i3 News Article – New Age Electronics: President Fred Towns

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Jul 22, 2019

New Age Electronics has a unique position in the consumer tech industry. It sits at the cross section of manufacturers and retailers with a bird’s eye view of the latest trends on both sides of the equation. Leading this top distributor is Fred Towns, the long-time consumer tech executive who has been president of New Age Electronics Inc. and Jack of All Games at SYNNEX Corp. since 2011. Previously he held various executive positions with the company and was responsible for sales, marketing and operations supporting distribution, logistics and product recovery. He also ran the company’s web-based training tools and e-commerce initiatives to better support vendors and retailers within the consumer technology channel.

Towns worked to expand distribution partnerships with Kodak and Panasonic, signing contracts with other vendors such as Sharp and Samsung. He has creatively designed and implemented new channel strategies, including executing dealer agreements polices, converting small direct dealers to distribution partners and creating online programs for internal and external training. New Age Electronics is also known for its Retail Dealer Summit, a two-day event that includes product showcases, educational sessions, keynote speakers, networking opportunities with top retailers and vendors, and presentations by industry experts. Prior to that, he was SVP with Panasonic, joining the tech giant in 1984.

He serves as vice chair, along with IBM’s Bridget Karlin, of CTA’s Executive Board. He also continues to serve on CTA’s Board of Industry Leaders. In addition, he is dinner chair of the Anti-Defamation League. Beyond technology, Towns is also a talented musician. He has played guitar with Don Felder from the Eagles at CES in 2014 and is also a former disc jockey who performed across Maryland and Washington, D.C. He says his love of music led him to the consumer technology industry and that his children keep him exposed to the most current music. i3 recently sat down with Towns as he looked into his proverbial crystal ball to share his optimistic views on 8K and 5G, and what product categories will be hot for this holiday season.

What is your business model?

If you look at the model in distribution, there are two mindsets. One is to have availability and a price for people that are not buying either direct from manufacturers or they need to supplement what they buy from the manufacturer. In our case, we are a little different. We look at distribution as an extension of the manufacturer, so we go in with roadmaps and presentations about which direction the retailer is going and build individual forecasts by customer. We look at what our customers need unless it’s a small customer where we just keep safety inventory for them. Overall, we look at the customer base and plan out their business model based on a true retail calendar and then build it out. Today, it’s about having a good supply when you need it.

How does New Age differentiate itself?

In many ways, but one thing we have is a program called “build a box.” When you think about what a consumer looks for when they make a purchase, we look at it in a different way than a normal distributor would. We look at who the end user is because we are servicing a retail store and their customers. Then we build different offerings to enable a retailer to come up with a solution that is not just the product itself but what enables people to have a good experience when they open up that product. For example, does it have the accessories they need to get a great experience? If you look at the transformation of homes, there are many different controls, so we work with our retailers to build a solution right out of the box. You don’t want a customer frustrated when they get home and a product won’t work. We want them to be able to adjust their lighting, watch a movie on TV and just say “lower or raise the lights or music” to do so. We work with the vendors and the retailer to find the best solution. In many cases we build shippers bundles that are a complete solution placed on the retail floor. When a customer comes in to shop for a product, the other items that might be necessary are on that same shipper. We are building that bundle to bring better value for the retailer and a better retail experience for the shopper.

Where do you see new opportunities?

The convergence of goods coming together. So, if you said, “I am leaving my house today, what is more important – my watch or my phone?” Everybody would say their phone. Because that device is always with you and lets you bring your music, video and other things with you, and people want solutions for that. If I am going to enjoy music, I’m going to want earbuds or headphones to go along with it. It’s an enabler for someone to say with the power of what I have in my hand, whether a phone, tablet or PC, I can control everything that I enjoy for business, entertainment, lifestyle and information. We are trying to take that ecosystem as a bridge where all of the products are starting to interconnect, including smart car features like starting the car, to garage door openers and sensors that make your lights come on as you approach your driveway. It’s all interconnecting. Our goal is to look at what is the best in class product that gives the best experience and offer different price offerings to the retailer, so you have an entry point and a truly high-end step-up point.

It’s early, but what are your thoughts on 8K?

People are just starting to realize the benefits of 4K, and content is the biggest issue. There is always going to be a bleeding edge customer that wants a product that is current or where the industry is growing. 8K is going to bring that solution. But it does require a change in how it is recorded and how it is shared. Sports is where it is really going to be interesting. I was watching the U.S. Open and you can see the ball coming off the club and the blades of grass and the sand flying. The image that you see is almost like you are there. There is a place for 8K, and the solutions will catch up to it. As we have much better content more readily accessible, those technologies will be embraced faster. But it’s the job of the retailer to tell those stories and paint the picture for what you are going to want to get.

