The office technology industry is changing, and Mike Marusic is focused on seeing how it takes shape. He’s no doctor, but the president and CEO of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America is determined to take the industry’s pulse, especially at the field level. He wants to be out in the trenches, speaking with dealer executives and their teams, to have a more granular feel for what Sharp resellers are seeing and hearing. It’s not about what Marusic wants to hear as much as it’s about what he needs to hear. And hitting the road is the best way to accomplish this.
Prepare for a different Sharp National Dealer Meeting come October. The fact that it’s in Orlando, Florida, and not Las Vegas somewhat foreshadows Marusic’s plan to make the event less showy and more tactical. The company’s successful road shows earlier this year crystallized his thinking about the optimal approach in hosting effective dealer meetings. Marusic doesn’t want to spend too much time telling his dealers how great the OEM is—he’s preaching to the choir. He’d rather dive head-first into the challenges and opportunities that confront reseller partners and put them in the best position to enjoy success.
Marusic checked in for a chat with ENX Magazine from an airport conference room—he’d been visiting with a well-known dealer. He shared his views on how dealers can continue to leverage Sharp’s full product and service complement, which for the past year has included production print in addition to copiers, displays and Dynabook laptops. With AI, tariffs, consolidation and other hot-button issues grabbing headlines, he’s tuning out the excess noise, instead focusing on what Sharp needs to do in order to continue growing alongside reseller partners.
How did Sharp perform during the most recent fiscal year, and what were some of the variables that influenced it? How did expectations compare with results?
Marusic: Our fiscal 2024 campaign was flat year over year for the core document business. There was slight growth in terms of market share. We had been growing at 5%–7%–10% clips, so we really wanted to focus on profitability as our primary driver. Our other businesses, display and Dynabook, really did well. In fact, Dynabook saw huge growth. For us, it was really about making sure our foundations would be strong. We didn’t really chase deals at the end of March [fiscal year end], which is a very popular thing to do. That’s usually where the swing occurs. Many [competitors] just give [product] away in March. But we chose to focus on really strong profitability, and that showed through in our financials.
Given the volatility of tariffs, what’s been the messaging you’ve shared with your dealer partners?
Marusic: Starting back in January, we were prepping the dealers with monthly updates regarding our thoughts on tariffs to give them an idea about what to expect. Obviously, it’s nearly impossible to predict. Once things locked in during April with the announced flat 10% tariffs, it provided some cost certainty. We shared our pricing strategies with the dealers, which included a price increase on the hardware products. However, we maintained our supply pricing, having made the decision to let Sharp absorb that cost.
It was important to maintain constant communication and let dealers know what to expect from Sharp. We did a number of webinars with our dealers. We had a bulletin with all the information, and then we walked them through it to let them know what our thinking was and how we’re going to move forward. We told them that as situations change, here’s how we’re going to react to each change so that they can anticipate it in their own businesses. What I found, certainly through the supply chain crisis, is that dealers really helped us get through it by making their adjustments. By being open with them, it prevented a lot of problems.
We’re fortunate to have Dino Pagliarello, who truly knows production print, which allowed us to think—as a new entry—how to do things differently.
— Mike Marusic, Sharp
One thing that came to light was just how many OEMs are still getting product from China. In the last couple years, companies declared they had exited China. But then when the tariffs came in, it revealed they weren’t entirely out of that country. We all get products out of that market. Most OEMs have done their main production outside of China, but there are always components, finishers, paper trays and the like that are made there. So it poses a challenge for all of us.
What stands out as some of the watershed moments for Sharp over the past 12 months? What resonated the most with you?
Marusic: Our road shows provide us with the best guidance of what’s happening in the dealer community. In doing four shows, we get smaller groups of dealers, and that gives us an opportunity to find out what the sales managers, reps and service managers are thinking. Being able to spend time with them is invaluable. It provides instant feedback, so when we’re having a discussion, I can see if maybe I’m not explaining something correctly, or maybe they’re not liking what I’m saying. That’s really productive.
Our entry into production print last August/September was pivotal. For Sharp, that’s a category we hadn’t competed in previously. We have large dealers that wanted us in that space. Having a product that’s considered the industry gold standard really put us in a good spot with our dealers. We’re seeing the value of that right now, and the major end-user accounts that it’s getting us into is really opening up different doors. I think it’s changing the perception of Sharp in a lot of people’s minds.
