Former Monster Executive Launches Fashion-Forward CE Accessories Line
Former Monster and Beats by Dr. Dre executive Deena Ghazarian launched an electronics accessories line with a design bent Wednesday. Austere will hit stores in July with audio and video cables, power protection modules and a spray cleaner for TVs and other screen-based products, in a launch targeted to home theater, Ghazarian told us.
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Ghazarian, a managing partner at business accelerator TargetPath, has been helping tech companies bring products to market since 2015. When several retailers urged her fill a “gap” in the accessories market between entry-level and high-end, she decided to steer development of a product portfolio herself, forming Austere this year. Salespeople are forgetting the art of “wowing the customer” on why better accessories matter, including breaking it down for them, understanding their needs and providing the right solution, Ghazarian said; Austere plans to deliver products and merchandising displays to fill that void.
Austere's products are manufactured in China, and even before the company came to market it was hit with the 25 percent List 1 and List 3 Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods and had to hike prices accordingly, Ghazarian said. “The good news is that some of our factories that we’ve been working with have the capability of shifting for a Plan B, but when you’re launching a brand and trying to get everything out … the timing didn’t make sense to wait,” she said. The company had to “move on the fly to adjust because we do not want to impact the retailers” or consumers, Ghazarian said.
Austere is bringing a design sense to a category that had become commoditized and “cheap” in look and feel at the same time home appliances and TVs are moving toward being “gorgeous statement pieces” in the home, said Ghazarian. Packaging for an HDMI cable she showed us was exceptionally sturdy, with a “sapphire blue” base overlaid with a dark gray box cover stamped with a subtle fence-shaped design printed in the letters of the brand. A stripe of the shiny blue base shows through, giving the boxes the appearance of an elegant trim not seen in the tech accessories market.
A shiny silver cardboard layer covers the product tray. The packaging is so noteworthy, the company plans to tout reuse cases on social media for gift-boxing or jewelry storage, said Pippa Edelen, marketing director. It was apparent the company spared little expense in creating an upscale look in packaging, but Ghazarian was coy when asked how much packaging represents in the products’ overall bill of materials: "More than normal, but less than you’d expect.”
Austere will launch through BrandsMart, Conn’s and Crutchfield and it will sell products through Amazon and on its own website. The company has three global partners it will add in September, Ghazarian said.
Initial products include HDMI 2.0 cables starting at $49 for a 1.5-meter length, stepping up to $79 for a version with a silver conductor and LinkFit locking connector that secures a cable to the port. A 2-meter optical audio cable is $39. All cables come with a lifetime guarantee. Consumers will be able to return products to the company or to the retailer.
The company’s ability to innovate in the accessories space “lies in power,” said Ghazarian, noting Austere's power modules’ dark gray metal housing is unique to the market. The stand-out feature of the premier line is a Power Delivery 45-watt USB port that can power a laptop “without that huge transformer plug,” she said. Power modules come in six- and eight-outlet versions with end-mounted USB outlets, surge protection, a 12-Amp circuit breaker, filtration, lifetime warranty and component guarantee, according to specs. Modules in the step-up line are priced $179 and $199; the entry line is $129 and $149.