Monster is commemorating four decades in business at CES 2019, and is outlining a plan for the next 40 with what it is calling “Monster 4.0.”
“It’s just been a really incredible ride, but the question is: How do you stay relevant?” said Noel Lee, Monster’s founder. The answer, he said, is in shifting its philosophy to adjust to the changing market and buying habits, and in forming partnerships. “Monster 4.0 is partnering with people who do other things well: the manufacturing, the distribution, the sales, the logistics … and focusing on what Monster does best: product development, innovation, new ideas, and bringing them to market faster.”
Lee then proceeded to introduce the company’s slate of new products. Highlights include Lightspeed HDMI cables with 100Gbps throughput; power solutions with Amazon Alexa control; a range of new headphones, including the company’s first active noise cancelling models in the Inspiration 2.0 and an in-ear model, plus the iSport Marathon with 24-hour battery life and the Clarity mass-market line; a Blaster S MonsterTalk boombox with Alexa capability; a thin, high-performance soundbar; and the SuperCharger mobile power device with inductive charging.
Along with his son Kevin Lee, Noel also unveiled the company’s venture into LED lighting with its Illuminessence line of residential products designed to complement consumers’ experience of music. “We all know that lighting is part of a special music experience,” the younger Lee said. “So we thought that the consumer deserves a special music experience every day for the home.”
Finally, father Noel introduced Monster’s venture into IoT smart home products. Partnering with Tuya — developer of an “elastic, plug-and-play IoT platform” — for software, Monster plans to begin developing hardware solutions for this rapidly growing market segment.
