Rotel is a family-owned Japanese manufacturer of hi-fi audio and video equipment: home theater, amplifiers, compact disc players, etc. Rotel was started by Tomoki Tachikawa in Tokyo Japan in 1957 as a hi-fi electronics manufacturer. It is currently run by the nephew, Peter Kao.[1]
In the early 1980s, Rotel joined the B&W Group forming a strategic alliance with Bowers & Wilkins and established exclusive distribution networks in North America and several European markets. Classé Audio later joined the group. Over the next 20 years, Rotel appointed virtually all Bowers & Wilkins distributors globally. In 2000, the B&W Group established Rotel Europe in the UK to consolidate all Rotel sales and support activities outside North America.[2]
The Classé brand was acquired by Sound United in 2018. In October 2020, Sound United LLC also acquired Bowers & Wilkins.[3]
Rotel maintains an exclusive network of specialist hi-fi dealers around the world.