How is the tariff situation effecting you?

The biggest effect is on the IT tech side. We started to see some of the changes that were occurring with components and devices that tie to the IT products that we sell like computers. That impact is really starting to show up. In some cases, some of the factories were able to subsidize or offset some of the balance by adjusting their cost model. But as the tariffs increase up to the full 25%, there are some categories that were not necessarily hit in the first wave of tariffs. And they will be vulnerable should it continue to go as the path was announced. It’s totally volatile and 25% is a big increase in cost when you look at a $400 or $500 item. The worry is whether the consumer will be willing to pay for that. The challenge is it could affect the market because embracing new technology is going to have a cost that is going to be much greater and it might slow it down. Some people say that the real leading-edge customer is not necessarily worried about how much they are going to pay, they just want the greatest technology and will always be there. But with the next wave at a 25% tariff – are they going to say, “Do I need it right now or should I wait?” The premise of the tariffs was to try and provide some level of control and protection especially for intellectual property. Unfortunately, a lot of the technology in the states has been captured by other countries and used for their benefit. And it has hurt the people that have put the R&D work into the product. Obviously if we can get these things ironed out, that will be a benefit to not have these tariffs and get more respect for international property.

What will be hot for the 2019 holiday season?

A The home automation area is going to be very exciting because a lot of it is do-it-yourself. You plug it in, you scan an application and most people are fairly comfortable now working on their smart device or their PC. But the next wave is when you can share that with the rest of the family. How do you get your parents or the elderly to embrace technologies like a voice assistant? That’s a game changer, turning on lights so that you don’t have to get up to lower the temperature or order a pizza. What will be the enabler from smart door locks to many other things – automation is going to make it easier and will still be a hot category for the holidays. Before you had to make quite an investment to make a system like that work and it didn’t interface with the other devices in the home. Now you can even connect your washing machine. I don’t think it will make us lazier, it will make us smarter in how we use our time.

The other part that is important is the world of electronic transportation. The car industry is making a big impact and putting batteries in cars and making hybrid models or full Tesla model cars – in that case, it’s not putting out any emissions. There will be e-devices on the road – scooters, carts and bicycles to take you the last few miles. You might park your car at a lot that has a charging station but then jump on your scooter to your office. That is going to be a big game changer and you will see a lot of that during the holiday. We are working with Segway, a huge name in technology.

How is the role of women changing in the industry?

I started to notice that my customers were more female-centric, my vendor community was more female-centric, and we were opening up new channels to stores like Kohls where the female shopper was making the decisions. I said we have to get more females on the board. I have to give 100% credit to CTA. It is more advanced than other companies in being sensitive to this issue. CTA has done a fabulous job of representing what the standard should be and a forward look at what the direction should be. It makes me proud to help contribute to change that model and suggest people that would bring value to help us to continue to relect our changing customer base. The female shopper is super powerful now.

What is Jack of All Games?

A Jack of All Games is a company that we acquired some years back that was also a distributor in gaming. The traditional gaming business is very sophisticated. Sony was the first to embrace VR out of the gate. Now other companies on the console side that Jack of All Games has been focused on – we work with them providing software and hardware to the retail community. The computer companies have all jumped into the gaming side so just about every brand of computers that we sell have gaming options and often professional teams. It is a huge and highly competitive business in regard to the players. They can win purses up to $1 million in esports. And it’s not just kids that are packing stadiums. Jack of All Games brought us into the gaming world, and we continue to fortify that environment by working with all of the PC companies and the peripheral companies. Gaming is a very busy area for us.

How are you helping retailers prepare for 5G?

The SYNNEX side of the company is deeper into 5G on the telephony side. The beneit for us is that we don’t have to broker new relationships, we can tie into those areas. On the consumer side we are looking at brands that will interact with 5G and starting to say, this is where we need training and education to bring our staff up to speed. The biggest problem will be getting the antennas installed. It’s a massive amount of work but the beneits will be huge as people get video, audio and streaming and all of the things that will be available. The manufacturers are excited about it.

Where do you see the industry in 10 years?

Someone gave the greatest analogy about envisioning the future. They said, “Go watch a Star Trek movie.” You saw gesturing, heard voice commands – “Beam me up, Scotty” – and navigation commands. Obviously, we are not beaming people up yet, but automation and robotics came out of that. I think you are going to see a very strong community of businesses that will be automated. Battery life and being able to charge over the air is going to enable devices to be self-charged. Devices potentially will be chipped or implanted in people. But if somebody has a problem – especially for medical reasons – they could have an embedded chip to monitor them and improve their quality of life. That is going to be huge. Even the way that medicine will be delivered will be radically changed and our industry will be part of it. It is going to change so radically that expectations are going to be greater. The speed is going to be much better. When you look at the intelligence of the computer systems today, IBM has this incredible computer called Watson that uses AI to crunch massive amounts of data to help businesses make more efficient decisions. Our technology is building our future.

