rv08_day2_p1 8/26/08 6:54 PM Page 1

THE OFFICIAL SHOW DAILY

Day Two
SHOW DAILY

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel
NEWS, VIEWS, AND REVIEWS FROM 2008 VISION EVENTS San Diego, Calif.

Today’s Events
Insight: Warranty Do’s
& Don’ts
8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Emerging Vendors Get ‘Fresh’
These seven products making their RetailVision debuts could be the next killer gizmos
Randle Ballroom CDE
Keynote: Vendor Of The Year By Andrew R. Hickey ing a scanner that can drop scanned it wherever and the system feeds location
12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. Hot. Fresh. Now. Those were the buz- images into any application—be it e- coordinates to a mobile device, which
Randle Ballroom CDE
zwords around RetailVision 2008 as mail, a document or PDF, said CEO can be used to pinpoint the location
Keynote: Retailer Of The Year seven emerging vendors showed off Dov Aharonson. It can scan up to 600 using Google Maps. The device retails
1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Randle Ballroom CDE their latest gadgets to tech-craving retail- dpi and comes with software to use
Insight: Emerging ers looking for the next killer gizmo. the images in several ways. The
Technologies Spearheaded by Fred Brown and combo is available now for $159.
3:45 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Ray Robidoux of Sightline Group, If a scanner-keyboard hybrid
Randle Ballroom CDE
Tuesday’s “Fresh” showcase featured a isn’t enough, Lifeworks Technology
Everything Channel Test host of products ready for retail. Group showed off its keyboard
Center Awards
6:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. SpeechGear highlighted intelligent with a built-in iPod dock, which
Manchester Foyer language translation software that runs offers touch-sensitive keys to up vol-
Best Of RetailVision Awards on a PDA. CEO Robert Palmquist said ume and manipulate iPod controls.
Gala the software takes anything written, Amin Adjmi, Lifeworks vice presi-
8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Randle Ballroom CDE typed or spoken and translates it. “Say dent, also showed off a notebook
good-bye to your dictionary,” Palmquist stand with an integrated iPod dock Scan Away: KeyScan’s Dov Aharonson (l.)
said after a video showing the software’s and speakers, which comes bundled demonstrates new keyboard/scanner combo.
use in China, translating English into with keyboard and mouse. Those
Mandarin Chinese to help visitors find should hit in first-quarter 2009. for $395 with up to a 50 percent whole-
a good restaurant or a bottle of water. Innotech Systems dropped its Accen- sale discount.
The system is ready now. da Voice Control for iPod, a product that Keeping with the big brother theme,
And for a productivity enables the Apple music player to be DMTech’s vice president of sales and
boost, KeyScan debuted the manipulated with voice commands. marketing, Kevin Gabriel, unveiled a
KS810, a keyboard integrat- Innotech application engineer Chris spherical golf-ball-size camera that can
Griswold said users plug earbuds into the record video and audio or broadcast live
gadget, which sits at chest level, and plug footage. The wireless camera, which can
the device into an iPod. “Tell your iPod record up to six hours of video, features
what to do without lifting a finger,” he a motion sensor, has a microSD slot for
said. The device is expected to be avail- expandable memory and connects to a
able in September for $99.95. computer though USB for playback.
Those looking to play big brother Forget your cell phone charger?
need look no further than Gilsson Tech- Michelle Rush, vice president of market-
nologies, which unveiled what it calls the ing for Medis Technologies, demon-
“world’s smallest” GPS tracking device. strated the 24-7 Power Pack, a fuel cell
About the size of a small pager, the to charge portable devices. Just pull the
AlwaysFind Mini Personal GPS Track- strip and squeeze the box to activate. The
ing System weighs 2 ounces and runs on charger lasts up to three months and has
a cell phone battery. Ming Ho, sales a preactivation shelf life of years. For
PHOTOS: GENE FEDELE

