2015 Ce pro 100 brand analysis A New World...

CE FEATURE CE PRO 100 BRANDS

IToday’s market conditions have created an environ-ment in which newer companies have become ‘go-to’ solution providers at the expense of bedrock custom industry manufacturers. BY ROBERT ARCHER

A New World2015 Ce pro 100 brand analysis:

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N THE 1980S Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish were the NBA’s “Big 3” for the Boston Celtics. In the 1990s the NFL’s Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin took the “Big 3”

moniker in Dallas. More recently the NBA gave fans a new “Big 3” with Boston’s Kevin Garnett, Paul Piece and Ray Allen and Miami’s LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

When it comes to a Hall of Fame caliber “Big 3” of the custom installation industry, some brands could certainly present strong cases when you consider the pioneering names in A/V and automation.

Based on numbers from the annual Brand Analysis that is culled from responses to the CE Pro 100 entry form gauging the industry’s highest-revenue integrators, it could be argued that today’s most popular trifecta among deal-ers would include Sony, SnapAV and Con-trol4. Or in “Big 3” parlance perhaps a Bird-

era historical type of brand (Sony) with some current-gen teammates (SnapAV, Control4) comprising a trio of “go-to brands.”

Looking at the evolution that’s occurred within the custom market these brands have rapidly taken on the role of market leaders and the 2015 Brand Analysis numbers (revealing 2014 data) bear that out. Challenges to a “Big 3” inclusion could be made from a handful of companies, such as Autonomic Controls and Screen Innovations (SI), for example, which this year earned what may be considered surprising Brand Leader distinction in their respective media server and projection screen categories. One theme that seems to be epito-mized by the work of Sony, SnapAV and Con-trol4 among others in the respective categories of 4K, high-resolution audio, home automa-tion, speakers, cabling and power condition-ers, is that value-added products, price points and dealer support mechanisms are resonating with installers.

C1506 pp38-56 Brand Analysis.cw.indd 38 5/26/15 2:50 PM

Flat-Panel TVs Samsung

Projectors Sony

Video Screens Screen Innovations (SI)

Video DistributionCrestron

Satellite SystemsDirecTV

Outdoor VideoSunBriteTV

Blu-ray Disc PlayersSony

Gaming Systems Sony

HDMI Cables Binary (SnapAV)

Video

Blu-ray Players Flat-Panel Displays Gaming Systems

Projectors Video Distribution/Switchers

Video Filmscreens

Outdoor Video

Furniture Salamander

Lifts Auton

Mounts Chief

Racks Middle Atlantic

Seating Fortress

Structured Wiring Wirepath (SnapAV)

Speaker Cable Binary (SnapAV)

Power Conditioners Panamax

Central Vacuum Beam/Electrolux

Cooling Systems Active Thermal Management (ATM)

Remote Managed Services Ihiji

Home Enhancements

Central Vacuum Furniture Intercom Systems Li�s

Mounts Seating Structured WiringSystems Racks

Phone Systems Remote ManagedServices

Cooling Systems Power Conditioners

Whole-House Automation Control4

Universal Remotes/Tablets URC

Lighting Control Lutron

Shade Control Lutron

HVAC/Energy/Smart Grid Management Control4

IR Distribution Systems SnapAV (Episode, Wirepath & Binary)Control &

Automation

Home Automation Universal Remotes/Tablets

Lighting Controls

HVAC/Energy/Smart GridManagement

IR DistributionSystems

Home Health Tech

Shade Control

Home Networks Pakedge

Phone Systems/Intercoms Panasonic

Computers Apple & Dell

Cell Phone Boosters Wilson Electronics

Networking Solutions

HDMI Cable Home Networks

Speaker Wire/Interconnects

Cell PhoneBoosters

IP Cameras & SurveillanceIC Realtime

Access Control Control4

Security/Fire Systems Honeywell & Interlogix

Misc.

Security

Security/Fire Systems Access Control

Design/ProposalSo�ware

Distributor

Misc.

IP Cameras/Surveillance


Design/Proposal Software D-Tools

Misc.