By Cindy Loffler Stevens

(Originally published on Consumer Technology Association’s  i3 website)

New Age Electronics Receives 2018 Best Growth Award from Curacao

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June 6, 2019

New Age Electronics, a leading distributor of consumer electronics and gaming products and services and a division of SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX), announced today that it has been recognized by Curacao, a leading US electronics and appliances retailer, with its 2018 Best Growth Award at the annual Curacao Vendor Event held in Las Vegas.

This marks the second year retailer has been honored at Curacao’s annual event since 2016. In addition to achieving exceptional year-over-year revenue growth in 2018, New Age Electronics is recognized for growth in the PC, console gaming and smart home categories.

“As we celebrate twenty-five years of partnership with Curacao, we are honored to receive their 2018 Best Growth Award,” said Fred Towns, President, New Age Electronics. “This award is a testament to our team’s continued dedication to helping our customers succeed. It also speaks to our manufacturer partners’ continued innovation, which ensures New Age, and all of our partners, stay competitive.”

“New Age Electronics has positioned themselves as one of our leading partners supplying our high demand of top-of-the-line products,” said Joaquin Stiker, Curacao’s SVP of Product Management and Service. “We applaud the success of our partners, and we look forward to welcoming further initiatives and growth.”

-Originally published on Dealerscope.com

By Dealerscope Staff

Voice Assistant Ecosystem to Drive Strong Holiday Shopping Season

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We’re on the cusp of major changes impacting the Consumer Technology industry and permeating into consumers’ everyday lives. 5G is looming on the horizon with multigigabit download speeds that will foster new solutions and services. AR and VR will soon see an explosion due to lower price points and improved content. And, continued advancements in artificial intelligence are beginning to power more sophisticated technology.

But until this next wave of innovation comes to full fruition, we’re looking to the voice assistant ecosystem to drive sales, especially around the holiday shopping season. In addition, gaming and electronic transportation will be hot categories. We don’t expect just one or two products to be hot in these areas – there’s a lot of room for opportunity when you break down the various use-cases and demographic groups buying them. With consumer confidence high and the economy strong, it’s time zero in on these categories and get ready to make the most out of the upcoming holiday season.

The Voice Assistant Ecosystem
The digital assistant category continues to perform well due to improved technology and lower price points. And as the connected home becomes a reality for many, consumers are learning more about ways to extend voice control to a range of accessories and devices. From millennials to baby boomers, people are rapidly embracing the newest advances and adopting them in their own homes. Home control is leading to domestic bliss from the kitchen at one end of the house to the master bathroom at the other, along with the living room, bathroom, garage and yard outside.

Consumers are turning toward sensors and IoT appliances that make it possible to monitor the chlorine level in the pool, track which items in the refrigerator are out-of-date or need to be added to a shopping list, check the status of the laundry in the washing machine, and measure the temperature of the roast cooking in the oven. TV’s are offering an array of capabilities using voice control not just to power on, but to adjust the volume and easily search and select what to watch. In the bathroom, home control is connecting weight scales, water thermostats, heated flooring, and new kinds of bathroom fixtures. What makes this trend particularly appealing is the ease in which voice-controlled items like power supplies, wall switches, and LED lighting can be added during home remodels.

Small home robotics continue to play well in this space too. Watch for the continued evolution of this category as it expands beyond housework to include entertainment, companionship, and even yard mowing. It’s still early for these trends, but it will get interesting soon with price points coming down and technology becoming more intuitive. Moving forward, it’s critical that consumers understand what’s possible and keep free of frustration by being guided to compatible products for efficiency, convenience and comfort.

Gaming
Since there aren’t any new gaming consoles expected to hit the market, the focus will be on content with major new titles as well as accessories such as the latest headsets driven by the craze around Epic Games’ Fortnite title. Beyond accessories, Fortnite is driving a lot of opportunity as it’s available on a range of devices including the Nintendo Switch. It’s allowing multiple users to play at one time and has created an environment that allows gamers to play how and when they want to play. There’s big opportunity for retailers who focus on reaching Fortnite’s powerful, cult-like following.

