Antelope Audio appoints Mix Wave as sole Japanese distributor
Published: ASIA
JAPAN: Audio master clock and D/A converter specialist Antelope Audio has appointed Mix Wave as its sole distributor in Japan, with Antelope’s Japan operations manager Michael Di Stasio declaring that the brand is ‘in the right hands’.
The deal – officially implemented on November 1st – sees Antelope joining a prestigious portfolio of brands including API, Prism Sound, Sonodyne, Symetrix and more. Based in Tokyo, Mix Wave was founded seven years ago by president Hirokazu Saika, and is divided into three sections serving the professional audio, consumer and video sectors. According to Mr Saika, the addition of Antelope allows the company to serve multiple markets thanks to the manufacturer’s high-end hi-fi range as well as its renowned pro audio products.
‘A lot of our professional audio sales are into the recording and mastering markets, and whenever people need to use a master clock we can join them up with Antelope,’ commented Mr Saika.
‘I met Hirokazu a year and a half ago and in the first 30 minutes I knew that this was the guy that we needed – it was virtually instant,’ explained Mr Di Stasio. ‘I like the fact that Mix Wave has tentacles everywhere, from one end of the country to the other, in their three divisions. Their needs dovetail with ours. We can complement and add value to their current lines as well as be an independent conduit for business. With the Tokyo Olympics coming up all of the studios are going to want to upgrade over the next few years and this means that we’re ready.’
The new partners are also looking to education as a means of promoting the Antelope brand within the Japanese market. ‘We’re looking at seminars and workshops in studios,’ Mr Di Stasio continued. ‘We’ve got a lot of partner studios now and they’re all saying they love our stuff. They promote us automatically. But they’re happy for us to run our training with them.’