Security

Security/Fire Systems Access Control

Design/ProposalSo�ware

Distributor

Misc.

IP Cameras/Surveillance


In-Wall/In-Ceiling Loudspeakers Sonance

Floorstanding Speaker Bowers & Wilkins (B&W)

Acoustical Treatments CinemaTech & Kinetics Noise Control

A/V Receivers Integra

A/V Processors Integra

Media Servers/DVRs/Streaming Devices Autonomic

Soundbars Sonos

Turntables McIntosh

Wireless AudioSonos

Outdoor Audio Sonance

Multiroom Audio Control4

Headphones Sennheiser

Audio

FreestandingLoudspeakers

AcousticalTreatments A/V Receivers A/V Streaming

Devices

Headphones A/V Preamp/Processors

ArchitecturalLoudspeakers Media Servers

Multiroom Audio Distribution

SystemsWireless Audio Outdoor Audio Soundbars Turntables



For the most part the architectural speaker category remains status quo with approximately the same number of total manufacturers (41) and the same brands at the top. What is interesting is just below the top five is the rising popularity of the Revel and Origin Acoustics brands. Revel’s popularity has been a slow build. Newcomer Origin has solid representation of 16 CE Pro 100 dealers.

For the past couple of years, CinemaTech has been the leader in the Acoustical Treatments category and the same is true in 2015, but this year the company is joined by Kinetics. Sneaking into the top five is Auralex, which besides resi does a considerable amount of business in the commercial space.

The 2015 numbers show that 2014’s reemergence of the home theater category is more than just a fad. Overall the growth may not be as dramatic as 2014, but the numbers are better, with more dealers using high-performance brands such as Bryston, Classe, Datasat and McIntosh.

It isn’t a direct comparison to previous years because of some newly defined category parameters, but in 2014 Apple led the A/V Sources/Streaming media category, and Kaleidescape led the Media Server category. This year in the combined Media Server/DVRs/Streaming Devices, Autonomic has taken a major step to the top with 46 dealers utilizing its products. Note that Apple includes dealers who may use Mac Minis as servers, aside from using Apple TV.

Integra leads the A/V Receivers category as it has for a number of years. The biggest news here is the major jump Sony — including those authorized to sell its high-end ES line — has taken by adding 26 dealers from the previous year’s total. The other companies in the top five have also added dealers, including Denon, which has added 12.

IN-WALL/IN-CEILING LOUDSPEAKERS

ACOUSTICAL TREATMENTS

A/V PROCESSORS

A/V RECEIVERS

FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKERS

Sonance

CinemaTech

Integra

Autonomic

Integra

Bowers & Wilkins

Kinetics Noise Control

Marantz

Kaleidescape

Sony/ Sony ES

Speaker-Craft

Triad

Acoustic Innovations

Anthem

Apple/ Apple TV

Denon

Klipsch

Episode (SnapAV)

Rotel

Sonos

Marantz

Paradigm

Auralex

McIntosh

Fusion Research

Yamaha

59%

14%

45%

46%

14%

21%

42%

55%

12%

20%

31%

32%12%

17%

21%

28%8%

16%

14%

26%

Each of the top companies in this year’s Floorstanding Speakers category grew their respective numbers over the previous year. Similar to the architectural speakers, the top brands pretty much seemed to be locked in with B&W pacing the field, followed closely by Klipsch, Paradigm, Triad and Revel.

Bowers & Wilkins

Klipsch Triad RevelParadigm

30%52%

28%

29%

26%

25%

18%

19% 19% 19%

17%

MEDIA SERVERS/DVRS/ STREAMING DEVICES



This diverse category features specialty companies such as Leon and Triad competing against large companies such as Sony and Samsung. Whole-house entertainment company Sonos leads for the first time. Perhaps driven by its new wireless products, Definitive Technology appears in the top five for the first time. Def Tech’s sister brand Polk surged into the upper half of the overall rankings; both use DTS’ Play-Fi in wireless offerings.

