Last week, 50 or so dealers gathered at the Sharp Roadshow in Southern California, to soak up some sunshine, watch the palm trees sway and have fun bowling in Downtown Disney. Among them: Joe Blatchford of Image 2000, Inc.; Phil Houser of Document Solutions, Inc. (DSI); Ted Gruener of Distribution Management; Tom Kucharski of Pacific Office Automation (POA); Casey Lowe and Jake Richards of Capital Business Machines; Kevin Marshall of Copy Link, Inc.; and Joe Reeves of Smile Business Products. (More photos on CR’s LinkedIn page.) They came to Southern California for some serious talk, too. The Sharp Electronics Corp theme for the day-and-a-half event was “Foundation for Growth.”
Some 50 dealerships were represented at Sharp’s roadshow in Anaheim, CA, last week.
Sharp Electronics’ Chairman, President and CEO Jun “Jeff” Ashida discussed tariffs over breakfast with a small group of industry press and analyst representatives. Like other OEMs, Sharp still is in a wait-and-see mode, Mr. Ashida said, adding that many of its components are manufactured at operations in China and Mexico as well as in Taiwan, the latter of which is where parent company Foxconn is based. (In mid-2016, Foxconn paid $3.5 billion for a two-thirds stake in Sharp Corp.)
“We don’t talk enough about our procurement being done through Foxconn,” noted John Sheehan, Sharp’s VP of channel sales in the United States, who stood in for President/CEO Mike Marusic as the emcee at the Anaheim event. It’s no surprise that another hot topic of conversation was how to diversify menu offerings. Sheehan set the table, citing that office-technology dealers who leveraged a diversification strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic grew their A3/A4 print businesses by an average of 12%, per internal company data. Meanwhile, dealers in the imaging channel who chose to ride out the market (and not diversify) saw an average print downturn of 19%.
Sharp’s views on diverse products and services clearly are integrated and omnichannel in nature. The OEM seems intent on providing dealers with the tools they need to engage with and disseminate information across multiple platforms in a secure manner. As our working world returns to its new, hybrid normal, Sheehan pointed out an uptick in the commercial real estate market over the past three months. Seize the return-to-office (RTO) trend and “own the office,” he urged dealers in attendance. Adding laptops and AV products are two ways to become more diverse:
- Lisa Allen, VP of field sales at Dynabook Americas, shared notebook PC diversification strategies for dealerships. She also preached about huge laptop/tablet refresh opportunities as Microsoft sunsets its Windows 10 operating system this year. (Sharp Business USA acquired Toshiba’s computer division seven years ago.)
- Henry Woods, sales director for pro AV, encourages office-tech resellers in the MFP channel to consider adding professional audiovisual (AV) products and services from Sharp. In addition to digital monitors, large-format displays, and video walls, the OEM’s new area of focus is direct-view DvLED technology, including video scoreboards. Tech Specialist Joe Hall of Office Solutions & Services (OS2) described a recurring-revenue use case at the Missoula Montana Airport featuring 86 displays. Contrary to popular belief, Sheehan stressed: “There is an aftermarket for AV.”
In a subsequent presentation, Erica Calise, marketing director for government and commercial accounts, shared some of her 30+ years of Sharp experience in long-term contracts and growing contract sales. “Helping organizations succeed and make money is a good feeling,” Calise told the dealer audience. Target education, government, and healthcare vertical markets, she advised, but don’t forget about the churches and fire departments.
Sharp USA has rolled out a new Marketing Center program for its dealer partners: Phase 1, which includes co-branded content and an image library, launched last week. Watch for Phase 2– email campaigns and social media advancements—later this month (in March), says Marketing VP Bob Madaio.
Imaging power
There also was a core-business, MFP/copier vibe in Anaheim. Sharp is a leader among A3 players (either third or fourth in post-COVID market share, depending on who’s measuring) and is investing in the A4 format. “Leasing is the strength of our group,” Sheehan believes, noting that equipment leases from the pre-COVID, 2018-19 timeframe are expiring.
Dino Pagliarello, VP of product management and production print, talked cloud adoptions and document management workflow optimizations. And, Vince Jannelli, associate VP of software product management, spoke to the artificial intelligence craze (more to come in our immersive April content) and how Sharp’s Synappx platform will evolve to include AI. The shift AI is bringing is that people used to be rewarded for what we know, Jannelli observed. “Now, we’re rewarded for our know-how.” Longer printing equipment lease cycles, he added, allow dealers to adjust accordingly. Won’t it be great on the service side, he speculated, to know what kind of inventory is needed for a month or even the full quarter?
Production print is another area of diversification to consider. Kucharski, production director at mega dealer POA, praised Sharp’s high-end production printing services and products, including a wildly popular six-color press. In addition, Julia Praefke, western production analyst, and Terry Orr, senior production print manager, led a breakout session on how to get started in production print.
Pagliarello concluded by announcing that Sharp, together with Fujifilm, is set to launch 85- and 100-page per minute color devices later this fiscal year; they’ll be previewed at Sharp’s Orlando dealer show in October. These machines will feature specialty colors for high-margin embellishment effects. He added that he is pleased with the pace of the OEM’s growth in the production print sector. “I’ve done this before,” said Pagliarello, the industry veteran brought in from Konica Minolta one year ago to lead Sharp’s charge. “If someone at your dealership wants to join our new PP Leadership Committee, please reach out to me.”
Greg Gumpright, Sharp’s head of service, showed some love for all the great dealer service technicians in the field—especially those recognized as Master Techs by the OEM, including Fraser Advanced Information Systems in Pennsylvania.
The 2025 Sharp Roadshow began with two similar events, in New Jersey (late January) and the Chicago area (February 12), that were equally successful. Frank Cannata is headed to Atlanta for final “leg,” which commences on Tuesday, March 4.
