Exhibits 2.37-2.42
It has been a while since we have asked dealers to rate their most recent A3 OEM’s dealer meeting. Even before COVID-19 caused these meetings to grind to a halt, or in some instances, go virtual, we debated whether or not to continue asking dealers to rate these meetings. That’s because most meetings are on 18-month schedules, or because some of the events being rated were regional events.
Well, we decided not to let that restrict us this year. So after a four-year hiatus from asking dealers to rate their primary A3 OEM’s most recent dealer meeting, we brought this question back. As you will see by the ratings and the representative comments for each OEM, dealers have strong opinions about these events, whether it’s the last national dealer meeting they attended or a more recent regional event.
Sharp dealers thought most highly of their OEM’s most recent meeting, held this past April, rating it 4.5. Not far behind were Kyocera 4.3 and Toshiba 4.2. The rest of the pack received ratings under 4.0, with Konica Minolta at 3.7, Ricoh at 3.5, and Canon at 3.5. Note that Ricoh’s last national dealer meeting was in 2019, so its score reflects the regional meetings it held earlier this year. Another factor to keep in mind when looking at these scores is that only about two-thirds of each OEM’s dealers took the time to provide us with a rating.
Although we did not include pie charts for Epson, HP, and Xerox—mostly because of the small survey sample for each—we’d be remiss not to note that 14 of the 15 Epson dealers rated Epson’s most recent dealer meeting. Epson’s score is an impressive 4.9.
Following are representative comments for the Big Six dealer meetings, along with comments from Epson dealers.
Canon Dealer Meeting Ratings
Excellent: “I just returned from Canon’s Dealer Roundtable. Canon shared some very valuable company info. They also take the time to listen to each dealer’s concerns.”
Good: “Short, structured.”
Fair: “There was no substance to the meeting.”
Epson Dealer Meeting Ratings
Excellent: “The Epson InkBoldly event was awesome!”
Excellent: “Epson utilized a short meeting to provide key knowledge of the trends in inkjet. They also demonstrated their commitment to this technology with a full set of resources for sales and marketing to support it.”
Excellent: “Allowed access to key personnel of Epson to ask questions and get answers.”
Konica Minolta Dealer Meeting Ratings
Excellent: “Konica Minolta does a good job of catering to their biggest dealers.”
Very Good: “Good information was shared during the meeting, and Konica Minolta Customer Engagement Center was very impressive.”
Poor: “It was virtual for everyone but the top dealers.”
Kyocera Dealer Meeting Ratings
Excellent: “Kyocera put on an excellent meeting, maybe their best ever. Their hospitality was over the top. Their greatness ended after the meeting as they failed to execute on their business plan to be a great business partner to their dealers (customers). Talk is cheap.”
Excellent: “I was given the opportunity to meet with Oscar and his management team and discuss what we dealers need today and goals for the future.”
Good: “I thought the information shared was okay but lacked visibility into the future and what is coming next. Also, it would be helpful if our manufacturers were more helpful in providing more options for alternative revenue streams.”
Ricoh Dealer Meeting Ratings
Excellent: “Smaller regional meetings allowed for time to meet and interface with senior management and product/support specialists.”
Excellent: “There was a lot of very useful information, although much of it was beyond us.”
Fair: “Content was lacking.”
Sharp Dealer Meeting Ratings
Excellent: “Well-run show with lots of content.”
Excellent: “We went to a Sharp Roadshow, which was excellent, and look forward to Sharp’s dealer meeting in April in Las Vegas.”
Very Good: “Sharp always puts together a great dealer meeting. The product show is always very educational.”
Toshiba Dealer Meeting Ratings
Excellent: “Last meeting was a while ago due to global issues, but it was well presented and informative.”
Excellent: “They do a great job of bringing their best dealers together, inviting speakers with an appropriate message, and making the trip a worthwhile investment of time.”
Very Good: “Very educational.”
