rv08 day2 web
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Todays Events
N E W S , V I E W S , A N D R E V I E W S F R O M 2 0 0 8 V I S I O N EV E N T S
By Andrew R. Hickey
Hot. Fresh. Now. Those were the buz-
zwords around RetailVision 2008 as
seven emerging vendors showed off
their latest gadgets to tech-craving retail-ers looking for the next killer gizmo.
Spearheaded by Fred Brown and
Ray Robidoux of Sightline Group,
Tuesdays Fresh showcase featured a
host of products ready for retail.
SpeechGear highlighted intelligent
language translation software that runs
on a PDA. CEO Robert Palmquist said
the software takes anything written,
typed or spoken and translates it. Say
good-bye to your dictionary, Palmquist
said after a video showing the softwares
use in China, translating English intoMandarin Chinese to help visitors find
a good restaurant or a bottle of water.
The system is ready now.
And for a productivity
boost, KeyScan debuted the
KS810, a keyboard integrat-
ing a scanner that can drop scanned
images into any applicationbe it e-
mail, a document or PDF, said CEO
Dov Aharonson. It can scan up to 600
dpi and comes with software to usethe images in several ways. The
combo is available now for $159.
If a scanner-keyboard hybrid
isnt enough, Lifeworks Technology
Group showed off its keyboard
with a built-in iPod dock, which
offers touch-sensitive keys to up vol-
ume and manipulate iPod controls.
Amin Adjmi, Lifeworks vice presi-
dent, also showed off a notebook
stand with an integrated iPod dock
and speakers, which comes bundled
with keyboard and mouse. Thoseshould hit in first-quarter 2009.
Innotech Systems dropped its Accen-
da Voice Control for iPod, a product that
enables the Apple music player to be
manipulated with voice commands.
Innotech application engineer Chris
Griswold said users plug earbuds into the
gadget, which sits at chest level, and plug
the device into an iPod. Tell your iPod
what to do without lifting a finger, he
said. The device is expected to be avail-
able in September for $99.95.
Those looking to play big brother
need look no further than Gilsson Tech-
nologies, which unveiled what it calls the
worlds smallest GPS tracking device.
About the size of a small pager, the
AlwaysFind Mini Personal GPS Track-
ing System weighs 2 ounces and runs on
a cell phone battery. Ming Ho, sales
director, said its for folks who want to
track anythinga car, person or a fat
bag of cash. Just activate the device, place
it wherever and the system feeds
coordinates to a mobile devic
can be used to pinpoint the
using Google Maps. The devi
for $395 with up to a 50 percen
sale discount.
Keeping with the big brothe
DMTechs vice president of s
marketing, Kevin Gabriel, un
spherical golf-ball-size camera
record video and audio or broad
footage. The wireless camera, w
record up to six hours of video,
a motion sensor, has a microSD
expandable memory and conn
computer though USB for pla
Forget your cell phone
Michelle Rush, vice president of
ing for Medis Technologies,
strated the 24-7 Power Pack, a
to charge portable devices. Just
strip and squeeze the box to activ
charger lasts up to three months
a preactivation shelf life of ye
$39.99 retailers can stock a st
with cable, charger tips and a
After that, fuel cell chargers are
Emerging Vendors Get FreshThese seven products making their RetailVision debuts could be the next killer gizmos
Day
SHOW DAI
Wednesday, August 27,Manchester Grand Hya
San Dieg
THE OFFICIAL SHOW DAILY
Craving Tech?Medis Michelle Rush can charge up a cell phone with a fuel cell;
SpeechGears Robert Palmquist says translation software means you can lose the
dictionary; Innotechs Chris Griswold manipulates an iPod with voice commands.
Scan Away: KeyScans Dov Aharonson
demonstrates new keyboard/scanner com
PHOTOS:GENE
FEDELE
Insight: Warranty Dos& Donts8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.Randle Ballroom CDE
Keynote: Vendor Of The Year12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.Randle Ballroom CDE
Keynote: Retailer Of The Year1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Randle Ballroom CDE
Insight: EmergingTechnologies3:45 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.Randle Ballroom CDE
Everything Channel TestCenter Awards6:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.Manchester Foyer
Best Of RetailVision AwardsGala8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.Randle Ballroom CDE
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Visit us at booth 602.
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By Stefanie Hoffman
Retailers should expect slowed growth, as con-
sumers tighten their budgets and numerous
electronic products reach a full penetration
point. That was part of the message from
Stephen Baker, vice president of industry anal-
ysis at The NPD Group, in a speech Tuesday at
RetailVision here.
