EXCLUSIVE: Former Samsung VP Phil Newton Now Driving Global Sales For New Sound Company

Phil Newton a former Samsung Vice President and CMO has taken on a new role as global sales and marketing manager at Nuheara, a sound Company that is set to take sound buds, especially for those who are struggling to hear clear audio or have a “mild hearing deficiency”.

The former CEO of BenQ, Newton was responsible for significant growth at Samsung having run several divisions at the Korean Company prior to being appointed a Vice President.

Due to leave for the US next week he believes that the future for custom ear buds is via specialist retailers who are capable of “properly fitting and tuning” the buds for customers.

Ranging in price from $295 to $495 the Nuheara wireless ear buds are proving popular with the WA based Company witnessing significant growth during the past two years.

In 2016, the Group released new IQbuds that at the time were described as ‘revolutionary wireless earbuds.

Newton believes that the team at Nuheara have created a new category of hearing products that were researched, designed, built, marketed and sold by an Australian Company to a growing global market in under three years and that he can contribute to taking the business to a new level of growth.

The Nuheara buds allow consumers to augment their hearing according to their personal hearing preferences and connect hands free with their voice-enabled smart devices.

In 2017, the Group released IQbuds BOOST featuring Ear ID, a clinical grade hearing assessment that automatically calibrates the earbuds to a user’s unique hearing profile.

IQbuds™ and IQbuds BOOST™ are now sold in major consumer electronics retailers and hearing health centres around the world.

At this stage and due to the operation being an Australian start up, revenues for the Company are only $5,251,960 however they have grown 80% over revenues in 2016 of $2,893,627.

According to Newton he first met the directors of the Company at CES and was “impressed by both the technology the Company had developed and the people running the operation” he said.     

Over the past year, wireless earbuds, led by the likes of Jabra and Apple AirPods, have become an increasingly crowded product category.

The aim of this product category is simply to remove cables – a feat that Nuheara engineers regard as “engineering rather than innovation”.

According to Newton he is looking for retail partners who can deliver a “unique” fitting experience for consumers.

Newton claim the hearing aid category has seen an absence of true innovation and furthermore, due of a lack of competition, is a market that remains expensive and inaccessible to the millions of people requiring hearing assistance at the mild to moderate level.

CEO Justin Miller said “We are different at Nuheara. And we’re proud to shake up the status quo by striving to achieve the hard things that come with being true innovators in hearing. In doing so, we are the first to market in creating a complete hearing ecosystem, and with it, a new category designed to serve a multitude of hearing healthcare needs of a global market with potentially hundreds of millions of users.

Newton’s key role is to expand the global retail reach, both online and in store, across the USA, Europe, the Middle East and in Asia.
The Group successfully completed two capital raisings during the past year, raising $9 million in July 2017, and $6 million in June 2018. Funds raised will be used to assist Nuheara in increasing sales and marketing activities of IQbuds and IQbuds BOOST.

The Company is also looking to increase, increasing inventory levels of IQbuds BOOST, and the production and launch of LiveIQ, which is set to be released in Q4, 2018.
At year-end, the Group held $8.35 million in cash reserves.