expected to slow over the next decade as current chips are so fast there will be less of a need to constantly upgrade.  So Samsung is looking to the car for future growth.