In his keynote, Speak
Softly and Carry a Big
Screen: Opportunity and
Peril in the Holiday
Ahead, Baker highlightedtrends indicating the chal-
lenges retailers may face as
growth in electronic con-
sumer products slows. But
he also pointed out some
opportunities.
The weak economy and
other structural issues have
taken their toll on con-
sumer electronics spend-
ing, Baker said. What you
see is that growth curve
starting to come down,said Baker. We dont have
the growth opportunities
as we did in the past.
The slowing growth is not just the result of
a weak economy, according to Baker. It also has
to do with the fact that the consumer electron-
ics market is transitioning from first-time buy-
ers to replacement buyers in numerous product
categories.
The stagnant growth can also be attributed
to maturing technology, and lack of innovative
next big thing products, Baker added. Subse-
quently, the number of new buyers is reaching
its limit, and the growth in numerous electron-
ic product categories is reaching a plateau.
A lot of these key categories have high pene-
tration rates, said Baker. That really changes the
dynamic as to what you see in the marketplace.
And unlike years past, those replacement buy-
ers are not enticed by new enhanced features or
upgrades that would typically compel them to
purchase new products.
Baker said that consumers are considering
price as the determining factor for thei
tronics spending. Citing statistics gathe
The NPD Group, Baker said that two-th
those surveyed said the economy has im
them to the extent that they are ch
their shopping habits. Price is playing a
part in spending decisions, and consum
increasingly buying products on prom
and gravitating toward sales.
However, despite a lagging economy, s
growth curves and a possible recession, r
can still find opportunity, Baker said.
E-commerce sites have taken off, exp
ing 6 percent to 9 percent growth. Wh
retail sector has remained flat over the
months, retail.com sites have grown as con
have shifted their purchasing to the Web
is also opportunity in accessories and servi
addition, prices for high-end electronics,
LCD TVs, have tripled over the last three
as more customers desire larger screens.
Thats the kind of thing that is go
drive our market, said Baker. We reall
to aim for those big things, because tho
things are going to be the things that
people into the store and get them excited
electronics.
Words To Live By: SpeakSoftly, Carry A Big ScreenPointing out the pitfalls and the opportunities in a challenging econ
A Wide Net: E-commerce sites have achieved growth of 6 percent to
percent, says NPDs vice president of industry analysis, Stephen Bak
3
Wednesday, August 27, 2008S H O W D A I LY
The Consumer Channel
Robert C. DeMarzoSenior VP/Editorial Director, Everything Channel
s it the retail channel or the consumer channel?
Thats the question to debate here at Everything
Channels RetailVision. No, we dont intend to change the
name to ConsumerVision. But at this event, vendors and their
partners are discussing a much broader channel opportunity,
one that goes beyond the traditional definition of retail into a
community serving a broad consumer audience. Do small busi-
nesses buy from this channel? Sure, along
with individuals, the traditional SOHO demo-
graphic and even larger businesses that
shop for printers, monitors or PCs in con-
sumerlike fashion. This channel is made up
of todays leading retailers, along with small
or midsize VARs that have a brisk commer-cial business but dont discriminate when it
comes to who helps pay the bills. These VARs can serve an indi-
vidual consumer or meet the needs of a small-office owner who
is as comfortable shopping at Best Buy as Bills Local VAR.
As we know from the market-share data, the big-box retail-
ers and their smaller brethren do not own the entire consumer
market. Yes, they serve a large part of it, but many typical solu-
tion providers report a healthy percentage of their sales come
from what must be termed a consumer channel made up of indi-
viduals, SOHOs and small businesses. Just look at our 2008
State of the Market survey, which found that 40 percent of the
solution provider community (the data can be projected across
the entire channel) sells to companies with five or fewer work-
ers. As you would expect, VARs with revenue of $1 million or
less were most apt to serve these customers. But, it is not just
the small solution providers who serve SOHOs, it is larger VAR
organizations, too. VARs with revenue of $1 million to $5 million
said they serve SOHOs (27 percent) and at least one in 10 orga-
nizations with revenue of more than $20 million said they do as
well. So what you have is a rather fragmented market that has
well-known players and some not-so-obvious ones.
On one side you have big multibillion-dollar retailers who do
their best to serve this market and whose vendor partners must
create specific retail channel programs. Vendors often pour
huge dollars into this channel and understand it is a pay-to-play
game. In the middle are strong regional retailers such as Frys
or PC Richard & Sons. And then there are all those smaller VARs
and solution providers who can resell IT goods and services to
consumers and the SOHO market. If you consider there are as
many as 240,000 VAR organizations in the U.S., then 40 percent
of that populationwhich generates, on average, some $3.3 mil-
lion in annual salesis probably the most underappreciated and
misunderstood part of todays emerging consumer channel.