Electronic Transportation
While some of these devices are still considered toys, there’s building momentum for rent-and-drop scooters and other electronic transportation devices that get 15 to 20 miles on a single charge. These forms of transportation are increasingly being found in urban areas and on school campuses as consumers look to cut down on gas consumption and save on car maintenance. Are they bikes or are they vehicles? Should they be confined to the street or a bike lane? That’s going to be decided as laws are crafted to regulate and, in some cases, possibly ban them as some municipalities did with hoverboards. Nonetheless, more certainty around regulations and increasingly reasonable price points mean environmentally friendly electronic transportation will become more popular.

Worth A Mention
Drones have been around for a while, but don’t take your eye off these devices. They are getting smaller, lighter, and more robust as prices continue to fall. They are also becoming easier to fly and control, which enhances the consumer experience. And, new video capabilities are resulting in more use cases beyond entertainment. In the PC space, there is nothing new driving huge demand. The major manufacturers continue with strong 2-in-1 offerings as well as all-in-one desktops that offer interesting designs and unique concepts. Most of the attention in this space will be focused on the look and feel of the product as major brands roll out sleek products in a continued drive for products to be more aesthetically pleasing. That said, the PC category remains stable, as everyone needs them and many are looking for an upgrade.

The In-store Experience for Holiday Shoppers
Once you’ve got shoppers in the store – maybe to pick up an item ordered online – the name of the game is keeping them there. And this retention all comes down to the customer experience. A knowledgeable staff and the right selection of products have become table stakes. To really set your stores apart, think concierge service, on-floor demos, and ready access that lets shoppers see, touch and try the products. Branded areas of the store grab attention and draw shoppers in with loyal affinity or curiosity about a particular brand.

For those buying online, the experience must be highly intuitive and free of friction. While that’s generally been the case when accessing websites from a desktop or laptop, it’s not always the case on mobile devices – which consumers are increasingly using to make their purchases. And don’t forget the final step – delivery. Whether it’s in-store pickup or delivery to the home, office or car, shoppers want flexibility, security and speed. More consumers are also becoming comfortable with using their devices to confirm choices and finalize orders. Think of voice command as the new remote control. Consumer are embracing it, and it’s time for retailers to as well.

We’re in the home stretch now with the holidays quickly approaching. And while the “next big thing” may not be ready for prime time, there’s plenty of opportunity to win big this holiday season.

New Age’s Towns: We Knew Holidays Would Be ‘Big’

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New Age Electronics President Fred Towns said at a multi-topic sit-down during CES 2018 that the run-up to Christmas foreshadowed a stellar holiday sales season. “The consumer came out and was ready to shop. The stock market performed well. The job market was in a good position. Unemployment’s very low…. That confidence was built into the mindsets of consumers. We knew the holiday was going to be big,” he said, citing voice and other home control-related devices that had come into their own in the marketplace in the months prior as factors in the selling season’s success.

Other categories touched by consumer favor, he said, included mesh network-related products, which enable strong signals. They were more visible, because “you need a great router; a robust network is key now” for consumers. “It’s like if you buy a high-performance car – you have to put good gas in it.”

Towns said he is bullish on the potential of 5G technology and its capacity for speeding up content delivery “when that’s needed,” analogizing its addition to “adding turbo systems” in cars. “We have to start to look at the way people use products in their homes. How long are you willing to wait for a movie? In past, you’d set it up to download when you went to bed. 5G is like adding that turbo when you need it.”

On the issue of the FCC scrapping net neutrality rules, Towns said it could potentially be a concern for smaller retailers, “but it could also be an opportunity,” expressing the view that business models will be created to help smaller companies along in whatever scenario presents itself.

The scene as it’s set for retailers for the progression through 2018, said Towns, should include a continued focus on the female consumer and on Millennials – but retailers need to add the Gen Z consumer to their target list. “Their buying power is incredible,” he stated. “They’re Internet-savvy and need immediate availability” of products – and it’s crucial to think of “Zs” as neither male nor female but rather, as “users” who are more open-minded about diversity in buying choices.

Towns added that, as 2018 progresses, consumers could expect the market’s product palette to be populated with even more (and more reasonably priced) voice-control and connected-home choices – which means consumers will likely sign on to own “multiples” of these devices, through the year and into the holidays. “There will be lots more stomach-size for this type of product,” Towns said.

As for the broadening of sales channels, Towns sees an increase in popularity of retail channels previously identified solely with fashion, and a continuation of the growth of importance of channels that cater to DIYers, such as Home Depot and Lowe’s.

New Age, for its part, celebrated the success of one particular retailer who has mastered the omnichannel sales model, announcing its naming of AAFES (Army and Air Force Exchange Service) as its 2017 Retailer of the Year during CES – a choice based on year-over-year revenue growth and a number of other factors including executive management, brand strategy and fiscal solvency. AAFES recently “took the additional step of offering military retirees the ability to shop with them, for the morale and welfare of soldiers,” Towns explains, with some of the profits used to build facilities and programs for service personnel. The retailer merited this distinction, said Towns in the company’s announcement of the award, because it “continues to work closely with our team to offer the best products and solutions to improve the lives, of soldiers, airmen, and their families.”

