Canadian Music Trade - December/January 2019 | Page 17

SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT Radial Engineering
By Andrew King
W
ith its history of
innovative product
releases and major
brand acquisitions,
Radial Engineering has
enjoyed its share of
newsworthy NAMM Shows over the years;
however, the 2018 edition may have been the
most significant in the Canadian manufacturer’s
27-year history.
As The 2018 NAMM Show was getting
underway, much of the buzz across the
newly-expanded show floor pertained to
the announcement that Radial founder and
principal Peter Janis had sold the business to
Mike Belitz, CEO of Ultimate Support Systems
and Regimen Equity Partners.
Belitz explains that what initially drew him
to Radial as a potential acquisition is the thing
that generally attracts him to brands in the MI
industry. “I’m very much a fan of the accessory
market, and I especially like premium brands
within that space,” he tells Canadian Music
Trade. “Radial products are high quality and very
utilitarian; everyone needs them, and they also
tend not to be fashionable or trendy, which
translates to low obsolescence. So basically, if
the equation is correct, they’re high margin and
high volume.”
What’s more, Belitz’s history with Radial
actually goes back about two decades. When
Janis and Radial were in startup mode, Belitz
owned a rep firm called Sonic Sales that
covered the U.S. west coast. As such, he was
tapped as Radial’s first American rep and helped
to establish the brand with major retailers like
Guitar Center. “So I knew first-hand that Radial
is a great brand with excellent products and an
excellent reputation,” Belitz reaffirms.
The list of others who can also attest first-
hand to the quality and reliability of Radial’s
proven workhorse products is a who’s who
of the world’s best-known artists and audio
pros, including the likes of Rush, U2, Bruce
Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Al Schmitt, and
Elliot Scheiner.
Over the years, Radial has also added
a number of other esteemed brands to its
portfolio, and Belitz recognizes the potential
that each brings to the table. “What initially
attracted me to the company was the Radial
brand,” Belitz admits, “but when I had an
opportunity to look under the hood, I realized,
for example, how valuable Jensen audio
transformers are to the company and how great
of a brand Jensen is. It’s a central component to
a lot of the core Radial products. Then I learned
RADIAL ENGINEERING STAFF AT PORT COQUITLAM, BC HEADQUARTERS
more about Tonebone and where it fits into the
market, then Primacoustic and Hafler and the
whole portfolio, and it just made it that much
more enticing.”
From the very beginning of his nearly
yearlong journey at the helm of Radial, Belitz
wanted to make clear that while he is the
owner and CEO of both Radial and Ultimate
Support, the two companies would continue to
operate as separate entities.
“Radial has some great attributes that
I wouldn’t dare mess with,” he asserts. “It
starts with the people. I don’t think I’ve
seen a company that has a more dedicated
and passionate team when it comes to the
products and the mission of the company.
Everything is proudly made in Canada and I
think that’s good for the brand, good for the
products, and good for our customers, so none
of that will change.”
That said, the companies do share some key
similarities – premium brand recognition in the
marketplace, heavy reliance on R&D, significant
intellectual property portfolios, well-established
sales and distribution channels – and Belitz plans
to capitalize on that. He says the two brands will
share strategic and logistical advantages going
forward, with the ultimate goal of enhancing
availability for retailers, distributors, and end
users around the world.
In the year since the acquisition, Belitz
and his team have focused their efforts on
improving systems and increasing efficiencies
within Radial’s operations. The most significant
aspect of that has been the establishment of a
stateside fulfilment facility.
“The largest market in our industry
is the U.S., after all,” explains Belitz about
their reasoning. “Being able to ship from a
centralized
location here
in the States
will decrease
shipping costs
and times to our
valued dealers,
and subsequently
increase
inventory turns
for our dealers
and for us.”
RADIAL CEO MIKE BELITZ
On the
horizon, plans are in place to completely
revamp and refresh Radial’s marketing strategy
while continuing to devote plenty of attention
and resources to product development and
innovation. “We’re currently working on a slew
of new products that will be introduced over
the next six to 12 months,” he reveals – both in
existing and new product categories.
When all is said and done, the goal is
to keep Radial Engineering on the general
tangent of success it has earned in recent years
with innovative, high-quality, made-in-Canada
products and top-tier service while tweaking
and fine-tuning operations as necessary.
“The team at Radial are rightfully proud
of what they’ve accomplished over the years,
and we want to keep it that way,” Belitz offers in
closing. “If we can streamline processes or make
it easier for consumers to enjoy our products,
we’ll take advantage of those opportunities, but
otherwise, we want to enable the Radial team
to continue doing what they’ve proven they do
better than anyone.”
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of
Canadian Music Trade.
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE
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