Reach Bob at [email protected]
I
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RetailVision Live:Views of yesterdays events at the RetailVision conference and sessions
(Top three photos, l. to. r.): Fresh fun yesterday afternoon: Gilssons
Ming Ho gives an up-close look at the companys TrackStar GPSdevice; now you see it, now you dont as DMTechs Kevin Gabriel
holds up the companys tiny wireless camera; emcees extraordinaire
Fred Brown and Ray Robidoux of Sightline Group lead the show.
(Next group of photos): RetailVisions Suzie Wilson and Lisa Lovett
manage to manage the hectic schedule of Boardroom Appointments; a quick peek at
the PQI booth and its many wares; getting the details on E-Detail, Kim Geun Bae
(l.); circling around the SquareTrade Boardroom; all aboard as we pull in to the
mStation booth. (Next two photos): its show time for Mei Noguchi of Teledex as she
demos many of the companys products, including the mini digital theater.
Photography
by
Gene Fedele
Wednesday, August
S H O W D A I LY
Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jane OVP/Design Director, Photography . . .GenArt & Production . . . . . . . . . . . Adeline CIT Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike
RetailVision Contacts:
VP/Everything Channel Events . .Nancy Ham
Managing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liz MSales . . .Mark Bianco (National Sales Mgr.)Unsworth, David Karp, Lou Becker (Account Ex
Marketing . . . .Diane Lehman (Sr. MarketinRecruiting . . . . . . . . . . Tom Beedy, Jonatha
Josh Auger (Account Executives)
Operations . . . .Rob Mear (Director of Ope
Karyn Bisson, Colleen Waters (Sr. Event Coord
Lisa Ferrante (Event Planner/Travel)
CEO/Everything Channel . . . . . . . .Robert
The RetailVision Show Dailyis a publicaEverything Channel, United Business M600 Community Drive, Manhasset, N.Y. Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.
S
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MEDIA PARTNERS
3-5 November, 2008JW Marriott Hotel DubaiUnited Arab Emirates
RetailVision Middle East 2008
Central Dubai
Move over to the fast lane at
Accelerateyour sales success
Invited Retailers and Distributors:
Apple IMC
Aptec Holding Limited
Asbis Middle East
BDL Distribution
Best Buy
Carrefour
CompuME
EMPA Distribution
Gant
Golden Systems Electronics
Jarir Bookstore
Jumbo Electronics
Lulu Hypermarket
Plug-ins Electronix
RadioShack
Red Distribution
Redington Gulf FZE
Sharaf DG
Virgin Megastore
Metro Cash & Carry
Contact us today for more information.
Its the place where THE top Middle East Retailers, Distributors and
Vendors meet to do business.
Will yoube there?
RetailVision is the most efficient and cost-effective way to
build relationships, business contacts and channel partnerships
throughout the Middle East.
In the UK, contact:Niamh Hanlon, +44 (0) 207 560 4364,
In the US, contact:Lilian Coram, +1 603 471 4231,
Dexter Boyce, +44 (0) 207 560 4372,
A Division of United Business Media
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Day-to-Day Calendar of EventsAugust 25-27, 2008
The Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel
San Diego, CA
Monday, August 25
10:00 a.m. 8:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . Vendor Registration
10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . The Meeting Place Vendor Setup
12:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . Retailer Registration
2:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . The State of CE Retail
3:15 p.m. 4:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . Grand Opening - The Meeting Place
3:15 p.m. 4:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . Everything Channel Test Center
4:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . INTRO in The Meeting Place
6:30 p.m. 8:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Industry Awards Ceremony8:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Welcome Reception
Tuesday, August 26
7:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Retailer Breakfast & Orientation
7:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Vendor Breakfast in The Meeting Pl
8:45 a.m. 9:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Insight: Fast Growth Retailers/E-ta
9:45 a.m. 4:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Service Provider Central (Vendors)
9:45 a.m. 11:10 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Private Boardroom Appointments
11:15 a.m. 12:15 p.m. . . . . . . . . . FRESH (Retailers)
12:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Networking Luncheon
1:10 p.m. 1:40 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . Insight
1:45 p.m. 2:40 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . Private Boardroom Appointments
2:45 p.m. 3:20 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Vendor Showcase (Retailers)3:25 p.m. 4:25 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Insight: Keynote
4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . The Meeting Place: One-on-Ones
7:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Free Night
10:00 p.m. - Midnight . . . . . . . . . D&H Late Night Party
Wednesday, August 27
7:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Retailer Breakfast & Announcement
7:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Vendor Breakfast in The Meeting Pl
8:45 a.m. 9:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Insight: Warranty Dos and Donts
9:40 a.m. 4:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Service Provider Central (Vendors)
9:40 a.m. 11:55 a.m. . . . . . . . . Private Boardroom Appointments
12:00 p.m. 12:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . Keynote: Vendor Of The Year
12:30 p.m. 1:15 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Networking Luncheon1:30 p.m. 2:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Keynote: Retailer Of The Year
2:10 p.m. 3:40 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Private Boardroom Appointments
3:45 p.m. 4:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Insight: Emerging Technologies
4:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . The Meeting Place: One-on-Ones
6:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . CRN Test Center Awards
7:30 p.m. 8:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Pre-Awards Cocktail Reception
8:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Best of Retailvision Awards Gala
9:30 p.m. Midnight . . . . . . . . . . Ingram Micro After Awards Party
RetailVision
Events Agenda
2008 RetailVision Events mission: To be the premierretail events company providing vendors and prequalified retail-ers with the unique opportunity to meet face-to-face, establishnew business partnerships and gain strategic insight throughcontent delivered byCRN, VARBusiness and IPED.
