Linear Consolidates Multiple Product Lines - Feb. 5th, 2008

February 5th, 2008

Linear LLC, an innovator in the residential and commercial home technologies market, announces the launch of a new consolidated brand initiative. Effective immediately, all of the company’s products will be offered under a single Linear label. To help unify the company’s brand identity as a single resource for access, security and home wiring products, Linear also will be adopting a new positioning strategy, "Building on Innovation."

Today’s announcement extends an ongoing strategy to strengthen Linear’s position in the residential and commercial home technologies markets. For over a decade, Linear has been acquiring companies with complementary product brands, such as M&S Systems, Open House, AllStar and ChannelPlus.

These acquired brands will now simply be known as Linear. The new single-brand strategy will make it easier for dealers and installers to order multiple products from the same source and build more credit with the company by extending purchases across multiple product lines.

The new branding strategy affects all the Linear product lines, including ChannelPlus distributed AV systems; Open House residential structured wiring products; M&S Systems intercom and home speaker systems; AirVac central vacuum cleaners; OSCO residential and commercial gate and door operators and controllers; and AllStar radio-control and wireless garage door operators.

Although the model numbers of existing products will not change, the entire catalog now will be offered under a single Linear umbrella brand.

"We have been expanding our product offerings through acquisition, to the point where many of our installers and dealers don’t realize they can now meet most of their security, wiring and installation needs using Linear products," says Chuck Stevens, vice president of marketing for Linear.

"By consolidating our brands, we can offer our distributors, dealers and installers one-stop shopping with simplified ordering and offer incentives across a wider range of products. Our objective is to make Linear a household name when it comes to residential and commercial technology," he adds.

To educate the market, Linear also is launching a new integrated marketing campaign to promote its new positioning, "Building on Innovation." The campaign will highlight how Linear’s diverse product line is opening new possibilities for homeowners seeking the latest in centralized wiring, security, garage door openers, central vacuum systems and other enabling technologies. The campaign also will target contractors, home system dealers and installers to educate them about the advantages of carrying a consolidated Linear product offering.

The new Linear strategy will be implemented in 2008. Distributors and dealers can expect to eventually see new packaging, catalogs and sales collateral that reflect the new consolidated product brand.

For more information, visit Linear online at www.linearcorp.com.