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i3 News Article – New Age Electronics: President Fred Towns

July 24, 2019 by ritzs

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)

Filed Under: From the web Tagged With: 5G, 8K, CES, consumer, CTA, distributor, eSports, Fred Towns, gaming, Holiday, innovator, jack of all games, joag, nae, new age electronics, Retail, Smart home, smart lighting, SYNNEX

New Age Electronics To Distribute C by GE Connected Products

July 9, 2019 by ritzs

First distributor to offer GE Lighting’s smart lighting to retail partners

July 9, 2019

CbyGE
 GE Lighting

New Age Electronics (NAE) recently announced it signed an agreement with GE Lighting to be the first distributor for C by GE connected products. C by GE smart lighting products are all controllable with an app or popular voice assistants like Alexa, Apple Homekit and Google Assistant.

“We are pleased to expand our smart home offering with one of the most established names in the industry,” said Fred Towns, President of New Age Electronics, in an online statement. “Our goal is to help retailers easily navigate the smart home category with offerings that deliver a simplified, on-demand experience. By working with GE Lighting, we’re also able to bring new possibilities to consumers with products that address the continued evolution of the smart home.”

C by GE smart lighting products include smart light bulbs, smart switches and smart accessories, and the distribution agreement allows NAE full access to the entire lineup.

Founded in 1988, NAE is a sales and supply chain division of SYNNEX Corporation providing CT manufacturers with logistics, distribution and remanufactured services

– BY TWICE STAFF

(Originally published on TWICE.com)

Filed Under: From the web, Press Release Tagged With: GE, GE LIGHTING, nae, new age electronics, Smart home, SMART LIGHTS, SYNNEX

Put A Bow On It

July 1, 2019 by ritzs

July 1, 2019iStock-1020963704

Although the calendar says summer, it’s not too early to think about the holiday selling season and the huge opportunity the all-important fourth quarter presents for technology-driven products and services.

A look back at the last six months shows that connectivity is increasingly important for consumers—with smart homes at the center of it all. This holiday season will be a busy one helping consumers create their ideal version of the smart home—a place where they have the ability to make everyday household devices more efficient.

The average homeowner is embracing the connected home with 12.5 percent of all U.S. households now considered “smart,” according to S & P Market Intelligence. Led by the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, voice-assistant technology is powering the ubiquitous smart speaker that now serves as the gateway to multiple smart home devices such as appliances, thermostats, light bulbs, smoke alarms and more.

Smart home devices overall are expected to grow almost 27 percent this year, according to the IDC’s Smart Home Device Tracker. Last year, noted IDC, it was about getting products into consumers’ homes. This year, it’s about linking devices together for a cohesive experience that’s layered with services.

The beauty of the smart home’s next-generation products and continued ease-of-use is that it’s mainstream and relatable for a broader range of consumers – whether it means a basic router, a smart speaker, or an entire mesh network. The newest routers are using QR codes that allow people to quickly and easily scan their code and connect up allowing them to create the best positioning within the home based on where devices are used. Everyone from first-time homeowners to the elderly can now benefit and enjoy a connected home.

By simply communicating the benefits to consumers, the smart home story sells itself. Turning on the lights in the bedroom instead of getting up and hitting the light switch. Opening a garage door with a smartphone instead of fumbling for a remote. Simplifying cooling and heating with smart thermostats that automate those functions while optimizing energy efficiency. Smart locks that allow opening a front door without a physical key. Down the road, there will even be smart upholstered furniture that will automatically adjust for comfort when each person takes a seat.

Beyond that, other tech devices are shaping up to be promising sellers for the holiday season. Continual advancements make personal computers a compelling item any time of year, but especially during the fourth quarter. Consumers want thin, light and fast devices with long lasting battery life. SSD drives that speed up devices and provide instant boot up times can be great add-ons. It’s also the perfect opportunity to target Millennials and Gen Z, who are eliminating cable TV and choosing to stream content, turning PCs into their new TVs. And as 5G becomes more widespread in 2020, products will exceed expectations with lightning-fast streaming and download times.

New Age Electronics has an array of brands and products that can be mixed, matched and merchandised. From simple shippers to complex displays, their experts can properly pack, label, and ship units to help you gain the competitive edge for holiday 2019. Find out more HERE and make your – and your customers’ – holiday season merrier than ever.