Key Benefits of RetailVision Events:
Partnering with the premier retail industry event. Growing your business with new and existing partners. Access to new technology and partner programs. Gaining market intelligence through educational seminars. Networking with key industry peers and editors.
XChange Latin AmericaSeptember 8-10, 2008Doral Resort HotelMiami, FL
VisionEvents MES West
September 14-17Gaylord Texan ResortGrapevine, TXFeaturing: Midsize EnterpriseInnovation Awards
CRN Fast GrowthOctober 15, 2008Intercontinental HotelChicago, IL
RetailVision Middle EastNovember 3-5, 2008JW MarriottDubai, United Arab Emirates
Healthcare Summit
November 16-19, 2008San Diego Sheraton HotelSan Diego, Calif.
XChange Tech InnovatorsNovember 17-19, 2008The Fairmont HotelSan Jose, Calif.Featuring: VARBusinessTechInnovators Awards
Photos:GeneFedele
Upcoming Everything Channel Events:
Wednesday, August S H O W D A I LY
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CHANNEL EVENTS
IT CHANNELVISION: GOVERNMENT EDITION
December 7 9, 2008
Westin Diplomat Resort, Hollywood, Florida
itchannelvision.com/gov
RETAILVISION
North America and Latin America
August 25 28, 2008
The Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, California
retailvision.com
April 27 30, 2009
Boca Raton Resort, Boca Raton, Florida
Middle East
November 3 5, 2008
JW Marriott Hotel Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
retailvision.com/europe
Europe
May 18 20, 2009
Le Palais ds Congres de Paris, Paris, France
CRN FAST GROWTH
October 16, 2008
Chicago, Illinois
cmpxchange.com/crnfg
XCHANGE LATIN
September 8 10, 2008
Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Miami, Florida
cmpxchange.com/xla08
XCHANGE SOLUTION PROVIDER
March 8 11, 2009Sheraton New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana
cmpxchange.com/xsp09
XCHANGE TECH INNOVATOR
November 17 19, 2008
Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, California
cmpxchange.com/xti08
ENDUSER EVENTS
HEALTHCARE SUMMIT
November 16 19, 2008
San Diego Sheraton Hotel and Marina
San Diego, California
healthcaresummit.com
MIDSIZE ENTERPRISE SUMMIT
midsizeenterprise.com
North America
WEST: September 14 17, 2008Gaylord Texan Resort & Conference Center
Grapevine, Texas
EAST: May 3 6, 2009
Doral Golf Resort & Spa
Miami, Florida
WEST: September 13 16, 2009
Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel
Los Angeles, CA
Europe
Oct. 20 22, 2009Citywest Hotel
Dublin, Ireland
PRINT & IMAGING SUMMIT
December 3 5, 2008
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, Bonita Springs, Florida
printimagingsummit.com
December 6 8, 2009
Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel
Los Angeles, California
PROJECT & PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT SUMMITEurope
December 3 5, 2008
Austria Trend Event Hotel Pyramide
Vienna, Austria
ppmsummit.com
June 14 17, 2009
Location TBD
EVENTS CALENDAR 2008-2009
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EVERYTHING CHANNEL: Dirk, youve
got to be an extremely busy guy
these days, so thanks for taking the
time to talk to us about your strat-
egy going forward as AMDs newCEO, and especially your ideas
about AMDs channel relationships.
Can you give us an overview of
your vision for the company and
specifically, the channels part in
that vision?
MEYER: Thank you. Ive never been
more excited about the opportunity
ahead for AMD and our customers.
