Philip Hawkins, the former director of sales operations at the Premium Audio Company, has been dumped, with Peter Shamoon the former Sales Director now believed to be running the operation in Australia, according to sources.
Hawkins, who quit Melbourne-based Qualifi under a cloud after being accused of obtaining confidential sales information relating to Klipsch, that allowed him and Shamoon to set up the Vox International operation in Australia, is describing himself as a ‘Consultant Writer’ on his LinkedIn profile.
Hawkins joined Premium Audio Products in 2021.
Recently ChannelNews revealed that Vox International, the owners of Premium Audio Products and brands that include Klipsch, Onkyo, Integra and Pioneer, reported a major slump in revenue in the last quarter ending November 2022, with sales falling more than 25 per cent.
We recently revealed that management had been forced to take a 20 per cent pay cut across the boards.
Late last year ChannelNews was told that staff who were lured into the business to sell Klipsch and Vox International products, with offers of $8K a month plus “significant” bonuses every month, are now concerned they will not be paid their bonuses, with some getting set to quit.
“The business is a mess, there are issues with returns, we can’t get into stores and the business is not hitting targets,” ChannelNews was told.
Peter Shamoon seen front centre right at a recent PAP Conference.
ChannelNews believes that Shamoon offered Vox International a new business plan that will see costs cut and the operation restructured.
who is known to like a beer is believed to be honing his writing skills.
Hawkins is describing himself as an “Experienced Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the consumer goods industry. Skilled in Sales Forecasting, Demand Planning, Business Analytics, Key Account Development, Marketing Strategy, Product Management, Sales Management, and Consumer Electronics”.
There is no mention of his messy exit from Qualifi, stolen business plans or how confidential information relating to his former employer ended up on a USB memory stick that he left behind in a drawer of his desk at Qualifi.
ChannelNews has been told that other staff could also be dumped at the Vox International owned business.
In their last quarter financial report Vox International reported that their Consumer Electronics sales in the Fiscal 2023 nine-month period were US$271.1 million, as compared to USW$320.8 million in the comparable Fiscal 2022 nine-month period, a decline of $49.7 million or 15.5%.
For the same comparable periods, Premium Audio product sales were $212.6 million as compared to $252.6 million, a decline of $40.0 million or 15.8%, and Other Consumer Electronics product sales were $58.4 million as compared to $68.2 million, a decline of $9.7 million or 14.3%.
Neither Shamoon or Hawkins have made themselves available to comment.
