Vendor Partners Collaborate on Strategies for U.S. Market
SOUTHLAKE, Texas — May 24, 2018 — ProSource, the largest audio, video, and integration buying group in the United States, deployed a delegation of ProSource executives, board members, and committee members to Europe in order to cement strategic relationships with key audio partners. The team was selected to report on a complete overview of the high-end audio marketplace and meet with vendor partners to collaborate on strategies for the U.S. market. Meetings with AudioQuest, Focal, Klipsch, Marantz, MartinLogan, and Paradigm took place during the HIGH END® Munich Exhibition, preceeded by a visit to the engineering facility for Arcam, recently acquired by the Harman Luxury Audio group. In addition, the group toured the Naim headquarters and factory, as well as Focal’s cabinet factory in Bourbon-Lancy, France, and the Focal headquarters in Saint-Étienne, France.
The ProSource delegation included:
- Bill Janka, Mission Audio Video
- Brian Gibson, Elite Media Solutions
- Dave Gilbert, Hi-Fi Sales
- David Levitan, Audiolab
- Greg Simmons, Eagle Sentry
- Phil Murray and Steve Weiner, Listen Up
- Stephanie Keough, World Wide Stereo
- Tim Freeman and Tommy Kinstle, Crutchfield
- Dave Workman, Andy Orozco and Jessica Paskon, ProSource
ProSource members joining the meetings in Munich included:
- Will Hettinger, HiDEF Lifestyle
- Bob Cole, World Wide Stereo
- Jim Davis and Josh Bizar, Music Direct
“Our partnership with key audio vendors has substantially contributed to the success of the ProSource organization in the audio category,” said Dave Workman, CEO and President of ProSource. “Our recent visit to Europe was highly successful, and we learned a great deal about new and emerging technologies and brands from the experience.”
“I was proud to represent the ProSource board at the HIGH END Munich show and throughout the tour. It was inspiring to visit our vendor partners’ facilities and see their passion for performance audio, while observing the evolution of raw materials through the hands of skilled craftspeople to create an amazing finished product,” said William Janka, President and CEO of Mission Audio Video in Santa Barbara and ProSource board member.
“Our business meetings with ProSource members have always been meaningful and productive, so when an opportunity presented itself to meet in Munich, we were ‘all in.’ We are always learning something valuable from our partnership and especially appreciate the diversity of the group,” said Kevin Zarow, Vice President of Sales, CI/AVS, Sound United.
“During the ProSource journey to Munich, Germany, we had the opportunity to create lasting dialogue and foster collaborative discussions about advancing relationships that will set a course for the rest of the year. We were able to share our strategic vision and plan for focusing on higher margins, higher ASP, and restricted premium distribution while being immersed in the high-end audio environment,” added Paul Jacobs, CEO, Klipsch Group, Inc.
Information on membership in ProSource is available from Sherry Dantonio, Director of Membership, at 562-810-1706 or by email at Sherry.Dantonio@Prosourceinfo.com.
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About ProSource
ProSource is a cooperative, member-owned, not-for-profit buying group representing more than 550 specialty retailers and custom integrators. With annual sales of more than $5 billion, ProSource is the largest specialty and consumer-electronics merchandising group in the United States, which allows it to negotiate stronger programs with manufacturers, help independent dealers stay relevant to consumers, and keep the specialty A/V channel competitive. For additional information go to www.prosourceinfo.com.
Video Collection – https://vimeo.com/album/5188203
SmugMug Album – https://prosource.smugmug.com/Europe-2018-Audio-Tour/
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