We have a unique capacity to drive
innovation and deliver a better com-
puting experience by integrating com-
puting and graphics processors becausewe are the only company with both
x86 microprocessor and graphics tech-
nology expertise. Were executing to a
strong road map, and our passionate
and talented people believe in our
business as strongly as I do. But we
have to return to profitability, and
were going to do that by focusing on
our core businesses, continuing to
drive innovation, and consistently exe-
cuting. The channel is critical to
achieving that goal, something recog-
nized by the executive team and the
entire company. This is a key reason
that Gustavo Arenas, our chief sales
officer, is chartered with ensuring our
worldwide sales teams are working
collaboratively to meet the channels
needs in every region across the globe.
EVERYTHING CHANNEL: Channel con-
flict is always going to be an issue
at a company like AMD that has to
do business with both the biggest
OEMs around and with the small-
est individual whitebox builders
doing a tiny percentage of the big
computer makers volume. So thats
just an endless tight rope you have
to walk, but companies in your
position can either handle such
competing partner interests well
or poorly. How are you going to
balance the interests of different
partner channels at AMD? Are
there any other companies out
there that you feel set a good exam-
ple for managing channel conflict?
MEYER: The channel may be complex
but our path to meeting all of our
OEM customers and channel part-
ners needs isnt about conflict-resolu-
tion, its about enabling them to deliv-
er business value through differentiated
solutions based on AMD technology.
If you look at our business model, we
are at the core a channel-centric com-
pany. We are also uniquely positioned
to meet our customers and channel
partners needs because we are the
only company offering both CPU- and
GPU-based solutions, which allows
them to differentiate their AMD tech-
nology-based offerings. Our micropro-
cessor and graphics platforms provide
our channel partners with a onshop, and that gives real value to
panies big and small. We kno
channel partners and OEM cus
look to AMD for products tha
opportunities to increase profi
were responding by deliverin
forms aimed at profitable segm
the consumer and commerc
and graphics markets. Take
Game! for the mainstream PC g
market, for example, which is
form that is important to both
and solution providers. Wercommitted to ensuring that ou
keting programs and busines
cesses make it easy to work with
matter the size of the company.
ing success across the board
OEMs to solution providers is g
mean success for AMD.
EVERYTHING CHANNEL:AMD
hosting AMD Build Days a
the country, based around
three new desktop platforms,
Live!, AMD Game! and AMDness Class. The event we wen
San Jose was sold out and
whitebox builders seemed to
enjoy putting together those
nom and 7-series chipset-bas
tems. Are there any more
channel-based initiatives
AMD in the works?
MEYER: Im glad you were a
attend one of our build events
are proving to be a successful w
AMD to help system builder
more about our platform initiat
what we hope is an entertainin
informative environment.
scheduled these throughout
America, including a recent
Everything Channels XChange
We want to extend interactiv
riences like this into our day-
relationships with our cust
through programs like our Fiv
Partner Program that provides
AMDs Dirk Meyer: Quest For ProfitabilityNew leader lays out his vision for the chip maker, touting road-map execution and a drive to innovate as key
Path To Profit: Were responding by delivering platforms aimed at profitable
segments in the consumer and commercial PC and graphics markets, says Meyer.
Wednesday, August
S H O W D A I LY
Advanced Micro Devices financial struggles are well-documented and new boss Dirk Meyer faces
a crucial stretch of months ahead as he attempts to lead the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chip maker
out of the red. Everything Channel caught up with Meyer via e-mail to find out how he thinks
AMDs partner channels can help make that happen, what asset smart means for AMDs core
PC and server businesses, and what AMD is doing to help system builders and VARs add total
solutions and services to their offerings.
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ed training sessions as well as sales and
marketing tools through online por-
tals like AMD Market Builder. We
also have an extensive training pro-
gram with live metro training days
for our distribution partners across
regions, and similar programs that aretargeted to our OEM channel part-
ners as well.
EVERYTHING CHANNEL: Heres a news
flashhardware margins arent
what they used to be. Whats AMD
doing to help VARs go beyond just
reselling hardware to do the things
they need to do to thrive in todays
market, like putting together total
solutions and attaching services to
sales for recurring revenue?
MEYER:Weve put in place a range ofprograms to address this. First, we
enable our channel partners to deliv-
er differentiated solutions to their end
customers, increasing their ability to
achieve stronger margins. Our CPU-
and GPU-based platforms are target-
ed to profitable market segments. In
addition, were going to continue to
execute to mid- and long-term road
maps to aid in inventory planning
because we understand how crucial
that is to the channel. And were
responding to the channels need forassociated services with increased train-
ing and marketing support, like the
support services offered with AMD
Business Class.
