By James Wells

The newly formed TEAC Australia Pty Ltd today announced its future direction into new technologies.

A statement issued by the company’s publicist, said the establishment of TEAC Australia, as a 100 per cent subsidiary of TEAC Corporation of Japan in September last year, recognises the importance the parent company places on the Australian market.

“While TEAC Australia will continue to focus on improving its position as market leader in its traditional brand strengths of Audio Systems and portable products, the company sees its future in advanced digital technologies,” the statement said.

“In this category, the TEAC brand already holds a leading position in digital set top boxes. TEAC Australia now plans to place particular emphasis on flat panel television in order to forge a premium brand position for the new-look company.”

TEAC Australia CEO, Shigefumi Nakamura, confirmed the company’s commitment to Australian consumers and the resultant and vigorous transition from traditional CRT television to advanced flat screen televisions.

“We, at TEAC Australia, are determined to build our reputation nationally as a leader in the innovative and competitive consumer electronics industry," Mr Nakamura said.

“To keep ahead of the ever-changing environment in which we operate, we now have put in place an infrastructure that will ensure we move forward with confidence to exceed our customers’ expectations and meet consumer demands,” he said.

TEAC’s customer service and administrative operations will be centralised at its Melbourne head office in Tullamarine. These headquarters also incorporate the national warehouse and distribution centre together with the company’s sales and engineering services for Victoria and Tasmania.

From 1 March, TEAC’s new National Customer Service Centre (NCSC) will be operational at Tullamarine and responsible for the sales and service support previously managed by the various state offices including all customer enquiries, customer order processing, invoicing and engineering services support.

The state offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide will continue as sales and engineering centres. Product distribution centres in Brisbane and Perth will work in tandem with the major Tullamarine warehouse and distribution centre.

“We believe this investment in our future development will increase efficiencies, reinforce the integrity of our brand and assist in positioning TEAC Australia at the forefront of the Australian consumer electronics industry,” said Nakamura.

In addition, a dedicated and skilled research and development team will greatly contribute towards TEAC’s efforts in the introduction of products that reflect its long-term brand strategy.

TEAC Australia will continue to invest in in-store and catalogue promotions during the next 12 months and plans further more substantive investment to build the brand value and integrity in 2007.

“The new company welcomes the future challenges of participating in an ever-evolving and growing global market in digital television and audio technology,” the statement said.