A comparison of the past few years shows the wireless audio category is maturing both in terms of product development and the application of these products. Sonos builds upon its already sizable market lead, while Bose and Soundcast make slight gains in the category. Denon’s relatively new HEOS brand helps it make the top five.

Control4 takes over the top spot surpassing Crestron, which had been the category leader for a number of years. Following closely are Sonos and Savant, and just as in years past maintaining the fifth position is Elan. It is interesting to note that traditional whole-house audio companies are used by only a handful of CE Pro 100 dealers. Moreover, popularity within the speaker categories doesn’t seem to carry over into the whole-house audio markets.

For the second consecutive year the headphone category shows growth, with Sennheiser and B&W continuing to be pacesetters. In addition to the increased number of dealers offering headphones, the amount of headphone companies has also climbed. The category could be in for a leveling off going forward.

Looking similar to the 2014 listing, the outdoor audio market is again paced by Sonance. SnapAV’s Episode brand continues to grow in the outdoor audio category, while the rest of the top five add to their respective leadership numbers in the past year.

WIRELESS AUDIO

MULTIROOM AUDIO

OUTDOOR AUDIO

HEADPHONES

TURNTABLESSOUNDBARS

Sonos

SonanceSonos

Control4Sennheiser

Leon

Bose

Crestron

Klipsch

Speaker-Craft

Control4

Paradigm

Bowers & Wilkins

Bowers & Wilkins

NuVo

SonosSony

Episode (Snap AV)

James Loudspeaker

Episode (Snap AV)

Denon/Heos

SavantBose

Definitive Technology

KlipschSoundcast

ElanKlipsch

53% 31%49%

22%37%

15%34%

11%14% 11%

Showing a small growth both in terms of the amount of dealers installing turntables, and the number of manufacturers utilized, the install market reflects the popularity of vinyl in today’s digital audio era. McIntosh con-tinues to be the most preferred manufacturer in the category, followed closely by the respective brands Denon, Pro-Ject, Marantz and Thorens.

McIntosh Denon Marantz ThorensPro-Ject

12%47%

62%87%

9%42%

24%7%

8%33%

17%7%

7%15%

16%7%

15%

16%6%

15%

12%6%

6%



No, it’s not an accounting error; the Brand Analysis takes into account a smattering of companies that fall just shy of making the CE Pro 100 list; as such, Samsung’s dominance here is underscored. Samsung, Sony and LG all make significant gains when compared to 2014, while the diversity of the market shows in the increasing frequency brands such as Planar and Seura (four dealers) are mentioned.

Surging into the top spot is SI. Gaining 62 dealers from the 2014 list, the company vaults past Stewart Filmscreen, which itself picked up 10 more. Also making gains are Da-Lite and SnapAV’s Dragonfly brand. Factoring the projector responses, the home projection market ap-pears to be capitalizing on 4K video products and affordable screen solutions for multi-purpose applications.

After a five-year hiatus, CE Pro is once again tracking satellite sys-tems. Claiming the top position is DirecTV. Looking back at the 2010 numbers, Dish Network has eroded DirecTV’s share, but it is notewor-thy to point out that with streaming services and OTT devices gaining popularity the challenge may be more difficult as consumers continue to “cut the cord.”

For the most part video distribution remains status quo in terms of brand rankings, but Binary’s growth does stand out. Overall the video distribution market is growing just as other video categories with big-ger numbers in the amount of brands dealers are offering and the total number of brands used.

SCREENS

SATELLITE SYSTEMS

VIDEO DISTRIBUTION

PROJECTORSFLAT-PANEL TVS

Samsung

Crestron

DirecTV

Sony

Dish Network

Panasonic

Atlona

Planar/Runco

Bell

Sharp

SavantBinary (Snap AV)

Excede

LG

Control4

Shaw

40%

15%1% 1% 1%

Slowly Seura is chipping away at perennial leader SunBriteTV’s advantage. Over the three years CE Pro has tracked Outdoor Video, SunBriteTV’s margin over Seura has fallen from 42 dealers to 22 in 2015. Both seem to be filling CE Pro 100 dealers’ outdoor needs well in dominating the category.