EVERYTHING CHANNEL: We dont
know the full details of what asset
smart means, despite all the spec-
ulation by the media and analysts.
But it seems safe to say AMDs
plans are to get leaner and meaner,
whether in manufacturing or other
parts of the business. This raises an
interesting question for your tradi-
tional channelat the end of asset
smart, what does your core business
of PC and server products look
like? Is it leaner too? Or do some of
the non-core resources you want to
trim actually get added to the core
business to make it stronger?
MEYER: Our plans are first and fore-
most informed by the needs of our
customers. Weve been clear that we
are reshaping AMDs business model
and that means focusing on the core
technologies that differentiate AMD,
as well as consistently executing to our
mid- and long-term road maps. Ive
been working with our leadershipteam to accelerate this process and we
are making progress. And of course
Im continuing to work with [former
CEO] Hector [Ruiz], who is helping
to drive our asset smart strategy to
completion. At the end of the day,
these changes are designed to benefit
our customers as our main objective
is to position AMD as the micropro-
cessor company that you want to do
business with. We want to be your
supplier of choice.
EVERYTHING CHANNEL: System
builders want simple things. Good
product at good prices. The parts
they need, when they need them and
with reliable support. If they get
those things, theoretically theyre
not going to care if the supplier
takes an earnings mulligan every
quarter. You, of course, dont have
that luxury. On the other hand,
having a happy channel and a
healthy bottom line arent exactly
mutually exclusive, so to what extentdo you think the first thing is going
to help AMD achieve the second
thing?
MEYER: This comes back to what
you will see from AMD going for-
ward: a focus on our core CPU and
GPU businesses, consistent and reli-
able execution, and providing the
channel with platform solutions that
enable differentiation and deliver
business value. We havent been con-
sistently successful in delivering that
foundation, but I firmly believe we
are now on track and the channel is
already seeing us deliver the plat-
forms, the training and the tools that
they need to be successful. As you
point out, the fundamentals are
straightforward and AMD is commit-
ted to providing system builders with
the products and support they need.
And that in turn is going to deliver a
healthy bottom line for all of us.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
S H O W D A I LY
By Fred King
Most companies
have fuzzy ideas of
what makes cus-
tomer service great.
But companies that lead in their mar-
kets always differentiate themselves in
two ways: quality and customer expe-
rience. The best companies in the
world have a dedication to these two
attributes and look to measure them in
the most discrete manner possible.
Distinguishing customer service iscreating a delightful customer relation-
ship. Most customers call because of an
issue with a product purchased. It is the
exception to get a customer glowing
over a productcustomers really expect
technology to work.
Any service experience can be
reduced to two separate metrics: Net-
Promoter and Customer Satisfaction
(CSAT). Both are provided directly by
the user of the service and provide
clear metrics on an overall companys
ability to meet customer expectations.If these metrics are captured correctly,
they should correlate to the individual
customer service agent. Thus, these
metrics can contribute to critical deci-
sions such as promotion, compensation,
training and process improvements.
The end result is an ongoing improve-
ment in the support experience.
When customer care is coupled
with expert technical service, the com-
bination becomes a highly compelling
solution to challenging customer issues.
The traditional customer care process-
es, which include escalation to multiple
departments, can create frustration.
When a customer care agent is empow-
ered to perform the right services, and
has ready access to experts to perform
more challenging work, the customer
experience is significantly enhanced.
PlumChoice has been extremely
effective at creating an excellent cus-
tomer experience. Over the past four
years, we have measured and re
our NetPromoter and CSAT sc
a routine part of our business. W
tuned our technical teams, too
processes using these metrics. W
vide a clear promotion path fo
individuals who excel. We fo
getting problems resolved right t
time rather than focus on the t
resolve issues since customers
specifically value whether an iss
solved in four minutes vs. five m
Being able to achieve a 94 per
96 percent CSAT and NetProm
the 75 percent to 79 percent r
a hallmark for the PlumChoice
and has been so for more than
years. When these metrics are m
with our partners customer s
tion, significant benefits are re
When you look to enhanc
value to customers, customer se
an impactful method for del
them. Moving away from an ap
that only applies traditional call
metrics to one that includes m
derived from your customers
idea) will make all the difference
final assessment. A customer
experience free of frustration will
you to differentiate your busine
Fred King is vice president of sa
marketing at Plum Choice.
Distinguishing YourselfIn Customer Service
Quality and customer experience are the hallmarks
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By Andrew R. Hickey
Retailers arent quick to say that 2008has been a rough year. But they arent
too quick to deny it either. With an
uncertain economic condition, the
housing market going belly up and fuel
prices bleeding consumers wallets dry,
people just arent as quick to spend as
they once were.