New Age also announced at CES that its 2018 Retail Dealer Summit will be held July 16-18 in Hollywood, Calif.

Is It Soup Yet? Distributors Say Smart Home Is Just About Ready

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For the generation that grew up on The Jetsons, and their progency born with digital device in hand, smart home should be a no brainer; they should get it.

But just like with most new consumer technologies, the early-round mix of complexity, competing platforms, interoperability and price created a barrier to entry that would make President Trump proud.

Yet according to distributors entrusted with delivering connected product to retailers and installers — and instructing them on the use and marketing of same — smart home is a concept whose time has come.

Ingram Micro, for one, is “bullish on the smart-home space,” said Alexandra Harding, director of vendor management, consumer technology solutions, for the 800-pound gorilla of two-step tech distribution. “Consumer adoption is ramping up as they become more familiar and comfortable with the products.”

Harding credits manufacturers who are helping the cause by educating consumers, which demystifies the products and focuses attention on their ease of use.

For Colin Blair, Tech Data’sVP of big data and analytics/the Internet of Things, the growing potpourri of smart products is also driving acceptance. “The smart-home category continues to expand as the number of smart devices in the home continues to grow,” he noted. “Smart-home hubs are connecting to more things in the home, while mobile phone apps are giving remote access to devices in the home. Smart thermostats, security cameras and advanced lighting are leading the charge, while door locks, garage openers and robotic vacuums are not far behind.”

Seth Evenson, customer experience management director at AVAD, argued that the advent of do-able DIY is helping smart home reach critical mass. “Consumer interest in smart homes continues to rise due to increased mid-market product introductions from brands like Nest, Lutron and Ring,” he told TWICE. “There are more smart-home solutions available than ever before, allowing the smart home to be within reach of more consumers.”

The same holds true within the custom-install channel — to a point. “We are seeing more jobs integrate with many DIY solutions to create a full, cohesive ecosystem,” Evanson continued, “but custom installation is still driven strongly by the control infrastructure of the job. Many brands, such as RTI, are ensuring that they make it easy for consumers to take advantage of these solutions while getting the true benefits of complete automation.”

Curt Hayes, president/chief financial officer, Capitol, concurred. “Consumers are getting on board with the smart-home category, even if they don’t always know the nomenclature,” he said. “Whole-house A/V and controls are coming into vogue for nearly all income levels, thanks to the growing relevance of the IoT.”

Fred Towns, president of New Age Electronics, believes consumer expectations for more capable and better-connected devices, especially in security, is making smart home one of the hottest categories this year, leaving dealers scrambling to keep items in stock. “Device pairing is getting easier: it takes just a simple set of steps to get you up and working, and plenty of good tools are online to support that,” he said. “With Wi-Fi and cellular-enabled monitoring anywhere, anytime, consumers are embracing control at the touch of a button both inside and outside of the home. People are more comfortable and excited about being connected.”

Dennis Holzer, executive director of PowerHouse Alliance, the distributor consortium, also gives props to those helpful, disembodied assistants from Amazon and Google. “Consumers aren’t just tiptoeing into smart home; demand for this category is exploding,” he observed. “With the convergence of networking and security with audio, video and home automation, paired with voice control [via] virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, smart-home adoption is growing substantially.”

But to Trevor May, executive director, vendor management at D&H Distributing, the best is yet to come. “The smart-home category continues to grow, with more solutions being adopted by a greater number of consumers.” However, he added, the category is only in its infancy, and is poised for near triple growth by 2021.

Likewise, Warren Chaiken, president/CEO of Almo, sees the category’s development as an evolutionary process, particularly as it pertains to major appliances, which many regard as the smart-home’s true Trojan horse. “The current ability to remotely preheat your oven or run a self-diagnostic check on a washing machine showing an error code is creating a lot of consumer interest, but it is following the standard new-technology adoption pattern,” he said “For Boomer and Gen X buyers, smart-home appliances are a luxury and purchased by traditional early adopters and higher-income households. Millenials want it but these features are offered mostly in top-of-line models, so only the more affluent are purchasing.”

But by the time Gen Z is ready to buy their first homes, “Smart features will be expected and will have achieved mass-market status with lower price points,” Chaiken said.

Ultimately, it all comes down to the end-user, and perceived utility. As Climatic Home Productspresident Doug Allen said succintly, “Consumers are looking for connected appliances that will help simplify and improve their lifestyle.”

