NHT is Back!

Now Hear This wants you to know it’s back in business. The much-loved American speaker manufacturer’s hiatus only lasted a few months – it was about as short lived as the death of a comic book character before being brought back to life by a miraculous plot-wrinkle. But the comeback for NHT is sure to have a few plot-twists of its own.

It was only last March when NHT co-founder Chris Byrne announced that the speaker company was “going quiet”. The company assured us it hadn’t gone bankrupt as a result of the foul economy but that it would sell off existing inventory through dealers and then close its doors. Byrne assured us NHT just needed time to rethink its strategy for the future but left us with the ominous thought that its closure was:

“…all about the realities of the world and how consumer attitudes are changing, and how we as a brand and an industry can best respond to the need for real invention.”

It’s a sad day when an innovative company like NHT goes away, even though Byrne suggested it was not a permanent good-bye. We never would have thought NHT was coming back so soon.

So, what’s the new strategy for NHT in the future?

Two words – “Online Retail”. NHT will use a direct-to-consumer model, similar to what is used by other online brands like Outlaw and Emotiva. In his statement on NHThifi.com Byrne says: "By going direct, we were able to permanently reduce the price of our speakers by as much as 30 percent from their original suggested retail price."

NHT also says that the plan frees up resources that they can put directly into R&D. Byrne boasts the company is currently working on up to eight new concepts. As a consumer I like the sound of that! But, what about the dealers that worked so hard over the years helping build the NHT brand?

Byrne says you’ll still be able to buy NHT speakers from your favorite authorized retailers and installers. It will be interesting to see how this plays out but... It sounds like the retailers and installers are finding themselves on the wrong end of a hybrid retail model.