OUTDOOR VIDEO

SunBriteTV Seura Mirage-Vision

Samsung

57%

35%

5% 4% 3%

Sony and Epson increase their CE Pro 100 share by one-third and 20 percent, respectively. Digital Projection has an approximate 9 percent growth in its dealer numbers, while JVC/JVC Pro maintains its solid footing. Runco’s dealer base has gone in the opposite direction, but a full 20 percent still rely on the pioneering brand. Sony’s growth may also reflect its support of native 4K.

Sony

Screen Innovations

(SI)

Epson

Stewart Filmscreen

JVC/ JVC Pro

Dragonfly (SnapAV)

Runco

Draper

Digital Projection

Da-Lite

69%

69%79%

103%60%

60%

78%

76%42%

42%45%

42% 29%

29%21%

40% 14% 14%20%

20%14%

Stewart Filmscreen


63%57%

38%28%

8%


Mirroring its performance in other categories Sony leaps past the peren-nially popular manufacturer Samsung to lock down the title of most frequently installed Blu-ray disc player company by the CE Pro 100. Samsung, Oppo, Integra and LG numbers look similar to past years.

For the third year in a row the number of HDMI cable manufacturers CE Pro 100 dealers are using has decreased. During this period Binary and AudioQuest have increased their respective dealer totals.

Five manufacturers are separated by a total of 12 dealers in one of the most competitive categories. Auton and Chief fell back to the crowd, while Future Automation gained about 33 percent more dealers from 2014 to tighten up the top five.

The furniture category continues its contraction with dealers consoli-dating choices. Benefiting from this contraction are Salamander and Sanus. Connecticut-based manufacturer Salamander adds approxi-mately 33 percent more dealers, while Sanus adds just over 10 percent more from last year.

HDMI CABLES

LIFTS

FURNITURE

GAMING SYSTEMSBLU-RAY DISC PLAYERS

Salamander

Auton Future Automation

Bell’O

Nexus21

BDISanus

Chief

Fortress

Inca

Taking a major jump, Strong, SnapAV’s mounts brand, adds approxi-mately 40 percent to its dealer totals to overtake Sanus. Chief and Peerless-AV maintain prior levels, and in total, the category remains small with just 10 vendors.

MOUNTS

Chief Strong (SnapAV)

Sanus OmniMount

Over the past few years Microsoft and Sony have been in a dead heat for the top position. Perhaps its surging popularity in categories such as flat-panel TVs, projectors and Blu-ray players have aided Sony’s leap over Microsoft in this year’s figures.

Sony

Sony

Microsoft

Samsung

About Golf

Integra

Virtual Sports

LG

Nintendo

Oppo

38%73%

45%

34%68%

22%

15%26%

17%

1%21%

9%

1%20%

8%

Peerless-AV

Binary (SnapAV)

Audio-Quest

Perfect Path

Tribu-taries

Liberty Monster

48%

30%

14% 11% 10% 10%

25%22%

16% 15% 13%


20%16%

5% 2%

61%

45%34%

15%9%

31% 30%

22%

12% 11%

25%19% 17%

13% 11%

89%

46%26% 10% 9%


Middle Atlantic, Strong, Sanus, Chief and OmniMount carry this small (vendor-wise) category. It should be pointed out that Middle Atlantic, Strong, Sanus and Chief all added to their respective 2014 figures, while OmniMount stands pat with nine CE Pro 100 dealers.

The Structured Wiring category has been taken over by SnapAV’s Wirepath brand, with twice as many dealers as the nearest competitor. The numbers indicate that Structured Wiring is growing again, and this coincides with the building market.

The top two brands in this category added to their respective previous year’s total. In its move past Furman, WattBox added roughly 50 per-cent more dealers to its figures. Dealers used 18 vendors in the Power Conditioner category.

After seemingly leveling off with its growth, the Binary brand increases its dealer total by about 20 percent. The Speaker Cable category is one of the largest in the custom market with roughly 40 manufacturers mentioned in this year’s list.

