By Andy Slawetsky – Sharp Electronics held the last of their 4-city road shows October 4 – 5 in Atlanta and we were there to find out What’s Happenin’. Starting with a Q&A lunch with Jeff Ashida, Mike Marusic and the gang, John Sheehan kicked things off by joking about how this was their “last lap” after several other road shows in different regions.
He likened the event to a dress rehearsal for the upcoming October conference in Orlando, but it was clear that everyone in the room appreciated the smaller format. It gave Sharp leadership more room to breathe and spend time with the office equipment resellers who’d brought along not just owners and senior executives, but in many cases, sales and service staff as well.
Industry Consolidation & Fujifilm
During the lunch briefing, Sharp leadership shared thoughts on the ongoing consolidation in the business technology space. They touched on Fujifilm’s plans to sell in the United States and commented on the concerns around Xerox’s forthcoming acquisition of Lexmark. While no one expects radical overnight changes, they made it clear they’re keeping a close watch on what new entrants and newly merged entities might bring to the table.
A4 Expansion & Lexmark Relationship
We also got a look at some new A4 models. Sharp’s been quietly filling out an entire A4 lineup over the past few years, and those efforts are bearing fruit. Although Sharp still works closely with Lexmark on certain A4 devices, execs hinted that if the Lexmark relationship ever changes under new ownership, Sharp’s increasingly self-sufficient approach should keep them covered.
Dino Pagliarello took us through Sharp’s product line up, discussing some innovations in future products. He also chatted about Sharp’s Managed Print Services program, working with partners Distribution Management and Clover Imaging Group to help dealers take their print management game to the next level.
Foxconn Support & Buying Power
More than once, Sharp leaders stressed the advantages of being part of Foxconn. Their feeling is that Foxconn’s size and global reach let Sharp secure materials and components on terms that many smaller competitors can’t match. In a market where parts shortages and shipping woes have thrown everyone a curveball over the last few years, it’s no surprise they’re proud of that supply chain stability.
Diversifying
Sharp spent a decent amount of time continuing their “diversify your product line” message in preparation for the eventual decline in office print. This channel is made up of B2B resellers who bang on doors and sell face to face and Sharp feels their interactive AQUOS BOARDs, stadium signage, Dynabook laptops and other “non print” products are perfect to help their dealers support their customers beyond the traditional copier/MFP.
ConnectWise Tie-In
Along with hardware talk, Sharp touted their relationship with ConnectWise for help desk, network monitoring, and security. This fits with the diversification message and is exactly what many dealers are doing: moving beyond just selling and servicing print hardware. The ConnectWise platform lets resellers offer basic or advanced IT services without having to build everything from scratch. Sharp and ConnectWise have had a longstanding relationship and it’s only getting stronger.
Social Time
Later in the day, dealers and Sharp staff mixed it up at a modern bowling alley that featured games like cornhole and bocce, plus a wide spread of food and drink. Nothing breaks down barriers quite like bowling shoes and friendly competition—by all accounts, it was a great time.
Wrapping Up
The second day started early, with a fresh round of presentations. By lunchtime, we’d covered enough material to fill a much larger show, but the beauty of these smaller road shows is that everyone got to spend real time together. Resellers could chat face-to-face with Sharp executives about pricing, strategy, security, and everything in between.
Sharp is still one of the few companies that runs a blowout conference each year, but these regional shows let them connect more personally with dealers, especially the folks who wouldn’t normally attend a massive event. Hearing that from John Sheehan and Mike Marusic underscored a big reason they’re doing things this way: smaller settings, deeper relationships. And with their Orlando conference coming up in October, you can bet this last road show was a warm-up for what’s sure to be a lively get-together in the fall.
SOURCE Industry Analysts Inc.
