Russound whose products are distributed in Australia by Leisuretech has admitted that the Company is in trouble after laying off an estimated 18% of their workforce. The Company that sells multiroom audio gear claims that a fall in International sales from Countries like Australia and a downturn in the US market has contributed to their woes.

Russound spokesman Andrea Renz said "Our business is directly tied to new housing starts," Renz said. "Our products are installed when the studs are going up and they are pulling wires for a new home, so typically we don't see the effects of the market until about nine months after it's been published, because our products are spec'd in late. It's just catching up to us now, we're really seeing the effects of it."

In a press release, Russound chief executive Joe Brouillet said the year-long decline in the home-building industry has affected everyone in the custom installation business. "For our part, we are committed to minimizing changes within the company while ensuring that Russound remains a true market leader with the resources to continue supporting our clients through unbeatable product reliability, training and customer service," he said. "Although this is a strategic decision and one that had to be made, it was a difficult one, as Russound has always valued its employees as one of its biggest assets," Brouillet said.

Privately held Russound doesn't release revenue figures, but it is estimated that 2007 the Company had sales of US $53 million.