New Age’s Vegas Summit: Place Your Bets On Omnichannel, Smart Home

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Tech retail may be a crapshoot these days, but New Age Electronics believes that a properly merchandised assortment of home automation, muscular laptops, drones and AR/VR – offered through an omnichannel retail platform – are the closest things to a sure bet this year.

That was the key takeaway from the CE and gaming distributor’s annual Retail Dealer Summit, held last week at the Encore Las Vegas under the theme “Live It In Control.”

The event drew merchants from Walmart, Lowe’s, HSN, B&H Photo Video and the NATM Buying Corp., among many others, plus a contingent of New Age vendor partners including Amazon, HP, Lenovo and Microsoft, who displayed their latest wares at an onsite exhibition.

In between, guests were treated to a series of presentations that underscored the Summit’s connected-home theme, stressed the importance of innovation and disruption, and provided a peek at innovations and trends to come.

New Age president Fred Towns kicked off the proceedings with a rundown of what’s hot at retail, including voice-control, smart appliances, AR/VR, drones, robotics and PC gaming, with sales of the latter up 36 percent alone over the last five years.

Towns said New Age can help dealers succeed in today’s hypercompetitive market by offering a full array of popular categories and products, and the tools to sell them across all retail channels, along with critical services like merchandising, product bundling and data analytics.

The service offerings are backed by New Age parent Synnex, a $14 billion global distribution business that also provides Cloud computing, customer care and security services. In a presentation, chairman/president Kevin Murai noted that “Technology is driving big change in everything … creating new ways of doing things and creating new things.”

To underscore the point, he noted that drones will grow from less than $7 billion in sales to a $50 billion business three years from now; AR/VR will grow from less than $15 billion now to $100 billion by 2020; and connected home will grow from its current $25 billion in sales to upwards of $100 billion by 2022.

“We see so much growth opportunity,” Murai said.

One such untapped opportunity is in gaming, a pursuit, said Thulium CEO Tamara McCleary, that’s pursued by more than half of all women (52 percent), and by 70 percent of ladies between the ages of 18 and 30.

See: Reaching Women Consumers

Both McCleary and futurist Nicolas Webb also underscored the need to disrupt one’s own business as well as the marketplace with innovative new takes on old “punitive” approaches. By way of example, Webb cited two new services that dispense with torturous office waits: Doctor On Demand, which provides online physician consults, and Opternative, which offers online eye exams and lens prescriptions with 99.9 percent accuracy.

Nonetheless, 90 percent of customers still prefer shopping in old-fashion brick-and-mortar storefronts, McCleary added, as long as they’re enticed by experiential extras like in-store cafes, wine bars, children’s care areas and instructional classes.

Speaking of the latter, attendees had a chance to brush up on their swings under professional tutelage later that evening at Topgolf Las Vegas, an open air driving range where dinner, clubs and cocktails were served up in equal portions.

The Retail Dealer Summit returns to Los Angeles next summer.

Better Fatten Up The Reindeer: Retailers See A Busy Q4 Ahead

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Yawkers old enough to remember Crazy Eddie, the long-gone retailer’s “Christmas In August” ads are indelible. The spots featured radio DJ and pitchman Jerry Carroll on a beach in a Santa suit, surrounded by stacks of inventory. To paraphrase his hysterical rant, “The sidewalks are melting, the sun is hot, so what better time for a Christmas In August super blowout sale!”

But as retailers and consumer goods manufacturers are aware, summertime and the holiday season are only incongruent to civilians. For the rest of us industry types, sun and surf are simply reminders that Black Friday is just around the corner, and that there’s no time like the present to start thinking budgets, strategies and buy-in plans for the quarter to come.

Taking a cue from Eddie and moving it up a month, TWICE herein presents its annual “Christmas In July” feature, in which industry retailers, buying group execs and national distributors share their pre-holiday thoughts and expectations. While there’s no telling which way the tech and appliance winds will blow by December, one thing’s for sure: There will be a holiday season, and retailers had better be ready.

TV, Connected Home To Lead The Holiday Parade

TWICE: Which product categories will be the top-sellers this coming holiday season?
Chad Harper, buyer, Bjorn’s Audio Video: We are expecting TVs and wireless audio to be some of the strongest categories during the holidays. The trend we anticipate most will be the continued increase in size of the “regular-size” TV. Most of our customers now go for a 65-inch TV for their main TV.
Outside of a new product that has yet to come to light, we don’t expect a breakout product or category this year. We have seen more of an overall surge across all categories during the holidays in recent years.