What has the production print experience shown you so far?
Marusic: We’ve learned a lot since we got into the space. We’re fortunate to have Dino Pagliarello, who truly knows production print, which allowed us to think—as a new entry—how to do things differently. Our white-glove delivery and an extra level of service helped us get into the space the right way, and it’s added value. It’s also a tremendous value to the dealer. On the flip side, we have to deal with the longer sales cycle. We’ll hold a VIP session at our Montvale headquarters, and it might be six months later by the time we close the sale. The buyer’s decision process is very deliberate and specific. A six- or eight-month selling cycle is a lot longer than I would have anticipated, but now we’ve reached the period where all that work is coming to fruition. Dino was pretty dead-on when he told me that’s how it was going to work. That was probably the difference for me in understanding that category.
Sharp’s National Dealer Meeting is on tap for October in Orlando. Can you provide us with a preview of the tone and direction dealers can expect to hear?
Marusic: In the past, we liked to get on stage and pontificate about Sharp, and there’s a place for that. We have a lot of good things to talk about, but sometimes we get caught up in the production value, so to speak. When I hit the road and visit dealers, the questions I’m getting are more strategic and involve Sharp’s tactics versus, “Hey, tell me all the great things about Sharp.” They really want to understand how AI’s going to impact our business and how they’re going to diversify their portfolio, which everybody talks about and we’ve been pitching. But it’s not about telling them we’re going to do AI and diversification. The key is they want to understand how we’re going to do it. You don’t get that level of discourse from a pomp-and-circumstance type meeting. When I look at the productivity of a road show and the follow-up, I’m looking at blending the best of both shows. How do I get the overarching spirit of the national meeting while still getting into the road-show-level specifics that the dealers crave? I want our dealers to learn what they should do next and how we can help them. That’s really going to be the key focus for this meeting.
Ricoh recently announced it would be offering Brother A4 equipment. What’s your view of the evolving manufacturer landscape, and what does it mean for Sharp?
Marusic: I don’t think it’s any big revelation for a manufacturer to sell other manufacturers’ products. It’s less of a shocker in the Sharp community because of our other categories, such as Dynabook and display, where this is the norm. I try to avoid commenting on what others are doing from a strategy standpoint. Our focus is really about reinvesting in R&D, bringing our own products to market and investing in software. At our dealer meeting in October, visitors can see new products, software and continued investments. We’re going to continue to commit dollars to A4 and building out our own A4 product line. That’s the commitment dealers want to see.
For us, the question is, how do we leverage AI to make our products better? How do we leverage AI to make our dealers service their products better? People who attend our meeting in October are going to see a lot of those tools being delivered to dealers that will allow them to maximize the efficiency of their fleets, their service people and the machines themselves.
— Mike Marusic, Sharp
Consolidation is inevitable. Everyone knows how I love to say the agreement all OEMs have “that there’s going to be consolidation and we’re going to be one of the last three or four [companies] standing.” We do feel that we’re definitely going to be one of the last ones standing, just based on the actions we are taking versus where we see others heading. While everybody thinks they’re going to survive, I take a step back and look at the overarching plan and say, is Sharp a company that’s willing to make the investments to continue to build out the business? Or are we taking chips off the table? During our factory meetings, we weren’t having conversations about cost cutting and things like that. The conversations centered on how we can drive business over the next 5 or 10 years. Where do you see the business in 10 years and where will we be investing? I think we’re in a good spot, and so are our dealers. We’re beginning to see a lot more of the mega dealers and dealers who carry other lines beginning to take a hard look at the landscape. They’re starting to shift their business our way because they really see us as a more of a long-term player. That’s really what we’ve got to focus on: what we can do to deliver for our dealers? We’ll let everyone else worry about their strategies and what they’re going to do.
Talk a little about the role AI will play in future Sharp technologies.
