Larry White feels your pain. In fact, the president and CEO of Toshiba America Business Solutions shared the impact blows delivered by this year’s tariffs during a Dec. 4 Town Hall held for dealer partners and media/analysts. During the 90-minute call, White and four key Toshiba executives laid out some of the most exciting opportunities that can enable dealers to find new revenue sources or augment existing ones.
ENX covered many of the talking points in its October issue Channel Insight feature on Toshiba (check it out here). We’ll offer an overview of the Town Hall presentation.
The subject of tariffs continues to be on the minds of many. Toshiba was hit as hard as any OEM by the volatile rates applied to goods imported from China. It had the unfortunate timing of taking in two shipments during the 152% apex of the rates. Toshiba mobilized, shifting production to Indonesia and Malaysia, renegotiating vendor contracts, and modestly raising prices. Still, White stressed, the OEM’s financial stability was exemplified in its decision not to implement layoffs.
Toshiba was undaunted; White noted the company enjoyed a strong performance in the core copier business, with record market share gains and billowing aftermarket sales. The messaging, however, stressed the importance of reaping complementary profit streams via diversification jewels offered by the OEM: managed print services, thermal barcode label printing, and proprietary software solutions. That’s not to say print is being subjugated by non-MFP offerings—White has ambitious growth plans across the board. He envisions achieving a consistent 10% market share in print, growing managed print services 10% annually, building the label and receipt printing business into a $50 million segment within three years, and expanding software by 20% annually.
Goal Setting
White then turned the podium over to Chief Revenue Officer Steven Sauer, who expanded on these goals, tying them directly to dealer success. He noted Toshiba’s balanced sales mix—50% direct, 50% dealer—but emphasized that future growth will lean heavily on dealers. Toshiba has no plans to expand its direct footprint or acquire dealers, instead channeling investment into software companies. Sauer credited Toshiba’s rise from 7% to 9% market share to its unwavering commitment to print and increased sophistication, particularly in software and data collection tools that have yielded larger wins.
Managed Print as a Service (MPaaS) was described by Sauer as the “tip of the spear” for positioning dealers as trusted advisors rather than commodity sellers. Toshiba’s infrastructure of specialists, analysts, and project managers provides dealers with a proven roadmap, delivering 10% annual growth and margins of around 45%. Thermal label printing was highlighted as another major opportunity. With thermal heavyweight Zebra controlling 90% of the U.S. market but showing signs of complacency, the opportunity is there to capitalize. Dealers can leverage Toshiba’s tools to uncover hidden opportunities, as demonstrated by a Kentucky health care system where Toshiba displaced competitors and added $100,000 annually in label and receipt printing revenue.
Sauer also spotlighted Toshiba’s software business as the “sexy part” of print. With growth targets rising from 20% to 30%, software offers strong margins, resilience against tariffs and customer stickiness. Cloud-based solutions like Elevate Sky Print Management position dealers to move upmarket, supported by Toshiba’s hands-on training programs that demystify software selling.
On Tap
Bill Melo, vice president of product marketing and strategic business development, looked ahead to 2026 as a pivotal year. Toshiba will refresh nearly all A3 MFPs within 12 months, while new A4 models such as the e-STUDIO331AC and e-STUDIO401AC are updated with added OCR capabilities at no extra cost. Toshiba continues to lead in A4 with the lowest total cost of ownership and plans to expand its Toshiba-branded A4 portfolio to meet dealer demand.
Label and receipt printers remain a fast-growing segment, with shipments rising 7–9% annually. Toshiba’s new A-BRID technology, offered in the recently released BX420 Series and the ultra-high-resolution BX430, paves the way for seamless replacement of Zebra and other legacy devices, creating a strong diversification opportunity. Programs like LabelSmart bundle consumables, service, and parts into a high-revenue model that can exceed per-unit color margins. Innovation is driven by dealer and customer input, with Elevate Sky services saving dealers nearly $3 million annually through remote management and embedded DCAs. Integration with CEO Juice further strengthens dealer efficiency by passing 30-plus usage meters directly into ERP systems.
Melo also highlighted Toshiba’s October acquisition of Youmebee, whose technology served as a core component of Toshiba’s Elevate Sky Print Management platform. This cloud-native, multi-brand solution has become Toshiba’s most successful IP software product with dealers. By acquiring Youmebee while rebranding their technology Coreza, Toshiba gains full control of the roadmap, enabling expansion into a broader SaaS portfolio while maintaining vendor-agnostic compatibility. Melo concluded that while print may decline, information creation and management are expanding rapidly, positioning Toshiba’s software and cloud solutions as critical growth engines.
Sky Rocketing
Steven Tungate, vice president & general manager, service, supply chain and innovation, emphasized the daily lifeline Toshiba provides through its service and supply chain organizations. The supply chain team manages global logistics, compliance and dealer order fulfillment, supported by tools like automated order entry and a new order inquiry system offering real-time tracking. Each dealer has a dedicated support contact, reinforcing Toshiba’s relationship-driven approach. On service, Toshiba field specialists and California-based technical support ensure rapid response, with over 80% of calls answered within 30 seconds and customer satisfaction at 99%.
Tungate trumpeted Elevate Sky services, Toshiba’s cloud-based platform leveraging device sensors for predictive insights and remote management. A key feature, Elevate Sky Predict, equips technicians with real-time data—service history, usage, and parts needs—before arriving onsite, reducing repeat visits and boosting productivity. Service partnership reviews help dealers measure adoption and identify untapped opportunities, from cost savings to new revenue streams. By integrating tools like DCA monitoring and predictive analytics, dealers gain visibility into competitive devices on customer networks—what Tungate called a “hunting license” for upgrades. He emphasized that while technology is vital, Toshiba’s true strength lies in its people: passionate teams dedicated to supporting dealers at every level.
Touch Points
Rounding out the presentation was Kerstin Woods, vice president of solutions and outbound marketing, who highlighted Toshiba’s role in accelerating client engagement through consistent, high-quality marketing touchpoints. Converting prospects can take anywhere from 3 to 50 interactions, depending on the relationship, but Toshiba provides the scale and resources most dealers lack. Survey results show Toshiba enjoys strong brand awareness and positive sentiment, ranking alongside major tech leaders and ahead of print competitors.
Digital presence is central: Toshiba posts five times weekly on social media, driving double-digit engagement growth, and invests heavily in its website, where dealer locators and lead forms generate qualified opportunities passed directly to dealers. Email campaigns, newsletters and a wide range of content—from videos and infographics to white papers—support every stage of the buyer journey. Dealer enablement is reinforced through over 1,000 training sessions this year, with dashboards planned to give dealers visibility into participation. Toshiba also offers customizable marketing assets, bespoke campaigns, and recruiting support through its Sevenstep partnership. Woods underscored that Toshiba’s marketing organization is a service arm for dealers, committed to listening and delivering practical tools.
On the whole, Toshiba’s town hall showcased a company balancing stability with innovation, leveraging its strengths in print while aggressively expanding into software, services and marketing support. For dealers, the message was clear: Toshiba is not just weathering industry challenges but positioning itself—and its partners—for sustainable growth. That’s certainly a remedy for tariff-induced headaches.