Trevor May, executive director, vendor management, D&H Distributing: From a sheer dollar volume standpoint, we expect laptops, televisions and gaming to be the winning categories. I also expect to see strong demand for voice-command products, connected home, and virtual reality this holiday season.

Hank Alexander, director, Home Technology Specialists Nationwide (HTSN): The connected home in general, and specifically Nest, the Works with Nest partners, and voice-controlled AI like Amazon Alexa and Google Home, will lead the way as top-sellers this coming holiday season.

Brick-and-mortar retail will be critical for sales of products in the connected-home category. The value our members bring to the space integrates much more than the products themselves. Our focus is on the experience, and on helping the consumer understand how the parts and pieces work together. Showing the experience and telling the story of how these products all work together will help our retail members capitalize on this fast-growing market.

Rick Souder, merchandising executive VP, Crutchfield: High-end TV, Apple CarPlay and Android auto car receivers, and voice-controlled multi-room speakers.
Fred Towns, president, New Age Electronics: We have high expectations for the connected-home category this holiday, especially around voice assistants like the Amazon Echo and Google Home and add-ons that connect to them. Gaming will be another hot category with manufacturers releasing new products in both PC and console gaming.
Within the personal computing category overall, gaming computers are one of the fastest growth areas and will be an exciting component of the holiday season. We also expect new drones to be released, which will help bring consumers in stores and create a buzz at retail.

Dave Workman, president/CEO, ProSource: The top sellers this season will be DIY home automation products and specifically the voice- control products from Apple, Google and Amazon. In addition the 10th generation iPhone will be a huge seller.

We will see some incremental growth in the high-performance TV products as the promotional calendars kick into high gear, with a specific emphasis on OLED and the new Samsung Frame models. I also believe we should see some incremental gains in 4K Blu-ray, as early adopters make purchases to gain access to this content. Multi-room and Bluetooth audio products, including headphones, should have another strong season as well, as people are trading up from their wired product to wireless in significant numbers.
Warren Chaiken, president/CEO, Almo: Historically, small appliances and TV are our top sellers for the holiday season and we anticipate this will continue for the 2017 season.
The major appliance category is another strong holiday seller. Due to extended promotional periods and with current housing trends, we believe major appliances, particularly laundry and refrigeration, will achieve top-seller status again this year.

Doug Wrede, electronics director, Nationwide Marketing Group: We anticipate that TV will continue to be top-of-mind with the consumer this holiday, followed by the connected-home space gaining significant momentum. We also believe wireless audio will have a larger role year-over-year in holiday sales.
Merchants Preparing For A Robust Q4

TWICE: Will you be planning aggressively, conservatively or somewhere in between?
Wrede: We’ll be planning aggressively, as the holiday season is an important time of the year for our retailers. We plan to be the destination for holiday sales, and we won’t take any days off .
Chaiken: We anticipate Q4 will be somewhere in between. Based on solid first-half performance of the brands we represent, and the current calendar year 2017 industry growth trends, we have planned for solid holiday sales results.

Harper: [We’re] aiming for more of an in-between approach. We anticipate some aggressively-targeted specials from partner manufacturers that we’ll participate in deeply. Otherwise we’ll have a more realistic and measured approach in line with general business trends.

Alexander: I see an aggressive plan in place for Black Friday in the connected home. Recent reports show that big-box retailers like Best Buy are doubling down on this category, and they’re starting to see the importance in connected home that we’ve seen and been attacking for years. This year for Black Friday, I suspect you’ll see a big push from everyone, with our retailers using their years-long head start to lead the way.

Towns: Our approach to holiday planning is driven by what manufacturers are doing and aligns with overall industry expectations for the season. Given the diverse product mix coming for holiday, and exciting new product launches from leading manufacturers, we’re planning for a strong holiday season both in stores and online.
Workman: Dealers will plan according to the trends they see through September. If the momentum which is currently in place continues through the summer months and into early fall, then dealers will plan the holiday sales season according to these trends.

May: D&H plans to work aggressively with its vendor partners to bring our customers the best deals possible so everyone involved achieves their targeted goals over this crucial period. That includes retailers, e-tailers, dealers, vendor partners, and D&H as a distribution partner.
Black Friday Becoming A Holiday Casualty

TWICE: Will traffic on Black Friday proper be diminished by what’s become a month-long series of November promotions?
Chaiken: Absolutely. For retailers, we now refer to this promotional period as Black November, experiencing month-long promotions particularly in appliances and CE. Cyber Monday has become the large single-day sales event for our online fulfillment partners.

Wrede: There’s no certainty that traffic will be diminished on Black Friday, despite “Black November” now becoming a theme. Retailers will still be able to [count] on doorbusters and last-minute deals to drive foot traffic over the course of the weekend.

