Zound Industries and Marshall sign new agreement

Zound Industries and Marshall Amplification plc sign a new, long-term agreement. Under the terms of the new deal Stockholm based Zound Industries retains the global license to design, develop, manufacture and market headphone and speaker products under the Marshall brand.

“After months of speculation, we can confirm that Zound Industries will continue to work with Marshall for many years to come. It’s been a long journey to get to this point, but now it’s time to focus on the future and build on the huge success Zound and Marshall have already achieved,” comments Tommy Jacobson, Chairman of the Board at Zound Industries

The new agreement will come into force on January 1st, 2019 and run for 15 years until December 31st, 2033.

To ensure the ongoing success of the partnership, both parties want to build a foundation for long-term cooperation. As part of the contract, Marshall will receive a five percent stake in Zound Industries. Zound Industries will call an extraordinary general meeting to approve the new issue of shares.

“Over the past eight years, Zound have created outstanding products under the Marshall name, which have opened up our brand for a new generation of consumers. This partnership is very important for us at Marshall and we look forward to continuing to work together, especially as a shareholder in Zound,“ says Jonathan Ellery, Managing Director of Marshall Amplification.

UK based Marshall Amplification and Swedish Zound Industries first teamed up in 2010. For nearly a decade the two companies have worked closely together to bring a new era of sound products that stay true to the original DNA of the Marshall brand.

“Both Zound and Marshall have always been committed to prolonging our successful partnership and it’s fantastic that we can continue to create great products together. With the agreement now in place we can really push on with our scaling up agenda and gives us the potential to plan long-term,” comments Pernilla Ekman, CEO at Zound Industries.

Over the past year Zound has released a raft of new products under the Marshall brand, including revamps of its biggest sellers – the Kilburn speaker and the Major headphones - and the company’s first ever voice speaker, featuring Amazon Alexa.

Marshall is one of three brands in Zound Industries’ stable. The company also makes headphones and speakers for its inhouse brand Urbanears and is developing headphones for adidas under the Badge of Sport and Originals labels.

Last week Zound Industries posted its third quarter results showing continued growth. Net sales grew by 44 percent compared to the same period in 2017. Year to date figures per September report a 32 percent growth at 1.15 BN SEK.

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For additional information, please contact:

Sophie Gaffney, Communications Manager, Zound Industries

sophie.gaffney@zoundindustries.com

+46 760 33 21 71

About Zound Industries International AB
Zound Industries designs and develops speakers and headphones under the brand names Marshall and Urbanears. With a strong focus on innovative technology and user-centered design, Zound has gone from strength to strength since first hitting the market in 2008. Zound currently has around 200 employees, with offices in Stockholm, New York, Paris, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. In 2017 turnover hit an all-time high of SEK 1.4 billion and in February 2018, Zound announced a new collaborative partnership with Adidas. Products are due to hit the market in 2019.

About Marshall Amplification
Marshall’s legacy began in a small Hanwell drum shop in 1962, where Jim Marshall sought to give a bunch of then-local guitarists the sound they wanted – a sound that was harder, crunchier and richer. The result was the JTM45, an amp that reverberated with a sound that was much heavier than anything ever heard before. In a twist of rock 'n' roll fate – the early adopting guitarists, much like the Marshall name, would go on to revolutionise music forever.