Among all the brands that are today part of the Harman portfolio, AKG and Harman Kardon are amongst the most recognized and valued by European consumers. Founded in 1947 in Vienna, Austria, AKG is recognized globally for its exceptional studio microphones and headphones. As part of Harman, AKG has hardly maintained a market presence in the professional audio space, where its microphones are still regarded as legends. The brand's presence in the consumer space has been reduced to accessory earbuds sold with Samsung phones, with no major product announcements for several years now, even though its recognition in the headphone segment remains unblemished.
Basically AKG has not introduced any new products since 2019, when Harman launched the AKG K361 and K371 studio headphones targeting musicians, producers, and all content creators, and which quickly became one of is most awarded products ever in the headphone category. The K371 became one of Harman's biggest success stories during the years of the global pandemic and is still praised as one of the best-value headphones ever, whatever the intended use. The last press announcement for AKG in the Harman newsroom dates from 2020, when the Bluetooth (BT) versions of the K361 and K371 were announced.
The Harman Audio group is now apparently preparing to revive the legendary brand, with new research and development efforts reported to soon result in a unique range of new consumer over-ear headphones and true wireless earbuds, set to be launched at IFA 2024 in Berlin. For that purpose, Harman confirmed that the distribution and marketing of AKG consumer headphones will be handed over to the Austrian-based Aqipa Group. An aggressive pan-European growth accelerator and distributor, Aqipa will focus on marketing AKG consumer products across all channels in the European Union, plus the UK and Switzerland.
"We are excited to expand our decade-long partnership with Aqipa by entrusting them with the distribution and marketing responsibility for our AKG consumer products in Europe. Their strong presence and established network in the European markets make them the perfect partner for this endeavor. Their commitment to quality customer service and support aligns perfectly with our goals for the AKG headphones," says Søren Majlund, Senior Director Sales Strategic Partnership EMEA at Harman.
"We are extremely proud to have such an iconic brand like AKG in our roster. AKG is a high-quality audio brand with a long history. We've been working with Harman International for many years and have found them to be an extremely professional and reliable partner. Being an Austrian company ourselves, it is a fantastic opportunity to help drive growth and penetration for the AKG consumer headphones all over Europe," adds Christian Trapl, CEO of the Aqipa Group.
Founded in 1990, and headquartered in Kundl, Tirol, Aqipa specializes in the distribution and marketing of consumer electronics, working with many top brands in each category, with operations across Europe and Australia. The work of Aqipa with brands such as GoPro, Braun Audio, Marshall, TEAC, and more recently JLab has been instrumental for the results of those brands in Europe. Aqipa's network covers all channels of retail and online trade - from small shops to megastores - with services ranging from demand planning, logistics, distribution, merchandising, channel marketing and brand building to e-commerce and social media management.
The partnership will officially launch at IFA 2024, 6-10 September, in Berlin. The new range of AKG headphones will be presented at the Aqipa booth, rooms VIP1 and VIP2, Grosser Stern, Level 4 in Berlin.
www.harman.com
www.akg.com
www.aqipa.com