Only about one-third of CE Pro 100 dealers offer these systems. There has been some upward movement, however. In 2014 dealers quoted seven manufacturers and a total 43 brand mentions. In 2015 the number of brands increased to 10, and the amount of brand mentions increased to 47.

RACKS

STRUCTURED WIRING

POWER CONDITIONERS

SPEAKER CABLE

CENTRAL VACUUM

Middle Atlantic

Wirepath (SnapAV)

Panamax

Binary (SnapAV)

Beam/ Electrolux

Sanus

Channel Vision

Furman

AudioQuest

Honeywell

Chief

Leviton

APC

Monster

Cyclo Vac

OmniMount

Liberty

SurgeX

Honeywell/Genesis

Strong (SnapAV)

Nortek Security &

Control

WattBox (SnapAV)

Liberty

HP/Dirt Devil

After finishing tied with CinemaTech last year, Fortress slots into the top position. Seating remains hotly contested with just 14 dealers separating first and fifth spots. Each of the top five with the exception of CinemaTech adds dealers from the previous year.

SEATING

Fortress Salamander Cineak Acoustic Innovations

CinemaTech

50%

26%

11% 10% 10% 10%OnQ/

Legrand


74%

30% 27% 8% 6%

80%

54%43%

19% 17%

68%

36% 32% 31% 24%

63% 61%43%

18%13%

30%

17% 14%8% 8%

40% 39%

21%

9% 3%

CE FEATURECE PRO 100 BRANDS

ATM, Middle Atlantic and Cool Components all added to their respec-tive 2014 totals. Faring the best out of the top three companies, ATM edges Middle Atlantic to claim the top position. As usual, this remains an extremely competitive category.

COOLING SYSTEMS

Active Thermal

Management (ATM)

Cool Components

SnapAV SanusMiddle Atlantic

The Remote Managed Services category is still taking shape. Ihiji has set the bar since CE Pro started tracking the numbers. The remaining companies are an interesting mix of control and automation, security, power management and networking brands.

REMOTE MANAGED SERVICES

Ihiji WattBox/OVRC

(SnapAV)

Control4 PakedgeBlueBolt

A� er several years of increased competition among the whole-house automation brands, it appeared the category stabilized last year with Crestron rea� irming its top position. This year takes a di� erent turn, however, as Control4 surpasses its N.J.-based rival for the first time in this category. Supporting the value trend rippling through the custom market is the reemergence of Elan.

Perhaps its popularity in the automation market is behind Control4’s 11-dealer jump here. Other than Control4’s rise, the numbers are simi-lar to previous years, with RTI garnering support from its ProControl brand. Apple is widely more popular as a tablet manufacturer than its Android-based competitors (just three dealers).

More dealers are o� ering these energy-saving and life-enhancing prod-ucts, but the overall category growth is slowing. Lutron, MechoShade and Somfy showed incremental dealer increases, while Crestron main-tains past numbers. QMotion was the one manufacturer to noticeably increase its dealers.

WHOLE-HOUSE AUTOMATION UNIVERSAL REMOTES/TABLETS

SHADE CONTROL

Control4 URC

Lutron

Savant Apple

QMotion

Elan RTI/ProControl

MechoShade Home

Systems

AMX Crestron

Somfy

Crestron Control4

Crestron

Lutron not only sets the bar in the category, but adds approximately 20 percent more dealers to its 2014 total. Another company adding roughly 20 percent is Control4. The rest maintain their respective 2014 figures, and when compared to the past two years, the amount of manufacturers utilized is approximately the same.

LIGHTING CONTROL

Lutron Crestron Vantage SavantControl4

11%

RTI/ProControl


20% 20%

4% 2% 2%

42%

30%31%24%

19%

73%

2%3% 1% 1%

43%38%

32%

18% 17%


Overall there is moderate rise led by companies such as Control4 and Savant. One new company to the top five is Google’s Nest. Propelled by its increasing brand recognition and the growing public awareness of energy conservation, it is not surprising that Nest shoots into this grouping.

