Company:InfoSonics
 | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications Equipment |
| Fate | Parent company financial problems |
| Founded | 1994[1] |
| Founder | Joseph Ram |
| Defunct | 2018 |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California , United States[2] |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Joseph Ram (president & CEO)[3] Vernon A. LoForti (VP & CFO)[4] |
| Products | Smartphones, feature phones, tablets and accessories |
| Parent | Cool Holdings, Inc. |
| Subsidiaries | verykool |
| Website | infosonics |
InfoSonics Corporation was an American company that developed, manufactured, and distributed wireless handsets and accessories through its proprietary brand verykool and other private label brands.[3] InfoSonics sold its products through carriers, distributors, and OEMs in Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and the United States.[5]
It was best known for its line of inexpensive unlocked phones as well as its rugged phones in its verykool line of products.[6][7]
It was subsidiary of Cool Holdings, Inc. a Miami-based company which changed its name to Simply, Inc in 2020. The company completely transformed and became an Apple Premiere Partner in the United States. It later went into liquidation.[8]
History
InfoSonics was founded in 1994 by Joseph Ram, the company's president and CEO. It became a public company in June 2004, and was initially listed on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol “IFO.”[9] In August 2006, the company transferred to the NASDAQ under the symbol “IFON.”[10] When the company first went public, it was primarily a distributor of products supplied by Samsung, VK Corporation, LG, Novatel and others. In 2005 it purchased Primasel S.A., a distributor of Samsung products primarily in Argentina.[11][12]
The company followed up with a secondary stock offering in 2006, offering 2.2 million shares.[13] The same year the company reached $240 million in sales.[13] 2006 was also the year it began to develop its own wireless handsets under the verykool brand.[14] InfoSonics ceased its distributing business in March 2012, primarily due to protective import tariffs that had been enacted on certain electronic devices since 2009.[14] After terminating its distributing business, it became solely a manufacturer and distributor of its own products under the verykool brand.[15]
InfoSonics entered into an agreement with Ingram Micro in December 2012 for the distribution of its verykool brand to customers in the United States.[16] It also launched an online store in the U.S. market for consumer purchase of the verykool product line.[17]
InfoSonics Corporation reported a second consecutive quarter of profitability after 2013 4th quarter results were announced.[18] The company had a 48% gross profit in the 4th quarter compared to 2012 with operating expenses declining 26% for the same period.[18] InfoSonics also reported gross revenue of $37.9 million, an increase of $3.6 million from the year prior.[19] It continued to increase sales by year-end 2014, bringing in $48.1 million, a 27% increase from the prior year.
References
- ↑ Seitz, Patrick (16 October 2006). "InfoSOnics' Comeback Tied To Latin America; Emerging market is hot, but challenges abound for cell phone distributor". Investors.com. http://news.investors.com/business-industry-snapshot/101606-425731-infosonics-comeback-tied-to-latin-america-emerging-market-is-hot-but-challenges-abound-for-cell-phone-distributor.htm.
- ↑ White, Ronald D. (23 February 2014). "InfoSonics seeking name recognition in U.S.". The L.A. Times. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-stock-spotlight-infosonics-20140224,0,653229.story#axzz2uaZCdcA3.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Goldstein, Phil (23 May 2013). "While Samsung & Co. are away, the smaller OEMs will play". Fierce Wireless. http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/while-samsung-co-are-away-smaller-oems-will-play/2013-05-23.
- ↑ "InfoSonics names Overland exec as CFO". San Diego Daily Transcript. 26 July 2010. http://www.sddt.com/technology/article.cfm?SourceCode=20100726tqd#.Uup—fldWAU.
- ↑ "InfoSonics Launches R80 Rugged Phone In Latin America". TheStreet.com. 15 April 2011. http://www.thestreet.com/story/11083758/1/infosonics-launches-r80-rugged-phone-in-latin-america.html.
- ↑ Low, Cherlynn (2 August 2013). "InfoSonics Adds to its line of rugged unlocked devices". Laptop Mag. http://blog.laptopmag.com/infosonics-verykool-affordable-unlocked.
- ↑ Kim, Eugene (20 September 2013). "Verykool RS90 Vortex". PC Mag. https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2424509,00.asp.
- ↑ "How two Canadian financiers took an obscure Apple reseller for a wild ride". The Globe and Mail. February 18, 2019. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-how-two-canadian-financiers-took-an-obscure-apple-reseller-for-a-wild/.
- ↑ "InfoSonics announces IPO". RCR Wireless. 19 May 2004. http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20040519/sub/infosonics-announces-ipo/.
- ↑ Gallagher, Sean (20 July 2006). "InfoSonics moving to Nasdaq". San Diego Daily Transcript. http://www.sddt.com/Finance/article.cfm?SourceCode=20060720czf.
- ↑ "InfoSonics SEC Filing - Stock Purchase and Sales Agreement". https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/containers/fix160/1274032/000114420408030510/v115010_ex10-1.htm.
- ↑ "CEO Interview Joseph Ram". The Wall Street Transcript. 22 August 2005. http://www.twst.com/interview/21493.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Wittenstein, Jeran (6 March 2007). "InfoSonics 2006, 4Q net income falls; shares follow". San Diego Daily Transcript. http://www.sddt.com/Finance/article.cfm?SourceCode=20070306cze&_t=InfoSonics+2006+4Q+net+income+falls+shares+follow.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Karsan, Barel (1 December 2010). "InfoSonics: Sounds Bad, Looks Good". Seeking Alpha. http://seekingalpha.com/article/239516-infosonics-sounds-bad-looks-good.
- ↑ "InfoSonics launches new smartphone". San Diego Daily Transcript. 13 May 2013. http://www.sddt.com/Technology/article.cfm?Sourcecode=20130513tqc&_t=InfoSonics+launches+new+smartphone#.Uup9lbSn-iV.
- ↑ Allen, Mike (18 December 2013). "InfoSonics Enters Distribution Agreement With Ingram Micro Mobility". San Diego Business Journal. http://sdbj.com/news/2013/dec/18/infosonics-enters-distribution-agreement-ingram-mi/.
- ↑ McCabe, Adrianne (23 January 2014). "Hot Tech Stocks: SemiLEDs Corporation, InfoSonics, China Finance Online, Super Micro Computer, Cree Inc.". I Street Wire. http://www.istreetwire.com/on-top-of-hot-tech-stocks-infosonics-ifon-semileds-corporation-leds-china-finance-online-jrjc-super-micro-computer-smci-cree-inc-cree/143711/.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "InfoSonics Reports Fourth Quarter 2013 Results". Yahoo Finance. 6 March 2014. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/infosonics-reports-fourth-quarter-2013-140000189.html.
- ↑ "InfoSonics Corporation Revenue and Financial Data". Hoovers. http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/revenue-financial.Infosonics_Corporation.d535c563d16f4ac8.html.
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