BY TWICE STAFF
(Originally published on TWICE.com)

Filed Under: From the web Tagged With: CONTROL, HOLIDAY GIFTS, Holidays, new age electronics, pallet shippers, Smart home, VOICE CONTROL

New Age Electronics Receives 2018 Best Growth Award from Curacao

June 6, 2019 by ritzs

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

Filed Under: From the web, Press Release Tagged With: Awards, Curacao, Fred Towns, nae, new age electronics, Retail, retailer, SYNNEX

Voice Assistant Ecosystem to Drive Strong Holiday Shopping Season

October 10, 2018 by T Flythe

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.

Filed Under: From the web Tagged With: Fred Towns, Holidays, new age electronics

New Age Electronics Summit Doing Deep Dive On Smart Home

June 6, 2018 by T Flythe

Home control taking center stage at next month’s Hollywood event

New Age Electronics, the CE, IT and gaming distributor and Synnex subsidiary, is returning to Hollywood, Calif., next month for its eighth annual Retail Dealer Summit.

The gathering, described by president Fred Towns as the company’s “most significant annual event,” brings together merchants, vendors and industry thought leaders for two days of presentations, product showcases, keynotes and social activities as the industry gears up for the back-to-school and holiday seasons.

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

This year’s Summit, to be held at the Loews Hollywood Hotel, will take a deeper look at smart-home technology and ways to win in the home-control category. Aiding in the process will be new interactive experience sessions and hands-on product demos that will also embrace the audio, gaming, VR, small appliance, PC/mobility, drone and wearables categories.

Discussion topics will also include logistics, electronic software download, and shippers and displays, and logistics, while keynote addresses will be delivered by Steve Koenig, research VP for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA); Stephanie Dismore, HP’s VP/general manager, Americas channels; and Dustin Garis, former Global Brand Innovation Leader at Procter & Gamble FutureWorks.

The Summit, added Towns, “continues to provide valuable insight to help our partners succeed in consumer technology year after year. We are pleased to return to Hollywood this summer and look forward to delivering exciting new experiences and content to our customers.”

New Age Electronics’ eighth annual Retail Dealer Summit returns to Tinseltown next month.

Read the full article on TWICE.com

Related: Fred Towns On The New Age Of Synnex

Filed Under: From the web, Press Release Tagged With: Dealer Summit, new age electronics, Retail, Retail Buying Season, retail dealer summit, Retail Distribution, retailer, SYNNEX, SYNNEX Retail

New Age Electronics to Host Eighth Annual Retail Dealer Summit in Hollywood

June 6, 2018 by T Flythe

 New Age Electronics, a leading distributor of consumer electronics and gaming products and services and a division of SYNNEX Corporation, announced today that it will host its eighth annual Retail Dealer Summit July 17-19 in Hollywood, CA. Retail Dealer Summit is a two-day event complete with product showcases, educational sessions and keynote speakers, networking opportunities with top retailers and vendors, and presentations by industry experts.

“Retail Dealer Summit is our most significant annual event and continues to provide valuable insight to help our partners succeed in Consumer Technology year after year,” said Fred Towns, President, New Age Electronics. “We are pleased to return to Hollywood this summer and look forward to delivering exciting new experiences and content to our customers.”

Retail Dealer Summit includes opportunities to learn about the latest products and trends in Consumer Technology to help retailers prepare for the back-half of the year and a successful holiday season. The summit highlights hundreds of top products across today’s hottest categories including home control, audio, gaming, virtual reality, small appliances, PC and mobility, consumer drones and wearables. Attendees will also learn about opportunities in the expansive PC gaming market.

This year’s event will take a deeper look at smart home technology and ways to achieve success around home-control offerings. New interactive experience sessions will offer an opportunity to hear from industry experts on key topics such as electronic software download, shippers and displays, and logistics. Through hands-on learning, retailers will leave equipped and ready to increase their bottom line.

Speakers at this year’s summit include Steve Koenig, Vice President of Research at the Consumer Technology Association; Stephanie Dismore, Vice President and General Manager, Americas Channels, at HP Inc.; and Dustin Garis, former Global Brand Innovation Leader at Procter & Gamble FutureWorks.

To register for New Age Electronics Retail Dealer Summit, contact your New Age Electronics sales representative. To learn more about New Age Electronics, visit www.newageelectronics.com.

Read the full article on Dealerscope.com

Filed Under: From the web, Press Release Tagged With: Dealer Summit, new age electronics, Retail, Retail Buying Season, retail dealer summit, Retail Distribution, retailer, SYNNEX, SYNNEX Retail

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

January 15, 2018 by morganm

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.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: CES 2018, Fred Towns, Holiday 2017, new age electronics

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

July 24, 2017 by morganm

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.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Dealer Summit, Fred Towns, new age electronics

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

July 10, 2017 by morganm

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

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Fred Towns, Holiday 2017, new age electronics

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