As part of our ongoing commitment to visit with as many dealers as possible, CJ and I traveled to Salt Lake City, UT for a visit with Les Olson Company. President Troy and CEO James Olson along with their lovely wives had attended our 31st Annual Awards & Charities Dinner last October. During their stay in New Jersey we invited them to join Carol and me for dinner at a private supper club in New York City. The Olson’s are good people and if you extend any kind of hospitality to them they will reciprocate.
Troy Olson and The Cannata Reports Frank Cannata.CJ and I figured the best way to do that was to fly to Salt Lake City after EFI Connect before returning home. Troy showed us the sights of the city, followed by a tour of their dealership. Once the tour was completed we answered their questions they had about our industry. Later than evening we joined them for a pleasant dinner in town.
There is a common thread to dealerships that have been in business for more than 50 years. Family owned and operated, they built a business on the bedrock of customer service. A significant part of these dealership’s legacies is the willingness to work hard and together to achieve their common goals for success. They all have a story and Les Olson Company has a good one. Its motto is “Good service isn’t expensive….It’s priceless!”
Les Olson Company’s Origins
It all began in 1929 when the Great Depression was just beginning to take hold and 14-year old Les Olson was enjoying his first week of high school. During the school’s opening assembly, he was pulled aside and informed that his father had died of a sudden heart attack. With a mother and two sisters at home, Les assumed responsibility for the family’s support, never again to return to school. Jobs were difficult to find, but Les managed to secure a position as an errand boy for ZCMI for $50 a month. .
By 1956 at the age of 42, Les was divisional manager of the duplication, dictation and audio/visual products at ZCMI. At this point Les was married and had a rather large family. There were twelve children and Les realized he could not earn enough to properly take care of his large brood. He announced at dinner one night that the family was going open their own business. He invited the children to join this adventure by breaking open their piggy banks.
As they dumped their coins on the table, Les’ wife Reva carefully wrote down each child’s investment, resulting in a grand total of $63.
Les and Reva’s business began by selling dictation equipment. He was the first person in Utah to sell a copy machine, a pioneering technology at that time. Les loved technology, and being a visionary leader he had a way of picking up new ideas and understanding immediately how important technology would become in making businesses more productive. The company has grown to become the leading provider of business technology in Utah.
Today LOC employs well over 200 people is headquartered in Salt Lake City with five additional locations in Utah and in Las Vegas, Nevada. They are dedicated Sharp dealers and HP resellers. They offer a broad range of services from MPS, Document Management as well Managed Network Services. We estimate that their 2016 revenue was more than $45 million.
“I continue to be so impressed at how well Les Olson Company blends the priorities of ultimate customer service, excellence in employee engagement, and a 40-year vendor relationship into a sales engine that consistently grows both volume and new customers and keeps happy employees, customers and vendors,” observed Laura Blackmer, senior vice president sales, Sharp Electronics Corp.
The company continues to be operated by family members. In addition to Troy and James, Lisa Olson Thaller is Chairman of the Board/CFO. They have served the company for 37, 26, and 34 years, respectively. The three represent a leadership that continues to follow the mandate set down by its founder. Family members are asked to give back part of their annual bonus to the company so that the business can remain viable. In addition, no favoritism is ever shown to a family member. Each and every one is asked to carry their fair share of the load.
The need to maintain a sustainable business model has never been greater, and Les Olson Company is focused in that direction. The annuity stream remains critical to the success of the dealership. However, with the erosion of print clicks additional revenue streams become essential to compensate for that loss. At Les Olson Company they are adapting their business to a more services orientation and although their relationship and commitment to Sharp remains as strong as ever. HP offers them an opportunity to continue to secure printer fleet opportunities while broadening their services capabilities.
These dealer visits will continue throughout the year. At each stop along with the way we hope the information we share is helpful. In February we visit the Gordon Flesch Company in Madison, WI. Our plan is to continue traveling around the country this year visiting dealerships in the Southeast, Southwest, and West along with dealerships closer to home in the Northeast.
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