Jim Coriddi made it abundantly clear during the outset of Ricoh’s annual ConvergX meeting, which took place Nov. 18-20 at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The vice president of Ricoh USA’s dealer division proclaimed that ConvergX 2019 was not about products or sales.
There would not be any garishly-dressed showgirls preening around a stable of new products, nor were there any tigers jumping through hoops or fireworks-addled visual effects. No Tom Jones or Celine Dion racing across the stage in full voice, singing, “The future is here, the future is NOW.” Just a good, old-fashioned meeting to discuss dealer strategy. And for the 650-odd attendees—primarily chief executives and key decision-makers—that was just fine.
“This is going to be a different ConvergX,” Coriddi told the audience. “Different, because it’s all about strategy.”
Coriddi instead turned the spotlight onto the dealers themselves in the opening address, accounting the success stories of people like Jeff Elkin of Advance Business Systems, and Jerry Mathwig of Metro Sales. A video clip showed Mathwig discussing the dealership’s conversion to an ESOP ownership plan, noting that with employees being co-owners, “It turns up the heat on their productivity.” Coriddi also mentioned how John Lowery of Applied Imaging has witnessed a growth spurt that has catapulted the dealership past the $100 million plateau.
These stories underscored the growth of these companies since 2012, when Coriddi first took the stage at the dealer meetings on the company’s 50th anniversary in the United States.
Strategy Focus
ConvergX 2019 was simply all about the dealer and how it can leverage its relationship with Ricoh to go deeper and wider with customers. In fact, Coriddi coined the conference a Leadership Partner Forum, and at its heart was a series of 10 breakout sessions designed to bring value to the dealer. The topics ranged from workforce transformation and subscription-based business models to integrated offerings such as production print as a point of differentiation, and next-generation succession planning.
One of the common threads among the sessions was a call to action for dealers to visit the corresponding booths within the Dealer Experience Center (DXC). Whereas the breakouts acted as a primer/appetite whetter to get dealers thinking about a given discipline, the DXC provided opportunities for a deeper dive and more personalized consultation, along with actionable programs.
During the opening session, Coriddi noted how dealers now account for 48% of Ricoh’s sales as the OEM continues to focus on that segment being its primary channel. Whereas seven years ago, the manufacturer sought to be the No. 1 provider, it now deigns to be the No. 1 dealer partner of customer value.
“ConvergX 2019 is about collaborating for customer value…and how we’ll work together to deliver true customer value that separates you from the competition,” he told the audience.
Critical Changes
Ricoh Americas President and CEO Joji Tokunaga talked about the last meeting 18 months ago, when he was a newcomer to his roles. The company was in transition and needed to make changes. Tokunaga said he would do three things: listen, tell dealers the truth and show results by his actions. The company made critical decisions to help transform itself, namely bringing in new leaders and new thinking. As a result, Ricoh became more effective and more efficient, he said, and more profitable.
“Now it’s time to leverage those changes and the success to focus on the future,” he said. “It is time to expand our investment in your success. It is time to stop focusing internally and start focusing externally. We must change our mindsets to focus on our customers.”
In closing, Tokunaga cited the strength in Ricoh’s technology, partnerships and people, imploring the dealers, “Let’s kick ass together.”
The next morning, the conference’s first full day, Tokunaga detailed the challenging market conditions and competitive landscape, including Chinese tariffs, Brexit, the Middle East unrest and the uncertainty surrounding U.S. politics. But despite the pundits who have painted a gloomy picture for the industry, he noted, “I’m very confident the industry will not only survive but resurge.”
On the Rise
Coriddi chronicled the company’s fiscal 2019 success on the Ricoh Family Group side, which saw overall revenue at 5% growth, with wholesale equipment purchases up “a crazy” 10%. From a unit standpoint, A3 color is up 12%, fueled by the new IM color series. Production color (C7200 series and C9200 series) rose 21%, and the corresponding production integrated solutions revenue came in even higher. Black-and-white did not fare as well, with A3 MFPs and A4 printers down roughly 5%. As a result, aftermarket sales were flat to slightly up. However, there is some growth in color aftermarket at 3%, and he used that as a jumping-off point to tout the company’s ability to augment dealers’ annuity business going forward.
In other areas, software gained 24% and Champs services revenue is up 26%, while flat-panel display units surged 48%. In a nod to the dealers who have helped make growth a reality, a list of the top 25 RFG dealers in three-year purchase growth was shown. Coriddi also gave a shoutout to GFI Digital for attaining the highest national revenue growth.
In closing, Coriddi said that Ricoh seeks dealers who are committed to sustainable growth and customer value.