Marusic: AI is going to have two impacts on our industry and on Sharp/Sharp dealers. Dealers should be engaging with AI in how they conduct their business and their day-to-day activities. You’ve got to make sure that AI is delivering accurate information—that is the big risk. I think it’s going to be a tremendous tool for dealers to automate a lot of their processes and streamline their businesses. I think the other part is really what AI can deliver on the product end. At the last dealer meeting, I received some criticism for saying that we’re not going to be leading the way in AI. But the same holds true for any copier manufacturer. The level of investments required to lead the way in AI is bigger than the industry. For us, the question is, how do we leverage AI to make our products better? How do we leverage AI to make our dealers service their products better? People who attend our meeting in October are going to see a lot of those tools being delivered to dealers that will allow them to maximize the efficiency of their fleets, their service people and the machines themselves. Once that door opens, dealers are going to see more and more opportunities for themselves. We have other products such as the Dynabook, where we already have AI functionality in the form of a dual processor and an AI button that activates other tools. In our display business, we’re trying to build a platform that allows all our devices to communicate. AI can accelerate that so fast, and that’s really going to be a tool for the dealers who love the service model to get into those businesses; now there’s a revenue opportunity in the aftermarket on the support side by leveraging AI tools in markets that didn’t have them before. It’s going to be a wild couple of years with AI. We’re all trying to figure out what the best investment is. It’s moving so fast, and companies don’t want to spend a lot of money developing something and then have Microsoft come out with a better version of it built into Windows or Outlook. Where you find your place is really going to be the challenge.
What will be the keys to garnering a greater market share moving forward?
Marusic: I look at market share as a post-mortem report on how well you executed your plan. Chasing market share for market share’s sake is actually quite easy, but you can lose money quickly while doing it. What we really want to do is execute our plan. We believe that having the right products and approach to the market, how we treat our dealers and focusing more on training them is going to drive the behavior that we’re seeking. As we develop our diversification strategy and strengthen our dealers, and as consolidation happens—and it will—I’m confident we’re going to capture share because others will have gone away.
One of the things that will drive people away is lack of profitability. We’re a profitable company, and we can make those necessary investments. Those who can’t will cut back on product development and slowly wither away. We want to be a very profitable business going forward. I joke internally that our job is to be steady and profitable for the next two years and let others fall away. Then there’s a demand dash for the share. I’ve read about companies that vow to go after market share. Then the parent company’s financials come out a month later, and they lose a ton of money. That’s not a long-term viable strategy. I feel that being profitable and driving the business will gain us share. That’s what we’ve done; we’ve doubled our share in the last seven years. And we did it not by saying we’re going to double our share. We did it by taking the right steps, one at a time, and putting our dealers in the right spot. It’s worked so far, and we’re going to keep doing that.
What’s going to be the key to having a successful second half of 2025? What are some of the metrics you use to gauge success beyond the numbers?
Marusic: The continued development of our production print program is probably my top priority. It’s a significant investment for the company. We’ve done all the right things, we’ve worked on blocking and tackling. This is now the second half, and we are passing the 6–8 months it takes to build a real pipeline, so now is when we begin to start seeing volume. We need to ensure we’re on track to build out that business. It’s really centered on how many dealers we can support effectively and do the proper job. It’s also about not oversaturating the market and making sure the dealers who commit to us are highly profitable as a result. Production is one of the few areas where there’s actually a unit number goal that will determine, for me, whether we executed our plan. We had that number set up a year ago and determined how we’re going to build toward it. That’s really the metric—did we execute correctly?
Everyone talks about diversification. I’m not overly concerned about how a dealer defines it; sometimes it’s with another Sharp product, such as our displays or laptops, but sometimes it’s not. My biggest concern is making sure the dealers have a long-term plan and strategy to make themselves stronger. If a dealer chooses not to partner with Sharp on a diversification strategy, that’s OK, just as long as they’re doing something. If they’re strong as a dealership, and we do our job on the document side, I’m confident we’ll align at some point. But if they’re weakened and not doing well, if they can’t execute, it really doesn’t matter what services we provide. So it’s important to me to make sure that dealers are diversifying.
If a dealer chooses not to partner with Sharp on a diversification strategy, that’s OK, just as long as they’re doing something. If they’re strong as a dealership, and we do our job on the document side, I’m confident we’ll align at some point. But if they’re weakened and not doing well, if they can’t execute, it really doesn’t matter what services we provide.
— Mike Marusic, Sharp
We’re seeing where we fit. Displays have always been a core part of our diversification strategy. From my standpoint, if we have more dealers offering displays or Dynabooks, we’ll be very successful. Our dealer share of Dynabook has dramatically increased. Same thing in displays; the share of the MFP channel in displays has increased every year for the last five years. That’s great progress. So for me, it’s less about the actual dollars and more about seeing those dealers adopting those products and increasing their activity.
