Harman Kardon 2008 Annual Report Download - page 26

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8
to multi-functional units that encompass all-in-one navigation and entertainment systems for vehicle and
personal use. Our principal competitors for these products are Garmin, TomTom, Magellan and Pioneer.
The market for professional sound systems is highly competitive. We believe that we have historically held a
leading market position in the professional loudspeaker market and have complemented our professional
loudspeaker line by adding digital professional electronic products and broadcast and recording equipment.
We compete by utilizing our ability to provide systems solutions to meet the complete audio requirements of
our professional customers. With our HiQnet networking protocol software, our professional brand products
can communicate and operate together. We offer products for most professional audio applications.
We compete in the sound reinforcement market using many of our brand names, including JBL
Professional, AKG, Crown, Soundcraft, dbx and BSS. Our principal competitors in the sound
reinforcement market include Telex, Electro Voice, Mackie, QSC, Meyer Sound Laboratories,
Sennheiser, Peavey, Shure, Audio Technica, and Yamaha. Our Studer, AKG, Soundcraft, JBL
Professional and Lexicon branded products compete in the recording and broadcast markets. Principal
competitors in these markets include Yamaha, Sennheiser, Loud Technologies, Inc., Lawo, Harris
Corporation, DigiDesign/M-Audio, Genelec, KRK, TC Electronics, Stagetec and Sony. In the music
instrument market, competitors for our JBL Professional, DigiTech, dbx, Crown, Soundcraft and AKG
products include Yamaha, Peavey, QSC, Shure, Sennheiser, Line 6, Dunlop, Zoom, Audio Technica and
Roland. We also compete in the industrial and architectural sound market. Competitors within this market
include Siemens, Peavey and Tannoy.
We are subject to various Federal, state, local and international environmental laws and regulations,
including those governing the use, discharge and disposal of hazardous materials. We believe that our
facilities are in substantial compliance with current laws and regulations. The cost of compliance with
current environmental laws and regulations has not been, and is not expected to be, material.
Research and Development
Expenditures for research and development were $395.9 million, $356.7 million and $302.0 million for
the fiscal years ended June 30, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively.
Number of Employees
At June 30, 2008, we had 11,694 full-time employees, including 4,834 employees located in North
America and 6,860 located outside of North America.
Website Information
Our corporate website is located at www.harman.com. Through our website we make available, free of
charge, access to our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current
Reports on Form 8-K that we file or furnish pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. Our website also provides access to reports filed by our directors, executive officers and
certain significant stockholders pursuant to Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In
addition, our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Ethics Code and charters for three committees of our
Board of Directors are available on our website. The information on our website is not incorporated by
reference into this report. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) maintains a