VUE Audiotechnik announces the expansion of avon lydinstallasjon (AS) to exclusive distributor for the Nordic countries for all VUE Audiotechnik product lines.
Having established and maintained a strong presence for VUE in Norway for the past several years, avon’s distribution of VUE products will now stretch to include Sweden; Denmark, including Greenland and the Faroe Islands; Iceland; and Finland, including the Åland Islands, directly and with the help of local vendors.
“Part of avon’s expansion plan includes increasing VUE’s presence in the rental market,” says Edgar Andraa Lien, co-founder, avon. “Our goal is to help VUE command the same respect in that market segment as the other well-established brands.”
To help further avon’s successes they recently brought Thomas Züllich on-board. “Züllich previously spent many years as CEO of Meyer Sound GmbH in Germany. He is familiar with the Nordic market and has strong contacts in the region,” says Lien.
According to Lien, Züllich is not afraid to get his hands dirty and exhibits a depth of knowledge in many disciplines including pro audio rental, sales, hardware and rigging, as well as acoustic design. “His experience as an end-user of PA systems is an extremely valuable asset for us,” Lien concludes.
“We have been impressed by avon’s ability to establish VUE in Norway. There has been a constant breadth of diverse projects from small scale contracting to high profile events. We’re very excited to see them applying the same level of commitment and professionalism in launching VUE in the rest of the Nordic countries,” comments Kenneth Berger, CEO, VUE Audiotechnik.
Founded in 2007 by Lien and Tor Breivik, avon lydinstallasjon has offices in Trondheim and Oslo. Lien’s background includes electronic service, live and studio sound, sales and installation of audio systems, and broadcast sound operation. Breivik, CEO of avon, offers years of experience in touring, live and studio sound, sales and installation, and audio engineering. In addition, Breivik has spent many years teaching Music Technology at NTNU – Norway’s largest university.
Tor Erik Johansen joined the avon team as an investor in 2012. “Tor Erik has great instincts; he saw in his ‘glassball’ great successes in teaming up with VUE and pitched this idea to avon,” Edgar explains. “So far there is no doubt Johansen was right.”
Johansen is also contracted for Norway’s most popular broadcast shows including “Norways Got Talent,” “Idol” and “The Voice Norway,” where his own VUE rental and dry hire inventory takes center stage, bringing his trademark VUE sound to all the studio audiences.
The company’s relationship with VUE began in 2012, when avon became the first VUE distributor outside of North America. “Part of our success with VUE has to do with the extremely positive reception of VUE’s high-quality products in our marketplace,” says Lien. “We have sold more than 1,000 loudspeakers since our relationship with VUE began, and we maintain a daily stock of roughly 500 VUE speakers.
“avon is committed to raising brand recognition and making VUE accessible through tradeshows and numerous demos,” continues Lien. “In February of 2015, we participated in the largest demonstration of VUE products in Europe during the LLB-Messen at the Telenor Arena (Fornebu, Norway).” avon also demos all VUE product classes, and hosts educational “SMAART” seminars several times each year.
avon places a great emphasis on providing its clients with speakers and amplifiers that exhibit reliability, craftsmanship, sound quality and ease of use. “Our employees are very well-versed in the discipline of acoustics and are familiar with software tools such as EASE, Dante, SMAART and of course, SystemVUE,” adds Lien. SystemVUE is VUE’s network monitoring and control software, which can be used with any VUE DSP-enabled loudspeaker or systems engine.
The main headquarters for avon is located in Trondheim, while its sales department and main warehouse are located in Oslo. The warehouse location gives avon several advantages, including close proximity to major markets such as Gothenburg, Malmö, Copenhagen and Stockholm — all of which are within driving distance. Norway permits electronics to be imported duty-free, facilitating avon with a cost-effective and logistic-friendly distribution hub for the entire Nordic region.
Currently seeking partners in the Nordic countries, avon is looking to expand the network while maintaining uninterrupted sales and service in Norway for its existing customer base of restaurants, clubs, corporate events, churches, community halls, auditoriums, cultural centers and conference facilities.
