Exhibits 2.37-2.42
After years of asking dealers to rate their OEM’s dealer meetings, we suspended that question during COVID before resurrecting it last year. It’s a radically different dealer meeting landscape than when we started asking about these events.
For example, the big extravaganzas have declined dramatically (Even those on 18-month schedules) and have been replaced by smaller regional meetings. We almost decided to scrap this question for good starting this year, but after careful consideration, we decided even a small regional meeting should factor into the ratings. As you’ll 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 regional event.
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- 780 Nov24 Ex2.40
Sharp scored highest (4.6) for its most recent dealer meeting (April 2023). Toshiba finished a close second at 4.4—the only other OEM to receive a rating of 4.0 or higher. Trailing the two leaders in this category were Konica Minolta at 3.9, Canon and Ricoh at 3.8, and Kyocera at 3.7. Unlike the other categories (A3, A4, Leasing) where we ask dealers to rate their vendors, fewer dealers take the time to rate their OEM’s dealer meetings. Only 266 of the 401 dealers provided a rating, and fewer offered comments to explain their ratings.
Following are representative comments for all of the OEMs whose dealers participated in our Survey, not just the Big Six.
Canon
Excellent: “Canon didn’t do an overall meeting, so I am rating the trip to Japan for the APP dealers. It was awesome.”
Excellent: “Well done; good information shared; seminars were very good.”
Good: “As in most cases, some of the content was irrelevant, and some of it was already known, but overall, it was a good event.”
Fair: “Regional roundtable. Not very focused.”
Fair: “Poor content.”
Epson
Very Good: “Useful info provided, good networking events.”
Very Good: “Very responsive.”
HP
Excellent: “Very informative and took good care of us.”
Excellent: “Informative with the newest version of A4 coming out in Fall 2024.”
Very Good: “Good information supplied.”
Konica Minolta
Excellent: “It was a small meeting in a great location. Learned about their plans and had access to leadership.”
Very Good: “Very educational.”
Very Good: “Small and less motivating than year’s past.”
Good: “I like Sam Errigo.”
Poor: “Not invited.”
Kyocera
Excellent: “Relevant content.”
Very Good: “Open, positive meeting.”
Very Good: “Great location, good fellowship, some redundant content.”
Poor: “No idea if had one.”
Ricoh
Excellent: “Good breakout sessions. Great location in Denver. Excellent tour of the production facility.”
Very Good: “Smaller meeting with good speakers and breakouts.”
Very Good: “Information was presented by high-level associates and was clearer and more concise than in past meetings.”
Good: “We met in Charlotte. It was the first meeting in a long time, and everyone seemed a little rusty on how to do it.”
Poor: “It’s ‘BS,’ they only invite the bigger dealers; all dealers should be there; we’re all customers.”
Sharp
Excellent: “Provided us with a snapshot of who we are today and where they think we will be in the future.”
Excellent: “It was well attended with high energy and hope for our future. Mike Marusic did a great job sharing the vision of where we came from and where we are going.”
Excellent: “Sharp always puts on a good meeting. Entertaining while informative too.”
Very Good: “Applicable, good content, good value for time invested.”
Fair: “Breakout sessions could be more engaging and diversified.”
Toshiba
Excellent: “The past Toshiba LEAD event was their best in a long time.”
Excellent: “Great experience. Was able to gain product knowledge we didn’t know we needed. Was also great to network with other dealers.”
Excellent: “Toshiba realized that diversification of our dealerships is a long-term survival strategy and has been encouraging it for years. The dealer meeting highlighted strategies to continue that trend with quality partnership opportunities.”
Very Good: “They do a very good job, especially with their breakout sessions.”
Fair: “They stopped paying for the room, flights, and entertainment.”
Xerox
Excellent: “Miami was an amazing national dealer meeting.”
Excellent: “Xerox Summit in June 2023 was excellent: planning, insights, location, etc.”
Excellent: “Worldwide meeting very motivating.”