Craving Tech? Medis’ Michelle Rush can charge up a cell phone with a fuel cell; director, said it’s for folks who want to $39.99 retailers can stock a starter kit
SpeechGear’s Robert Palmquist says translation software means you can lose the “track anything”—a car, person or a fat with cable, charger tips and a fuel cell.
dictionary; Innotech’s Chris Griswold manipulates an iPod with voice commands. bag of cash. Just activate the device, place After that, fuel cell chargers are $19.99.
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rv08_day2_p3 8/26/08 9:43 PM Page 3

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

S H O W D A I LY

The Consumer Channel Words To Live By: Speak

Robert C. DeMarzo
Senior VP/Editorial Director, Everything Channel Softly, Carry A Big Screen
I
Pointing out the pitfalls and the opportunities in a challenging economy
s it the retail channel or the consumer channel?
That’s the question to debate here at Everything By Stefanie Hoffman price as the determining factor for their elec-
Channel’s RetailVision. No, we don’t intend to change the Retailers should expect slowed growth, as con- tronics spending. Citing statistics gathered by
name to ConsumerVision. But at this event, vendors and their sumers tighten their budgets and numerous The NPD Group, Baker said that two-thirds of
partners are discussing a much broader channel opportunity, electronic products reach a full penetration those surveyed said the economy has impacted
one that goes beyond the traditional definition of “retail” into a point. That was part of the message from them to the extent that they are changing
community serving a broad consumer audience. Do small busi- Stephen Baker, vice president of industry anal- their shopping habits. Price is playing a bigger
nesses buy from this channel? Sure, along ysis at The NPD Group, in a speech Tuesday at part in spending decisions, and consumers are
with individuals, the traditional SOHO demo- RetailVision here.
graphic and even larger businesses that In his keynote, “Speak
shop for printers, monitors or PCs in con- Softly and Carry a Big
sumerlike fashion. This channel is made up Screen: Opportunity and
of today’s leading retailers, along with small Peril in the Holiday
or midsize VARs that have a brisk commer- Ahead,” Baker highlighted
cial business but don’t discriminate when it trends indicating the chal-
comes to who helps pay the bills. These VARs can serve an indi- lenges retailers may face as
vidual consumer or meet the needs of a small-office owner who growth in electronic con-
is as comfortable shopping at Best Buy as Bill’s Local VAR. sumer products slows. But
As we know from the market-share data, the big-box retail- he also pointed out some
ers and their smaller brethren do not own the entire consumer opportunities.
market. Yes, they serve a large part of it, but many typical solu- The weak economy and
tion providers report a healthy percentage of their sales come other structural issues have
from what must be termed a consumer channel made up of indi- taken their toll on con-
viduals, SOHOs and small businesses. Just look at our 2008 sumer electronics spend-
State of the Market survey, which found that 40 percent of the ing, Baker said. “What you
solution provider community (the data can be projected across see is that growth curve
the entire channel) sells to companies with five or fewer work- starting to come down,”
ers. As you would expect, VARs with revenue of $1 million or said Baker. “We don’t have A Wide Net: E-commerce sites have achieved growth of 6 percent to 9
less were most apt to serve these customers. But, it is not just the growth opportunities percent, says NPD’s vice president of industry analysis, Stephen Baker.
the small solution providers who serve SOHOs, it is larger VAR as we did in the past.”
organizations, too. VARs with revenue of $1 million to $5 million The slowing growth is not just the result of increasingly buying products on promotions
said they serve SOHOs (27 percent) and at least one in 10 orga- a weak economy, according to Baker. It also has and gravitating toward sales.
nizations with revenue of more than $20 million said they do as to do with the fact that the consumer electron- However, despite a lagging economy, slowing
well. So what you have is a rather fragmented market that has ics market is transitioning from first-time buy- growth curves and a possible recession, retailers
well-known players and some not-so-obvious ones. ers to replacement buyers in numerous product can still find opportunity, Baker said.
On one side you have big multibillion-dollar retailers who do categories. E-commerce sites have taken off, experienc-
their best to serve this market and whose vendor partners must The stagnant growth can also be attributed ing 6 percent to 9 percent growth. While the
create specific retail channel programs. Vendors often pour to maturing technology, and lack of innovative retail sector has remained flat over the last 12
huge dollars into this channel and understand it is a pay-to-play “next big thing” products, Baker added. Subse- months, retail.com sites have grown as consumers
game. In the middle are strong regional retailers such as Fry’s quently, the number of new buyers is reaching have shifted their purchasing to the Web. There
or PC Richard & Sons. And then there are all those smaller VARs its limit, and the growth in numerous electron- is also opportunity in accessories and services. In
and solution providers who can resell IT goods and services to ic product categories is reaching a plateau. addition, prices for high-end electronics, such as
consumers and the SOHO market. If you consider there are as “A lot of these key categories have high pene- LCD TVs, have tripled over the last three years,
many as 240,000 VAR organizations in the U.S., then 40 percent tration rates,” said Baker. “That really changes the as more customers desire larger screens.
of that population—which generates, on average, some $3.3 mil- dynamic as to what you see in the marketplace.” “That’s the kind of thing that is going to
lion in annual sales—is probably the most underappreciated and And unlike years past, those replacement buy- drive our market,” said Baker. “We really need
misunderstood part of today’s emerging consumer channel. ers are not enticed by new enhanced features or to aim for those big things, because those big
PHOTOS: GENE FEDELE