Despite those conditions, however,
many retailers at RetailVision 2008 are
looking to the ever-powerful fourth
quarter to break the economic slide.
While some say they are approaching
the fourth quarterwhich is typical-ly a retail boom because of holiday
spendingwith cautious optimism,
others immediately draw a line in the
sand, predicting one of the strongest
fourth quarters in years.
The fourth quarter is definitely
the biggest part of the year for online,
said Andrei Kibrik, director of merchan-
dising computers and electronics for
online retailer Overstock.com, adding
that Overstock is predicting fourth-
quarter growth of 20 percent to 35 per-
cent over the same time period last year.The only factor that could hinder, or
at least postpone, massive spending as
the holidays roll around is the election,which Kibrik said will have consumers
preoccupied. He expects, however, the
holiday rush to start, albeit delayed,
once a president is picked.
Mario Razmilovic, director of
audio/video at Overstock, agreed that
the fourth quarter is going to be a big
one. All signs are indicating the fourth
quarter isnt going to be that bad, he
said, noting that gas prices have started
to drop and the housing market is
poised for a turnaround. Razmilovic
said the industry will be pleasantly sur-prised once gadget-hungry holiday
shoppers start opening their wallets.
For Overstock, a solid mix of LCD
TVs, GPS systems and HD digital
video cameras are expected to be the
hot sellers as old Saint Nick prepares to
load up his sleigh.
Albert Liniado, president of DataVi-
sion Computer Video, agreed that
products like LCDs, GPS, mobile
phones, Bluetooth earpieces and mem-
ory equipment are going to be a catalyst
for a strong fourth quarter. Same goesfor sales of Apple products, which Lini-
ado said are already up 50 percent
from last year. And the Internet will
facilitate those sales more strongly.
Retail is now driving the Web, he
said. Were going to see a big fourth-
quarter increase on the Internet.
Liniado said consumers have been
pinching their pennies all year saving up
for the holidays. He said DataVision has
already started to see an increase in sales
over the past six to eight weeks.
Were excited about that, he said.
Liniado even made the bold predic-tion that this year will see the biggest
Black Friday ever.
Canadian retailers, too, are lto the fourth quarter to brin
back to a comfortable level.
We still have a positive ou
said Michael Yahn, MP3 and acc
merchant for Canadian consum
tronics chain Future Shop. W
lowed suit [with the U.S.]; peop
pulled back and are being mo
tious with their purchases, bu
retailer you have to adapt. I don
well struggle in the fourth quar
Steve Boone, sales and mar
director for Edmonton-based rMyMacDealer, agreed.
A lot of people will have
uncertainty, he said. Wev
some of the impact, but come
it will pick up. By no means w
fourth quarter be bad.
Whether the prediction
fourth quarter in retail is simp
bad or excellent, DataVisions
do summed up his favorable o
like this: Christmas is Chr
bottom line. People have to b
Christmas; even if they dont byear they have to spend at Chris
Retailers Predict A Very Merry Fourth QuarterMany RetailVision 2008 attendees believe gadget-hungry holiday shoppers will be opening their wallets big time
Heres what retailers are talking about at
RetailVision 2008:
It looks like the Christmas
season will be slow for IT
stuff, but it will be really
good for consumer goods.
Im seeing most of the pur-
chases being restricted
because of a third-quarter
slowdown due to the price
of energy, oil, that kind of stuff.
Robert Brown, E-Commerce Manager, Super Warehouse
I still think that it will be a year-to-year growth.
But it will not be as much as we have seen in
the past three to four years. Im just very, very
nervous about the whole
recession, and the cus-
tomer cutting back spend-
ing, and we see that so far
this year. And I think that it
will continue to the Q4.
Jason Wu, Tekserve
For us, weve been in the game for about a
year now, so we just launched Meijer.com last
September. And so last year we just put up
whatever we could. Wed find items from any
distributor that could get
their stuff live in time. We
put them up. We went at it.
And there were a few cate-
gories that did really well.
A lot of electronics, a lot of
toys, a lot of video games.
And we anticipate this year again that were
going to push video games really hard.
Nintendo and then a lot of PlayStation 3 is
going to start catching up this year. Were lo
ing forward to it. We hope it goes a little bit
smoother than last year and a lot more sale
Justin Stricklen, Meijer.com
I think that were expecting a
real strong Q4 this year. Its
always our strongest quarter.
Some of the things that were
highlighting obviously are
great gift items like GPS or
iPod accessories. Or in the
camera division, thats really
strong.
