Zounds Acquired by Private Investors

* Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

Mon Sep 14, 2009 1:10pm EDT

Zounds Hearing Charging Forward after Acquisition, Continuing Its Mission of
Helping the World Hear Better
PHOENIX--(Business Wire)--
Zounds Hearing, a unique manufacturing and retail company focused on providing
hearing aids with state-of-the-art fidelity, lower price point and professional
services, has been acquired by a group of its previous investors headed by
Derwood Chase and Michael Stewart. 

Derwood Chase stated, "I have worn Zounds hearing aids for over 2 years and
personally found the sound quality to be far superior to any product that I had
previously worn. I felt so strongly about the product, that when the opportunity
to buy more of the company and expand its operations on a more efficient basis
arose, we were pleased to do so." 

Zounds has restructured and initiated a strategy to open multiple "neighborhood"
locations, away from the regional malls, allowing it to manage costs more
effectively while continuing superior customer service. "Our customers made it
clear they wanted Zounds locations that are closer to their homes," said Sam
Thomasson, Zounds President and CEO. "We listened to our customers, and made the
rollout of neighborhood locations a top priority in each market we serve." 

Zounds now has 26 neighborhood hearing center locations in operation in Arizona,
Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and
Washington. "We are continuing to execute our accelerated hearing center opening
schedule, and we expect to have 50 hearing centers in operation by the end of
the year," said Thomasson. 

Zounds founder Sam Thomasson will remain as President and Chief Executive
Officer. Thomasson started the company as a promise to his hearing-impaired
daughter. He vowed to create a new hearing aid to overcome her frustration with
her traditional hearing aids, caused by excessive feedback, noise, poor sound
quality and discomfort in the ear. After 10 years in development and 58
exclusive patents, the breakthrough technology behind Zounds has revolutionized
the hearing aid experience. Thomasson is "pleased about the acquisition, and
looking forward to the exciting growth plan Zounds has in place for the future."


Zounds appreciates its customers' support and patience through this transition
process and remains committed to helping the world hear better and continuing to
support its thousands of customers. 

About Zounds

Zounds Hearing designs, manufactures, and markets high-performance hearing aids
for use with mild, moderate, and severe hearing impairments. Headquartered in
Phoenix, Arizona, the company's technology enables superior product performance,
lower price, and a faster purchase process through its branded hearing centers.
Zounds utilizes a combination of internally developed research and exclusive,
licensed technology developed by Acoustic Technologies. Zounds aids are
available through a network of Zounds Hearing Centers. For more information,
please visit www.ZoundsHearing.com or call 1-888-5ZOUNDS. 



Zounds Hearing
Jody Nelson, 480-813-8400, ext. 232
Jody.Nelson@ZoundsHearing.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009

Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.