Peter Shamoon the sales director at Premium Audio Company, is “taking a break,” weeks after it was announced that Westan, is taking over distribution of several PAC products in Australia, he is the last of the three who defected from Qualifi to set up the subsidary in Australia.
In an exclusive interview with ChannelNews Shamoon said that he was “Taking timer out to be with his sick mother”.
“I will be back he said”.
Peter Shamoon left with Vox International executive.
Retailers were told of the move on Friday via an email.
Shamoon is the third senior executive to exit the Premium Audio Company after Vox International moved to set up a local subsidiary under questionable circumstances, after snaring three senior managers away from Qualifi who at the time were their distributor for Klipsch products in Australia.
Vox manufacture and sell Klipsch, Pioneer, Jamo and Onkyo receivers.
Phil Hawkins now working as sales rep for Snap One
Philip Hawkins, the former director of sales operations at the Premium Audio Company and prior to that General Manager of Consumer at Qualifi, along with Shamoon and Bill Liacopoulos all quit Melbourne based Qualifi in questionable circumstances to work for the Vox International subsidiary PAC.
When they quit Qualifi they told industry that PAC was set to be a major operation in the Australian audio market, the only problem was that management were withing weeks of setting up the subsidiary, were forced to hose down problems with the Companies Klipsch sound bars that were being returned because of serious design problems.
Bill Liacopoulos
They also failed to get traction with other retailers with several refusing to stock the PAC products.
Today Klipsch is sold at Costco and Harvey Norman with the specialist Channel now supplied by Westan.
Hawkins who was dumped early in 2023 is now working as an “Inside” sales rep at Snap One who also distributes PAC products.
He was followed by Liacopoulos the former National Sales Manager at PAP and prior to that Business Development Manager at Qualifi who is now working as a property manager.
The biggest blow to Hawkins, Shamoon, and L Liacopoulos, came when within days of them quitting Qualifi the Melbourne based distributor was snapped up by Vox International archrival Sound United now owned by Masimo Corporation.
Hawkins claimed at the time that Qualifi, would go broke without Vox International products.
Within days Sound United appointed Phil Newton, the former Vice President of Samsung, and the former Marketing Director to run the business, the rest is history, Masimo Consumer with their Deno, Marantz, Bowers & Wilkins product range moved quickly to restructure their channel operations with JB Hi Fi now ranging an extensive range of Denon products including turntables, receivers and headphones and buds.
