Onkyo Home Entertainment Files For Bankruptcy
Over the last year or so we’ve watched Onkyo’s continuing fight for survival. From the potential Sound United acquisition to Onkyo USA closing down and their AV business being taken over by the Klipsch parent company Vox, to finally the company’s insolvency several months ago.
Well after 76 years Onkyo has filed for bankruptcy. The Japanese brand has been a fixture in the hi-fi scene since 1946, but couldn’t meet shifting consumer demand and was being severely impacted by COVID and the shortage of semiconductor supplies.
On Friday, May 13th Nikkei Asia reported that Onkyo Home Entertainment filed for bankruptcy having an estimated liability of around ¥3.1 billion ($24 million USD). So this was how Onkyo’s demise played out:
- Oct. 2019: Sound United deal to buy Onkyo/Pioneer falls through
- July 2020: Onkyo USA shuts down US distribution
- July 2020: Onkyo/Pioneer AV division sold to Voxx International, parent company of Klipsch
- Nov 2020: Onkyo continues struggle with insolvency
- Aug 2021: Onkyo is delisted from Tokyo Stock Exchange
- March 2022: Two major Onkyo OEM divisions file for bankruptcy
- May 2022: Onkyo files for bankruptcy, ceases operations
The Japanese company that we all know, Onkyo, has a history dating all the way back to 1946 when its was majority owned by the Ohtsuki family. Think of the Onkyo Home Entertainment bankruptcy as loosing the companies parents. It is not the loss of its brands, they will live on as they were sold to Voxx International earlier in 2020 having already contracted with Sharp in 2021 to manufacture its AV products. This joint business venture between Voxx and Sharp is named the Premium Audio Company and manufactures several home audio/video brands including Onkyo, Pioneer, Elite, Integra and Klipsch, HECO and Energy speakers.
Fans and owners of this intrepid brands products, like myself, need not worry for now. Through the years I have purchased and still use several of Onkyo’s AVR’s, CD decks and even cassette tape players, with not a technical hiccup between them all. Let’s hope that the new owners maintain the products previous excellent quality and reliability. We will continue to see the familiar Onkyo, Pioneer and Elite Logos on AV receivers for the foreseeable future. The existing and new models will continue to be manufactured and released to market by the Premium Audio Company and provided that the designs chips can be sourced all warranties will continue to be honored.
Here is the Nikkei Asia announcement.
See earlier posts on Onkyo’s future:
Very sad to hear that.
Was hoping agist all the ods somhow they will make it throug.
For me (Pioneer fanboy) it is even more upsetting because that means the PIONEER is also gone for good now.
Very sad.
RIP Onkyo & Pioneer
Hi Tomasz,
Yes, while it was expected to some extent, it is still a very sad day. All the equipment I bought in the UK from the 70’s on until arriving in the states was Onkyo so I was and still am a bit of an Onkyo fanboy until Denon stole my heart. However, even Denon looked shaky at one point. I had several friends who worked for them in their service center just down the road from me and when they were all let go I became really worried. At least Sound United seemed to do a good job with them until they were recently bought out by Masimo, a medical company!!!!
Let us hope that Premium Audio and Massimo maintains the AV standards and innovations of all the companies that they took on.
Thanks for popping by and your comment.
Paul