According to Neikki Asian, the latest Japan-based audio manufacturer, Onkyo Home Entertainment Corporation, has filed for bankruptcy.
Onkyo, one of Japan’s best-known manufacturers of home theater equipment and hi-fi products, filed for bankruptcy in the Osaka District Court on Friday, May 13, 2022. The company has a total debt of about 3.1 billion yen, or about 23 million euros. It seems very likely that the company will not be saved. The opportunity to evoke this emblematic brand.
Who is Onkyo?
Onkyo is known to all specialists: this company started as Osaka Denki Onkyo KK in 1946. During the first years of its history, Onkyo developed an image of innovator and became a heavyweight in the audio, making the Onkyo name synonymous with sonic excellence, high-quality speakers and components.
In the 1970s, Onkyo receivers were critically acclaimed. Products from the 80s, including cassette players, M-series amplifiers, turntables, AM/FM tuners like the T-909 and T-9990, and receivers also marked the industry.
For its 70th anniversary, in 2016, Onkyo released a video that traces the company’s milestones. Onkyo even briefly entered the HD-DVD market in the war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD, but it didn’t go so well. Fortunately, this was only a tiny part of their business.
In 2015, Onkyo made a risky strategic decision by purchasing Pioneer’s AV products. Shortly after this acquisition, things started to go wrong for Onkyo. After being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange in August 2021, two Onkyo-owned subsidiaries (Onkyo Sound Company Ltd and Onkyo Marketing Company Ltd) filed for bankruptcy. Two months later, in May 2022, it is up to the emblematic company to file for bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy is never a good sign for a business trying to survive, but it doesn’t always mean the end of this adventure. As with many companies facing this situation, although unlikely at this stage, it is possible that Onkyo could survive through a reorganization with new management and new investment.
Moreover, even if the Japanese company Onkyo disappears, VOXX and Sharp still hold the audiovisual activity of Onkyo and the rights to use the Onkyo brand in certain regions. Warranties should continue to be honored and its AV receivers and other equipment will continue to be manufactured, provided they can recover the chips necessary to assemble and repair them. The current shortage of components is not the main reason for Onkyo’s decline, which began long before the crisis, but it has largely contributed to accelerating things.
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