upgrades that would typically compel them to things are going to be the things that drive
Reach Bob at [email protected] purchase new products. people into the store and get them excited about
Baker said that consumers are considering electronics.”

3
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

S H O W D A I LY

RetailVision Live:
Views of yesterday’s events at the RetailVision conference and sessions

(Top three photos, l. to. r.): ‘Fresh’ fun yesterday afternoon: Gilsson’s
Ming Ho gives an up-close look at the company’s TrackStar GPS
device; now you see it, now you don’t as DMTech’s Kevin Gabriel
holds up the company’s tiny wireless camera; emcees extraordinaire
Fred Brown and Ray Robidoux of Sightline Group lead the show.
(Next group of photos): RetailVision’s Suzie Wilson and Lisa Lovett
manage to manage the hectic schedule of Boardroom Appointments; a quick peek at
the PQI booth and its many wares; getting the details on E-Detail, Kim Geun Bae
(l.); circling around the SquareTrade Boardroom; all aboard as we pull in to the
mStation booth. (Next two photos): it’s show time for Mei Noguchi of Teledex as she
demos many of the company’s products, including the mini digital theater.

Photography
by
Gene Fedele

SHOW
DAILY
®

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jane O'Brien

VP/Design Director, Photography . . .Gene Fedele
Art & Production . . . . . . . . . . . Adeline Cannone
IT Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Wroobel

RetailVision Contacts:
VP/Everything Channel Events . .Nancy Hammervik
Managing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liz Madden
Sales . . . Mark Bianco (National Sales Mgr.); Tanya
Unsworth, David Karp, Lou Becker (Account Executives)
Marketing . . . .Diane Lehman (Sr. Marketing Mgr.)
Recruiting . . . . . . . . . .Tom Beedy, Jonathan Baron,
Josh Auger (Account Executives)
Operations . . . .Rob Mear (Director of Operations);
Karyn Bisson, Colleen Waters (Sr. Event Coordinators);
Lisa Ferrante (Event Planner/Travel)

CEO/Everything Channel . . . . . . . .Robert Faletra

The RetailVision Show Daily is a publication of
Everything Channel, United Business Media LLC,
600 Community Drive, Manhasset, N.Y. 11030.
Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

