Charting DEX Imaging’s Growth with Dan Doyle Jr.

Dan Doyle Jr. President & CEO DEX

Dan Doyle Jr.
President & CEO
DEX

It’s been 12 years since Dan Doyle, Jr. and his father, an industry veteran, launched DEX Imaging in Tampa, FL. What a wild 12-year ride it’s been as their dealership has grown from zero to more than $118 million a year in revenue. The Konica Minolta and Kyocera dealer now has more than 450 employees and continues to grow throughout the Southeast organically and through acquisition.

This month Dan Doyle, Jr., DEX’s president and CEO, shares his insights on that wildly successful 12-year ride, focusing on how DEX has arrived at where they are today, what’s next, and the ups and downs of running an office technology dealership in 2014.

How’s business been the last 12 months?

Doyle: Great. Last year we saw 18 percent organic growth, which is phenomenal. We also did two acquisitions, closing one on Dec. 31, 2012, and another in May of 2013. We had a great acquisition year with great organic growth so it was a good year for us.

What segments of the business are doing well?

Doyle: Segment 3, Segment 4, Segment 5, and Segment 6 production are all doing well. The lower end, Segment 1 and Segment 2 and the lower end of Segment 3, that’s where you’re seeing the price wars because A4 product is nipping away at some of that. We’re seeing that and Samsung, who’s trying to get in the game, and HP who seems to go back and forth—they’re getting into it, not getting into it or they don’t have the best distribution model to get it out there.

What are you doing right with those segments that are doing well for you?

Doyle: I can’t tell you if we’re doing it right or doing it wrong, but we’re moving a lot of boxes. Part of it is we had a lot of pent up demand going through ’08 and ’09, especially in Florida. Before ’09 about 92-93 percent of our leases were approved. After ’09 in Florida we were seeing 46-49 percent approved. We basically bought time and those people are now upgrading their equipment. You’re seeing a lot of that happen, so I can’t tell you if we’re doing it right or wrong. We’re just in the right spot at the right time. Plus we’re Irish so we believe in a lot of luck.

What’s the biggest challenge facing your dealership today?

Doyle: Making sure we continue our organic growth. The other challenge, getting good sales reps, is tough. It’s always been tough, and the big companies, the IKONs and Dankas that used to have these great training programs are gone so you’re getting younger kids that have never sold and you have to invest more money in training them and more time to get them going.

Are the kids alright?

Doyle: Some of these kids when they’re coming out of school have a high opinion of themselves and what they’re worth. It’s an odd thing to deal with. In ’09 you could hire these great mortgage brokers, but the problem was they were making so much money selling mortgages that it was such a pay cut for them to cut their teeth on selling copiers. It takes a good year before someone starts making real money. That’s the toughest part, getting quality sales people, and it will get tougher as times go on. My oldest is 15, their communication skills are not what ours were. They’re great at e-mail and texting, but I’m still an old fashioned guy and like face to face or get on the phone and call somebody so it will be interesting to see that transition over the years.

What trends are impacting your business today?

Doyle: Managed print is the buzz word in our industry. If you look at our managed print business we’re doing $29 million a year in revenue. We’ve done a good job of penetrating that market over the past three to four years. We’re seeing about 46 percent compounded annual growth in that arena and I think we’ll continue to see that.

I continue to chuckle about people who say, ‘We’re going paperless because of document management.’ We’re seeing a trend when a customer puts in document management or says they’re going to go paperless, where they actually produce more paper because the information is more accessible to more people.

My generation and the generation below me still like it printed out and be able to write our notes on the side. I don’t see that changing for at least the next 10-15 years. As document management makes it easier to file and store things, and easier to find, it makes it just as easy to print it. Which plays into that managed print.

You had that trend where everything went digital, a copier or a MFP in the center of a room, and everyone prints to it. I think you’ll see people going back to desktop units where they can print immediately what they need right there, saving time and making it more convenient and trying to get more production out of people.

What will that trend mean for DEX?

Doyle: It means our managed print business will grow.

What’s DEX Imaging’s take on Managed IT Services? Is that something you’re planning on doing if you haven’t started already?

Doyle: We do some of it. We’re still on the outside right now observing it and taking care of a few customers. I don’t know how long that will last as people get more and more entrenched with using the cloud.  I think you’ll see the big guys take that over and manage it all on a cloud. There will still be desktop services and things like that that people will need so there is a need for it and it’s a profitable sector, and that’s what motivated us to get into it.

It does come with some catches. If you go in and you’re maintaining somebody’s e-mail server, and it seems whenever e-mail goes down the world stops. Do you want your company’s reputation based on somebody’s spam mail that crashed somebody’s e-mail and now all they do is bad mouth you even though you had nothing to do with it?

Are you investigating any other services or technology areas, such as 3-D printing?

Doyle: We just sat down and are kicking the tires on 3-D printing to try to understand it and the model you’d use. The traditional cost per click is probably a little different on a 3-D printer, so we’re just starting to play with it. I think that technology will change quickly. We had 3D Systems in here the other day. It’s a neat product and once it becomes a little more popular, it’s definitely something we’ll be involved with.

Your family has been in the copier business for years, was that an easy decision for you to make when it came to choosing a career path?

Doyle: When I first came out of college I went into the real estate market and was very fortunate there and was able to sell my business. Then in 2002 my dad and I thought it would be fun to get back in the copier business and build something together. It was an easy decision to make even though it wasn’t my first choice. And it’s tough following in his footsteps.

Still, you’ve been having a good time doing this?

Doyle: I’m having an absolute blast.

What’s been your proudest accomplishment during the past 12 years?

Doyle: We laid out a business plan on a Starbucks napkin and started from nothing in Tampa. We wanted to hit $100 million in 10 years and we hit that two years ago. It’s one of those things you get to check off your list and my dad and I always went back and forth, do you want to be $100 million or $150 million? He thought $100 million would be great, I thought $150 million would be great, and then when we hit the $100 million mark new goals were set.

How does a company grow as fast as you did and how much of it was your dad’s reputation?

Doyle: That was a huge part for attracting the right people. My dad had a wonderful reputation and a great playbook. He ripped out some chapters and said, ‘You don’t want to go down these roads’ when he handed that playbook over to me. That helps make my decisions easier. Plus we were able to attract some incredible people to join us, which obviously helps with growth because you’re only as good as the people around you.

What gets you excited about coming into work every day?

Doyle: There’s always a deal going down somewhere. Nothing beats watching a new rep get their first deal. We have some reps that have been with us since we started and they still get as excited on a one machine deal as they do on a large deal. That’s the drive. I work every day with my dad and nothing beats that.

Scott Cullen
About the Author
Scott Cullen has been writing about the office technology industry since 1986. He can be reached at scott_cullen@verizon.net.