A� er shooting into the No. 2 position last year, SnapAV takes command of the category. Following SnapAV is the brand most closely associated with IR technologies, Xantech, with sister Core Brands companies Niles and SpeakerCra� also benefiting, joining Southern California manufac-turer Sonance here.

HVAC/ENERGY/SMART GRID MANAGEMENT

IR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

Control4

SnapAV (Episode,

Wirepath & Binary)

Savant

Niles

Lutron

Sonance

Nest

Speaker-Cra�

Crestron

Xantech

Now in its second year in the Brand Analysis, the Cell Phone Booster category trends upward. The benefactor of most of this growth is Wil-son Electronics. Wilson (along with its former Z-Boost brant) holds over two-thirds of the CE Pro 100 marketshare.

Add computers to 2015’s list of surprising category results. Taking a dramatic dip from the last time CE Pro tracked this category in 2013, the numbers fall almost by half. Dell has caught up to Apple in the amount of dealers o� ering the respective brands. It’s noteworthy to see the net-working numbers increasing, while the computer numbers decrease.

CELL PHONE BOOSTERS COMPUTERS

Wilson ElectronicsApple

DellHP

AT&T Microcell

UnitsASUS

SureCallPixel Technologies

Verizon Microcell

UnitsSonyDell

58%

33%8% 7% 7%

Pakedge has been the leader for several years with Cisco following closely behind. For the third year in a row, however, Pakedge has lost a few dealers. Also falling back to the pack is Cisco, which shows up in 20 percent fewer dealers from the previous year. Luxul almost doubles its total from last year, and Access adds significantly to enter the top five for the first time.

HOME NETWORKS

Pakedge Cisco Ruckus Access Networks

Luxul

This year marks the debut of the combined Phone Systems/Intercoms category. These categories have been shrinking due to web-based technologies such as smartphones, FaceTime and other options, and 2015 continues this trend. Leading this newly created category is Pana-sonic, which for years has dominated in phone systems.

PHONE SYSTEMS/INTERCOMS

Panasonic Savant NEC AT&TOnQ/Legrand

CrestronControl4

55%

9% 5%6%8% 5%6%

1%



SnapAV’s Wirepath brand continues to grow within the IP Camera & Surveillance category, while perennial leader IC Realtime stays on top. The numbers indicate Wirepath’s growth comes at the expense of some of the security market’s more established manufacturers.

A� er a couple of down years, the Security/Fire Systems category has rebounded with growth across the board. Last year the entire CE Pro 100 featured a total of 78 brand mentions; in 2015, the top five brands in the category alone add up to 121 mentions.

With nearly 60 manufacturers mentioned, Access Control is the largest category in terms of total vendors, and unlike other large categories such as speakers there are no two or three dominant brands. The top five is a mix of security and whole-house control and automation companies.

IP CAMERAS & SURVEILLANCE

SECURITY & FIRE SYSTEMS

ACCESS CONTROLS

IC Real-time

Honeywell

Axis

DSC

Speco

Leviton

Panasonic

2Gig

Wirepath (SnapAV)

Interlogix

50%

39%

46%

39%

22%

21%

12%

12%

9%

10%

RESPONDENTS CAN NAME MULTIPLE BRANDS. TO SEE A COMPLETE LIST OF NOT JUST THE TOP LEADERS, BUT ALL THE SUPPLIERS IN EACH CATEGORY, DOWNLOAD THE CE PRO 100 BRAND ANALYSIS FOR FREE ON CEPRO.COM.

FREE CE PRO 100 BRAND ANALYSIS DOWNLOADAT CEPRO.COM

D-Tools, the long-time category leader, builds upon its marketshare lead, perhaps at the expense of custom so� ware products and o� -the-shelf solutions. The rest of the category remains for the most part unchanged; many dealers cra� their own solutions.

DESIGN/PROPOSAL SOFTWARE

D-Tools AutoCADMS Visio/Excel

BidMagicCustom

38%

14% 14% 6%6%

Vivotek

9% Control4 Yale InterlogixHolovision CrestronHoneywell

11%

7%7%

10%

6%8%


2015 Ce pro 100 brand analysis A New World...

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