4
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

S H O W D A I LY

HTC Dream Gets Go-Ahead From FCC

First device from Google Android and Open Handset Alliance overcomes important hurdle in development process
By Andrew R. Hickey
HTC Dream, billed as the first device to come out of Google Android and the Open Handset
Alliance, was recently approved by the Federal Communications Commission, putting to bed
rumors that Android-powered open-source devices were running well behind schedule.
According to documents posted by the FCC, the HTC Dream has received approval. FCC
approval, an important hurdle in the device development process, grants permission for wire-
less devices to be used in the U.S.
While details were scant—thanks Google has said that Android-based open-source devices of choice: the
to a confidentiality request HTC devices would hit the market by the Symbian Foundation and the LiMo
filed with the FCC—the documents end of 2008. That timeline was called Foundation.
hosted on the federal commission’s into question, however, when reports The nonprofit Symbian Founda- Android and Symbian may eventual-
Web site indicate that the HTC surfaced indicating that Android-pow- tion, announced in June, took the ly pair up and attack the market
Dream will operate on the 1700 ered handsets had been plagued by open-source world by storm. together.
WCDMA band, which is T-Mobile’s delays and may not see the light of day Launched by Nokia, the foundation Another contender looking to steal
3G network. It will also support Wi- until 2009. Google, for its part, has features key partnerships with Sony Android’s thunder is the LiMo Foun-
Fi and Bluetooth 2.0. The Dream will maintained that Android plans Ericsson, Motorola, NTT DoCoMo, dation, which recently added a host of
feature a GSM/GPRS/EDGE remained on schedule. AT&T, Samsung, LG Electronics, new partners and several new Linux-
850/1900 radio. The device will also The first Google Android device, or Texas Instruments and a host of oth- based devices to its lineup. The open-
sport a “jog ball,” which is likely sim- GPhone, is good news for Google, ers to extend a unified mobile soft- source mobile consortium, which
ilar to the navigation track ball fea- which is facing tough competition on ware platform. Industry analysts have launched in January 2007, has
tured on certain BlackBerry models the open-source and Linux mobile said that the Symbian Foundation increased its ranks to more than 50
like the Pearl and the Curve. operating system front. Much like could beat out Google’s Android as partner companies in its drive to deliv-
Rumors of the HTC Dream, also Google’s Open Handset Alliance, two the open-source mobile platform of er an open handset platform to the
known as the HTC G1, began circu- other groups are vying to create the choice, prompting speculation that entire mobile industry.
lating in earnest when TmoNews, an
unofficial T-Mobile blog, reported
that the Dream will be the first
Google Android-based device. Early Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo: We’ve Got Game
reports indicated the Dream will be
Video games have generated some $8.3 billion in sales in the first half of this year
available for pre-order Sept. 17.
Details indicated that the HTC By Caitlin Moriarity percent, with Microsoft selling 219,800 of the consoles.
Dream would feature a large 5-inch by The economy may be in the tank, but you wouldn’t know But apparently there’s no stopping the Nintendo jugger-
3-inch touch-screen display and a slid- it from the video game market. Video game sales are up 53 naut. Nintendo sold 660,000 Wii consoles in June, down
ing QWERTY keyboard, along with a percent in June from a year ago, based on a report from mar- from May sales of 675,000 Wii consoles, but still the best-
3-megapixel camera. Also making an ket researcher NPD Group. In fact, during selling console of the month. Nintendo
appearance was a video said to depict the first half of 2008, video games have has sold 10.9 million consoles since its
an HTC Dream in use. generated some $8.3 billion in sales, a 36 release, making it the best-selling console
While at press time T-Mobile had percent jump from the first half of 2007. of its generation, beating out the PS3 and
not yet announced availability and PlayStation 3 sales jumped dramatical- the Xbox 360.
service plans for the HTC Dream, ly between May and June—Sony sold But despite price cuts to the PlaySta-
TmoNews said that users who buy the 208,700 PS3s in May and 405,000 PS3s tion 3 earlier this summer, Sony said that
HTC Dream will be required to use a in June, an increase of 94 percent. The it has no plans in the works to announce
Google Gmail e-mail account. The game Metal Gear Solid 4, produced by a price decrease. “It’s not going to hap-
device is expected to cost $399, but T- Konami exclusively for Sony’s PlayStation pen,” Sony Computer Entertainment
Mobile customers can grab on for 3, contributed to the dramatic surge in spokesman Nick Caplin told Reuters.
$150 during an exclusive weeklong Play Station 3 sales, according to NPD. Sony just recently slashed the price of
pre-sale. Sales to the public will likely Metal Gear Solid 4 was also June’s top- the PlayStation 3 by $100 at the E3
come in October, when the device will selling individual video game. In Gear: PlayStation 3 sales Media and Business Summit, in response
cost about $250. In June, Xbox 360 sales increased 1.8 surged between May and June. to price cuts by Microsoft to the Xbox 360.