Laurie Prinzi, Vendor Marketing Manager,
PCMall
The Buzz At RetailVision
PHOTOS:GENE
FEDELE
&
KIM
KULISH
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
S H O W D A I LY
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By Craig ZarleyWhats the secret for fast growth in the
rough-and-tumble world of retail elec-
tronics? Lots of hard work and keep-
ing customers happy.
Thats the message fast-growing
retailers gave during Tuesdays Industry
Insight panel. Albert Liniado, president
and co-founder of DataVision, a New
York City retailer thats seen 29 percent
growth from 2005 through 2007, said
a hands-on approach to all aspects of
the business is crucial. We are on the
floor. We are in accounts receivable.Were in accounts payable. Were in the
warehouse. Were in shipping. We are all
over the place, Liniado said.
That visibility means management
knows instantly whats going right
and whats going wrong and can act
appropriately.If the customer is
upset, the owners know, he said.
Bernard Luthi, vice president of
merchandising at Newegg.com, a City
of Industry, Calif., e-tailer thats grown
46 percent over the past two years,
added that superior logistics and a will-ingness to bend over backward to sat-
isfy customers is key. We make sure we
get products quickly to customers, usu-ally within two days, he said. And on
the back end, if anything goes wrong,
we are going to take the product back.
Gary Stern, president and CEO of
Boca Raton, Fla. -based PC Universe,
said customer satisfaction was crucial to
his 37 percent growth over the past two
years. We are a VAR and we moved
our business over to an
e-tailer, and a lot of
our focus was on cus-
tomer sat, he said.
And thats what droveus to the next level.
Our secret sauce is
the people working for
the company, said
Michael Carioti, man-
ager of marketing
development at ProVantage, a North
Canton, Ohio, e-tailer with 45 percent
growth from 2005 through 2007.
He noted that many of ProVan-
tages top executives have been with the
company for more than 15 years.
Weve ridden the pre- and post-Inter-net waves up and down, and now were
back again, he said.
Carioti also said the company val-
ues its relationships with its vendor
partners and instead of just dumping
any product on the site, ProVantage
carefully evaluates products and the
vendors that sell them.Fred Lerner, president and CEO of
Ritz Interactive, an Irvine, Calif., e-tail-
er thats seen annual revenue grow from
$21 million in 2005 to $34 million in
2007, said, The secret to fast growth is
that there is no secret at all. Instead,
Lerner said its about execution. One
thing all of us in this room share is that
we have beautifully written business
plans, he said. The question is how
well we execute on these business plans.
Lerner noted that Ritz Interactive
has no warehouses or inventory and
instead relies on its distribution part-
ners to drop-ship products to cus-
tomers. As such, he said Ritz Interac-
tive is a marketing company. And
much of the companys marketing
energy is devoted to search engine mar-
keting, or SEM. He said the company
has 12 marketing people and that he
plans to spend $6 million on market-
ing this year. All of it will be spent on
SEM, he said. Its a constant
to stay on top [of major
engines]. This year Google is
everyones lunch.
Stern agreed that search engin
mization is vital, but he remaintious about using third-party
engine companies. Weve al
burned by paid search compani
said. We take a look at each ind
al paid search and make sure th
return on investment.
Panelists also said they strugg
Internet sales taxes imposed haph
ly by state governments. Luth
Newegg stopped selling in New
after new taxes on Internet sale
imposed on June 30. He said th
pany is now in compliance an
resumed tax-free sales to New
And DataVisions Liniado said h
sidered building a warehouse i
Jersey, but decided to locate it i
York to avoid paying sales ta
products sold in New Jersey.
This sales tax issue will ulti
wind up in the Supreme Court b
its an interstate commerce battl
Ritz Interactives Lerner.
Psst Heres The Secret To Fast GrowthPanelists divulge how theyve been able to achieve meteoric revenue growth rates. Hint: It takes a lot of hard work
All Hands On Deck:Moderated by Everything Channels Steve B
Fast Growth panelists covered a range of topics, including visibil
into all aspects of the business, search engines and Internet sales t
Wednesday, August
S H O W D A I LY
Fashion Statement:Jeffrey Thompson (l.) of New York City-based
icon/Motion Systems, showcases the companys line of computer laptop bags.
Standing by are the Test Centers Brian Sheinberg and Samara Lynn.
Test Center: Taking IT On The Road
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THE DISTRIBUTO
Mobile
Entertainment
SOHO
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This web-based, video training toolsimultaneously saves time while increasingyour scope of product knowledge.Watching them, you will discover in-depthproduct features and benefits, key sellingpoints, why-to-buy data, tips on sellingsuccessfully and add-on opportunities.
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800.340.1007 | www.dandh.com/retailvision
Tuesday August 26th
10pm to MidnightRandle Ballroom C Visit us at RetailVision Booth #