In this week’s episode, Founder Frank G. Cannata sits down (virtually) with Mike Marusic, president/CEO of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, to discuss what took place at last week’s SharpisNEXT national dealer conference in Orlando. Why is Sharp still doing a BIG dealer meeting, Cannata inquires, as well as regional “road shows?” Marusic likens the recent gathering of 130 dealers to quality “family time” for the OEM and its valued partners. The manufacturer’s Dealer Council warned that sometimes these meetings get too big, and Sharp listened.
This year’s meeting seemed more intimate, featuring far fewer partner sponsors, which was intentional. In planning and organizing the event, Sharp leaders tried to “split the middle,” notes Marusic, a 22-year veteran of Sharp. SharpisNEXT was all about “getting the family together,” he explains: the entire Sharp “ecosystem” of some 300 attendees. The focus was not on Sharp’s top 25 or 30 dealers. A decade ago, a lot of those leading dealers were not at the top level, Marusic points out, adding that one never know who will emerge over the next five to ten years.