6
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

S H O W D A I LY

RetailVision
Events Agenda

Day-to-Day Calendar of Events

August 25-27, 2008
The Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel
San Diego, CA

Monday, August 25
10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . Vendor Registration
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . The Meeting Place Vendor Setup
12:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . Retailer Registration
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . The State of CE Retail
3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . Grand Opening - The Meeting Place
3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . Everything Channel Test Center
4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . “INTRO” in The Meeting Place
6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Industry Awards Ceremony
Photos: Gene Fedele

8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Welcome Reception

Tuesday, August 26
7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Retailer Breakfast & Orientation
7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Vendor Breakfast in The Meeting Place
2008 RetailVision Events’ mission: To be the premier 8:45 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Insight: Fast Growth Retailers/E-tailers
retail events company providing vendors and prequalified retail- 9:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Service Provider Central (Vendors)
ers with the unique opportunity to meet face-to-face, establish 9:45 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Private Boardroom Appointments
new business partnerships and gain strategic insight through 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. . . . . . . . . . “FRESH” (Retailers)
content delivered by CRN, VARBusiness and IPED. 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Networking Luncheon
1:10 p.m. – 1:40 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . Insight
Key Benefits of RetailVision Events: 1:45 p.m. – 2:40 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . Private Boardroom Appointments
• Partnering with the premier retail industry event. 2:45 p.m. – 3:20 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Vendor Showcase (Retailers)
• Growing your business with new and existing partners. 3:25 p.m. – 4:25 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Insight: Keynote
• Access to new technology and partner programs. 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . . The Meeting Place: One-on-Ones
• Gaining market intelligence through educational seminars. 7:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Free Night
• Networking with key industry peers and editors. 10:00 p.m. - Midnight . . . . . . . . . D&H Late Night Party

Upcoming Everything Channel Events: Wednesday, August 27

7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Retailer Breakfast & Announcements
XChange Latin America RetailVision Middle East
7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Vendor Breakfast in The Meeting Place
September 8-10, 2008 November 3-5, 2008
Doral Resort Hotel JW Marriott 8:45 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. . . . . . . . . . Insight: Warranty Dos and Don’ts
Miami, FL Dubai, United Arab Emirates 9:40 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Service Provider Central (Vendors)
9:40 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. . . . . . . . . Private Boardroom Appointments
VisionEvents MES West Healthcare Summit 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . Keynote: “Vendor Of The Year”
September 14-17 November 16-19, 2008 12:30 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Networking Luncheon
Gaylord Texan Resort San Diego Sheraton Hotel 1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Keynote: “Retailer Of The Year”
Grapevine, TX San Diego, Calif. 2:10 p.m. – 3:40 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Private Boardroom Appointments
Featuring: Midsize Enterprise 3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Insight: Emerging Technologies
Innovation Awards XChange Tech Innovators 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . The Meeting Place: One-on-Ones
November 17-19, 2008 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . CRN Test Center Awards
CRN Fast Growth The Fairmont Hotel 7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. . . . . . . . . . Pre-Awards Cocktail Reception
October 15, 2008 San Jose, Calif. 8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. . . . . . . . . . “Best of Retailvision” Awards Gala
Intercontinental Hotel Featuring: VARBusiness Tech 9:30 p.m. – Midnight . . . . . . . . . . Ingram Micro After Awards Party
Chicago, IL Innovators Awards

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EVENTS CALENDAR 2008-2009

CHANNEL EVENTS END–USER EVENTS

IT CHANNELVISION: GOVERNMENT EDITION HEALTHCARE SUMMIT
December 7 – 9, 2008 November 16 – 19, 2008
Westin Diplomat Resort, Hollywood, Florida San Diego Sheraton Hotel and Marina
itchannelvision.com/gov San Diego, California
healthcaresummit.com
RETAILVISION
North America and Latin America MIDSIZE ENTERPRISE SUMMIT
August 25 – 28, 2008 midsizeenterprise.com
The Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, California North America
retailvision.com WEST: September 14 – 17, 2008
Gaylord Texan Resort & Conference Center
April 27– 30, 2009
Boca Raton Resort, Boca Raton, Florida Grapevine, Texas

