Above: Toshiba America President/CEO Larry White (right) with CRO Steven Sauer, who discussed strategies for how dealers can improve profitability in 2026.
Toshiba started spreading the news last week that it continues to experience robust growth with a print core. At the same time, the OEM addressed the tariff situation and the problems that has created.
The tariffs have added costs to manufacturing/shipping and also lengthen the time it takes to ship the products. To avoid these added costs, manufacturers searched for locations where tariffs were not an issue. Unfortunately, there is a significant cost that comes with each move that is made. No matter how the tariff situation is addressed, there are added costs, which put more pressure on everyone who is already fighting to combat the loss of profitability.
The host of the virtual “Town Hall” dealer meeting was Larry White, president and CEO of Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. (TABS). White invited four of his high-profile team leaders to express what each is doing within business. The first one to join him was Steve Sauer, chief revenue officer, who pointed out that every industry goes through the same four phases of INTRODUCTION, GROWTH, MATURITY, and DECLINE. What has Toshiba’s response to the decline in our copier/print world?
Sauer laid it out very simply. PROTECT, EXPAND, and INNOVATE. Among the 2025 goals or objectives was to focus on diversification with a product that addresses something new and different. What Toshiba chose was thermal printing (see above image). The good news is the parent company of Toshiba has been utilizing thermal printing in their products for years, so there was no need to seek a partnership to provide “that something new.”
To expand new products, OEMs need distribution. Sauer shared that TABS’ dealers cover 98.5% of U.S. markets for multifunction printers (MFPs). On the protective side, we were told that Toshiba is outpacing competition in the A3 market by capturing market share from competitive A3 and A4.
Label and receipt printing represents a $51 billion market and is growing. If you want to know how successful Toshiba has been with label devices, they currently have 30,255 units in an existing installed base. Thermal printing has added $960 million with thermal launch packages.
Every dealer wants to know what the recurring revenue looks like, and Toshiba claims it has reached 30%. This growth has been fueled by software, managed print services (MPS) plus labeling and receipt printers.
New A4 from Toshiba, more labels, and dealer programs
Next up was Bill Melo, VP of marketing and strategic business development, who talked about A4s that will be introduced in 2026. He also spoke of barcode label printers before deviating his portion of the discussion away from products to a strategy that Toshiba has broadly adapted. Melo talked about how dealer and customer input really matters and helps TABS create better programs for the dealers. The inference was that this was especially true for products such as barcode label printers. For example,”Label Smart” is an all-in-one program that includes ribbons, print heads, and labels. He also touched upon cloud print management.
Marketing & Business Development VP Bill Melo (left) and White discuss A4 MFPs coming next year as well as the thermal label/barcode opportunity for dealers.
Next up was Steve Tungate, VP & general manager of service, supply chain and innovation, who spoke of the In Touch Center (ITC) that provides customer support, confirms shipments, and tracks orders as well as entering orders to the TABS system. There is an ITC field service team, which includes solutions experts who are accessible via phone, email, or text. Most importantly, they help to resolve hardware and software issues. In Tungate’s opinion, this level of support is especially important in today’s competitive environment.
He moved on to service management, claiming that by managing service in the cloud, dealers can improve the quality of service delivery while also lowering their cost. Tungate capped off his presentation by saying TABS is providing tools, technology, and people to solve problems customers are experiencing.
Service, Supply Chain & Innovation VP/GM Steve Tungate (left) discussing Toshiba’s In Touch Center and service management in the cloud with White.
White thanked Tungate and brought out Kerstin Woods, VP of solutions and outbound marketing. She kicked it off by addressing the best way to get a prospect to become a client by using touch points that include: Awareness, Consideration, Evaluation, Purchase, Adoption, and Expansion.
Woods then went through the six touch points and how each helps to create brand and product awareness by utilizing a strong web presence, leveraging AI, providing quality content, adding marketing support that leads to sales and service evaluation and sales enablement. She also discussed intelligent capture with a deep dive into marketing on demand, which can help a dealer become a one-stop operation. TABS facilitates webinars and other communication forums, Woods said, that encourage feedback.
Woods added four other areas of importance for getting new customers on board. You must be committed to print, working towards building an environment that is growing in a declining market with diversification and becoming well positioned to succeed.
Solutions and Outbound Marketing VP Kerstin Woods (left) talks with White about how dealers can use “”touchpoints” to turn prospects into customers.
This was an incredibly detailed presentation with a great deal to think about. It took 67 slides to put out all this data, and we could only touch on the high points. I thoroughly enjoyed the way it attacked A3 decline, diversification, innovative marketing and demonstrated that thermal printers can be amazingly successful, diverse products that bring a lucrative growth area such as labeling into to a dealer’s showcase.
Take it on the road?
We say well done to Larry White and his team led by Kerstin Woods who proved, at least, on paper that dealers can increase their A3 sales, diversify with a series of products that stress print, improve communication between manufacturer and dealer as well as showing dealers how to position themselves in a mature marketplace and come out increasing their productivity—and better position them for the future which will offer even greater opportunities.
We would like to make one suggestion to Toshiba. Take this presentation on the road and do a five-city tour. When on the road, incorporate dealers who are having success with thermal printing, increasing their A3 MIF, utilizing AI, and improving the sales closure rate at a higher margin by utilizing all the tools that TABS is offering.
We have always believed that adding dealers to the manufacturers’ presentations leads to much greater attentiveness in the audience. The dealers listening feel they are respected enough to have one of their kind on the stage telling the story. They are more prone to adopt what a manufacturer is saying when it comes from a fellow dealer.