Workman: Black Friday traffic has already been diminishing due to the month-long promotions through November, and retailers’ positioning of Thanksgiving Day as the key doorbuster event day of the weekend. I expect that this will continue this year as it has before.

Black Friday weekend is challenging for brick-and-mortar dealers to post meaningful increases due to price compression, and as online has transferred so much of the momentum of this sales period without necessarily growing the business overall.

Towns: We’ve seen Black Friday momentum gradually diminish in past years with promotions starting earlier and running into December. This year will be no different. However, we’ll still see a strong group coming out on Black Friday itself due to holiday specials and new product launches across the hottest categories.

Souder: Black Friday traffic will be diminished but still substantial. Customers don’t seem to realize that absent a few doorbusters, most of the “Black Friday” deals are available for one to two weeks surrounding Thanksgiving. Yes, there are some headline-grabbing deals on Black Friday, but most of the volume is done in supporting deals that run for more than one day. I imagine that will continue this year.

May: Store-based brick-and-mortar traffic could be down in the wake of the numerous other promotions that now take place leading up to Black Friday/Cyber Monday. The main reason traffic may diminish in physical stores is the continued momentum of online sales. Retailers need to stay diligent in the dotcom space to avoid feeling that burden of soft sales.

We’re looking to support our customers in developing strong e-commerce strategies, serving as an online warehouse so to speak, that can help address these ongoing market forces.

Harper: I say yes. As you’ve noted, this has already begun over recent years and we don’t expect it to be different this year.

THE PARTICIPANTS
Hank Alexander, director, Home Technology Specialists Nationwide (HTSN)
Warren Chaiken, president/CEO, Almo
Chad Harper, buyer, Bjorn’s Audio Video
Trevor May, executive director, vendor management, D&H Distributing
Rick Souder, merchandising executive VP, Crutchfield
Fred Towns, president, New Age Electronics
Dave Workman, president/CEO, ProSource
Doug Wrede, electronics director, Nationwide Marketing Group

Retail’s Role in Expanding the Connected Home Ecosystem

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It’s an exciting time for the connected home category as sales move beyond entry-level products to more advanced offerings that work together to form a connected ecosystem. Within this ecosystem, products are creating a sense of modernization for consumers—devices are talking back to users and communicating with other devices to make homes more efficient and comfortable than before. This shift translates into big opportunities for retailers, who should be planning for how to consultatively sell products that interconnect, as the smart home category continues to grow. Retailers who select core products that work together and add in the right peripherals can help consumers create a true connected ecosystem. Due to these new possibilities with technology, now is the time for retailers to map out a plan for gaining connected-home market share.

 

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New Age Summit Encore To Be Held At … The Encore

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New Age Electronics, the national CE and gaming distributor, will reprise its annual Retail Dealer Summit this summer at the Encore Las Vegas.

Now in its seventh year, the three-day conference features product exhibitions, educational sessions and keynote speakers, as well as networking opportunities with top retailers and vendors, and presentations by industry experts.

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Dealerscope Distributors Roundup: Goals and Strategies for the Year Ahead

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21ST CENTURY DISTRIBUTING

Vanessa Zitzmann, Marketing & Sales

21st Century Distributing is gearing up for our annual Integration Innovation Roadshow, being held in May. The show focuses on the integration of our industry’s products and aims to help our dealers step up into that larger-profit job. New this year is an extra day at each location to accommodate trainings from our vendors. We are also looking forward to moderating dealer forums during the lunches to allow the dealers to bounce and share ideas with each other. For the duration of 2017, education is going to be our focus!

ALMO

Jack Halperin, Senior VP, Dealer Channel Sales

As business and related vendor promotional activities have become more frequent and complex, we have added brand specialists at our headquarters. They coordinate efforts between our vendors, buying staff and broader sales organization, which allows us to provide more individualized attention. Most importantly, they distribute critical business information more frequently, which helps our dealers merchandise appropriately throughout the year, to maximize their sell-through results.

AUDIO AMERICA

Jonathan Elster, CEO

In 2017, we have planned three dealer shows and seven trainings. Our shows provide an opportunity for our customers to attend vendor trainings as well as see product from over 50 suppliers. At this year’s shows, we plan to provide seminars on how our dealers can maximize social media an expand their e-commerce presence. We also plan to hold five customer roundtables where we meet with a select group of dealers to discuss areas of growth and opportunities and how we can become a better partner. Some of the trainings we have planned this year include LG, Lutron, RTI, Luxul, Hikvision and NEST. All of these trainings offer our customers an opportunity not only to learn about the product but to purchase product at a discount. Our #1 objective is to help our customers be successful and to provide them with new avenues of profitability.

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