Middle East EAST: May 3 – 6, 2009

November 3 – 5, 2008 Doral Golf Resort & Spa
JW Marriott® Hotel Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Miami, Florida
retailvision.com/europe WEST: September 13 –16, 2009
Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel
Europe
Los Angeles, CA
May 18 – 20, 2009
Le Palais dès Congres de Paris, Paris, France Europe
Oct. 20 – 22, 2009
CRN FAST GROWTH Citywest Hotel
October 16, 2008 Dublin, Ireland
Chicago, Illinois
cmpxchange.com/crnfg PRINT & IMAGING SUMMIT
December 3 – 5, 2008
XCHANGE LATIN Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, Bonita Springs, Florida
September 8 – 10, 2008 print–imagingsummit.com
Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Miami, Florida
December 6 – 8, 2009
cmpxchange.com/xla08
Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel
XCHANGE SOLUTION PROVIDER Los Angeles, California
March 8 – 11, 2009 PROJECT & PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT SUMMIT
Sheraton New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana
Europe
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December 3 – 5, 2008
XCHANGE TECH INNOVATOR Austria Trend Event Hotel Pyramide
November 17 – 19, 2008 Vienna, Austria
Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, California ppmsummit.com
cmpxchange.com/xti08 June 14 – 17, 2009
Location TBD
rv08_day2_p10_11 8/22/08 3:29 PM Page 10

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

S H O W D A I LY

AMD’s Dirk Meyer: Quest For Profitability

New leader lays out his vision for the chip maker, touting road-map execution and a drive to innovate as key
Advanced Micro Devices’ financial struggles are well-documented and new boss Dirk Meyer faces our channel partners with a one-stop
shop, and that gives real value to com-
a crucial stretch of months ahead as he attempts to lead the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chip maker panies big and small. We know our
out of the red. Everything Channel caught up with Meyer via e-mail to find out how he thinks channel partners and OEM customers
AMD’s partner channels can help make that happen, what “asset smart” means for AMD’s core look to AMD for products that offer
opportunities to increase profits, and
PC and server businesses, and what AMD is doing to help system builders and VARs add total we’re responding by delivering plat-
solutions and services to their offerings. forms aimed at profitable segments in
the consumer and commercial PC
EVERYTHING CHANNEL: Dirk, you’ve and graphics markets. Take AMD
got to be an extremely busy guy Game! for the mainstream PC gaming
these days, so thanks for taking the market, for example, which is a plat-
time to talk to us about your strat- form that is important to both OEMs
egy going forward as AMD’s new and solution providers. We’re also
CEO, and especially your ideas committed to ensuring that our mar-
about AMD’s channel relationships. keting programs and business pro-
Can you give us an overview of cesses make it easy to work with us, no
your vision for the company and matter the size of the company. Ensur-
specifically, the channel’s part in ing success across the board from
that vision? OEMs to solution providers is going to
MEYER: Thank you. I’ve never been mean success for AMD.
more excited about the opportunity
ahead for AMD and our customers. EVERYTHING CHANNEL: AMD’s been
We have a unique capacity to drive hosting “AMD Build Days” around
innovation and deliver a better com- the country, based around your
puting experience by integrating com- three new desktop platforms, AMD
puting and graphics processors because Live!, AMD Game! and AMD Busi-
we are the only company with both ness Class. The event we went to in
x86 microprocessor and graphics tech- San Jose was sold out and local
nology expertise. We’re executing to a whitebox builders seemed to really
strong road map, and our passionate enjoy putting together those Phe-
and talented people believe in our Path To Profit: ‘We’re responding by delivering platforms aimed at profitable nom and 7-series chipset-based sys-
business as strongly as I do. But we segments in the consumer and commercial PC and graphics markets,’ says Meyer. tems. Are there any more such
have to return to profitability, and channel-based initiatives from
we’re going to do that by focusing on do business with both the biggest but our path to meeting all of our AMD in the works?
our core businesses, continuing to OEMs around and with the small- OEM customers’ and channel part- MEYER: I’m glad you were able to
drive innovation, and consistently exe- est individual whitebox builders ners’ needs isn’t about conflict-resolu- attend one of our build events. They
cuting. The channel is critical to doing a tiny percentage of the big tion, it’s about enabling them to deliv- are proving to be a successful way for
achieving that goal, something recog- computer maker’s volume. So that’s er business value through differentiated AMD to help system builders learn
nized by the executive team and the just an endless tight rope you have solutions based on AMD technology. more about our platform initiatives in
entire company. This is a key reason to walk, but companies in your If you look at our business model, we what we hope is an entertaining and
that Gustavo Arenas, our chief sales position can either handle such are at the core a channel-centric com- informative environment. We’ve
officer, is chartered with ensuring our competing partner interests well pany. We are also uniquely positioned scheduled these throughout North
worldwide sales teams are working or poorly. How are you going to to meet our customers’ and channel America, including a recent one at
collaboratively to meet the channel’s balance the interests of different partners’ needs because we are the Everything Channel’s XChange event.
needs in every region across the globe. partner channels at AMD? Are only company offering both CPU- and We want to extend interactive expe-
there any other companies out GPU-based solutions, which allows riences like this into our day-to-day
EVERYTHING CHANNEL: Channel con- there that you feel set a good exam- them to differentiate their AMD tech- relationships with our customers
flict is always going to be an issue ple for managing channel conflict? nology-based offerings. Our micropro- through programs like our Five-Star
at a company like AMD that has to MEYER: The channel may be complex cessor and graphics platforms provide Partner Program that provides updat-

10
rv08_day2_p10_11 8/22/08 3:29 PM Page 11

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

S H O W D A I LY

ed training sessions as well as sales and

marketing tools through online por-
tals like AMD Market Builder. We
customers. We’ve been clear that we
are reshaping AMD’s business model
and that means focusing on the core
Distinguishing Yourself
also have an extensive training pro-
gram with live “metro” training days
technologies that differentiate AMD,
as well as consistently executing to our
In Customer Service
for our distribution partners across mid- and long-term road maps. I’ve Quality and customer experience are the hallmarks
regions, and similar programs that are been working with our leadership
targeted to our OEM channel part- team to accelerate this process and we By Fred King years, we have measured and reported
ners as well. are making progress. And of course Most companies our NetPromoter and CSAT scores as
I’m continuing to work with [former have fuzzy ideas of a routine part of our business. We have
EVERYTHING CHANNEL: Here’s a news CEO] Hector [Ruiz], who is helping what makes cus- tuned our technical teams, tools and
flash—hardware margins aren’t to drive our asset smart strategy to tomer service great. processes using these metrics. We pro-
what they used to be. What’s AMD completion. At the end of the day, But companies that lead in their mar- vide a clear promotion path for those
doing to help VARs go beyond just these changes are designed to benefit kets always differentiate themselves in individuals who excel. We focus on
reselling hardware to do the things our customers as our main objective two ways: quality and customer expe- getting problems resolved right the first
they need to do to thrive in today’s is to position AMD as the micropro- rience. The best companies in the time rather than focus on the time to
market, like putting together total cessor company that you want to do world have a dedication to these two resolve issues since customers do not
solutions and attaching services to business with. We want to be your attributes and look to measure them in specifically value whether an issue was
sales for recurring revenue? supplier of choice. the most discrete manner possible. solved in four minutes vs. five minutes.
MEYER: We’ve put in place a range of Distinguishing customer service is Being able to achieve a 94 percent to
programs to address this. First, we EVERYTHING CHANNEL: System creating a delightful customer relation-
enable our channel partners to deliv- builders want simple things. Good ship. Most customers call because of an
er differentiated solutions to their end product at good prices. The parts issue with a product purchased. It is the
customers, increasing their ability to they need, when they need them and exception to get a customer glowing
achieve stronger margins. Our CPU- with reliable support. If they get over a product—customers really expect
and GPU-based platforms are target- those things, theoretically they’re technology to work.
ed to profitable market segments. In not going to care if the supplier Any service experience can be
addition, we’re going to continue to takes an earnings mulligan every reduced to two separate metrics: Net-
execute to mid- and long-term road quarter. You, of course, don’t have Promoter and Customer Satisfaction
maps to aid in inventory planning that luxury. On the other hand, (CSAT). Both are provided directly by
because we understand how crucial having a happy channel and a the user of the service and provide
that is to the channel. And we’re healthy bottom line aren’t exactly clear metrics on an overall company’s
responding to the channel’s need for mutually exclusive, so to what extent ability to meet customer expectations.
associated services with increased train- do you think the first thing is going If these metrics are captured correctly,
ing and marketing support, like the to help AMD achieve the second they should correlate to the individual
support services offered with AMD thing? customer service agent. Thus, these 96 percent CSAT and NetPromoter in
Business Class. MEYER: This comes back to what metrics can contribute to critical deci- the 75 percent to 79 percent range is
you will see from AMD going for- sions such as promotion, compensation, a hallmark for the PlumChoice service
EVERYTHING CHANNEL: We don’t ward: a focus on our core CPU and training and process improvements. and has been so for more than three
know the full details of what “asset GPU businesses, consistent and reli- The end result is an ongoing improve- years. When these metrics are meshed
smart” means, despite all the spec- able execution, and providing the ment in the support experience. with our partner’s customer satisfac-
ulation by the media and analysts. channel with platform solutions that When customer care is coupled tion, significant benefits are realized.
But it seems safe to say AMD’s enable differentiation and deliver with expert technical service, the com- When you look to enhance your
plans are to get leaner and meaner, business value. We haven’t been con- bination becomes a highly compelling value to customers, customer service is
whether in manufacturing or other sistently successful in delivering that solution to challenging customer issues. an impactful method for delighting
parts of the business. This raises an foundation, but I firmly believe we The traditional customer care process- them. Moving away from an approach
interesting question for your tradi- are now on track and the channel is es, which include escalation to multiple that only applies traditional call center
tional channel—at the end of asset already seeing us deliver the plat- departments, can create frustration. metrics to one that includes metrics
smart, what does your core business forms, the training and the tools that When a customer care agent is empow- derived from your customers (novel
of PC and server products look they need to be successful. As you ered to perform the right services, and idea) will make all the difference in the
like? Is it leaner too? Or do some of point out, the fundamentals are has ready access to experts to perform final assessment. A customer service
the non-core resources you want to straightforward and AMD is commit- more challenging work, the customer experience free of frustration will enable
trim actually get added to the core ted to providing system builders with experience is significantly enhanced. you to differentiate your business.
business to make it stronger? the products and support they need. PlumChoice has been extremely
MEYER: Our plans are first and fore- And that in turn is going to deliver a effective at creating an excellent cus- Fred King is vice president of sales and
most informed by the needs of our healthy bottom line for all of us. tomer experience. Over the past four marketing at Plum Choice.

11
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rv08_day2_p13 8/26/08 7:05 PM Page 13

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

S H O W D A I LY

Retailers Predict A Very Merry Fourth Quarter

Many RetailVision 2008 attendees believe gadget-hungry holiday shoppers will be opening their wallets big time
By Andrew R. Hickey at least postpone, massive spending as Black Friday ever.”
Retailers aren’t quick to say that 2008 the holidays roll around is the election, Canadian retailers, too, are looking
has been a rough year. But they aren’t which Kibrik said will have consumers to the fourth quarter to bring sales
too quick to deny it either. With an preoccupied. He expects, however, the back to a comfortable level.
uncertain economic condition, the holiday rush to start, albeit delayed, “We still have a positive outlook,”
housing market going belly up and fuel once a president is picked. said Michael Yahn, MP3 and accessories
prices bleeding consumers’ wallets dry, Mario Razmilovic, director of merchant for Canadian consumer elec-
people just aren’t as quick to spend as audio/video at Overstock, agreed that tronics chain Future Shop. “We fol-
they once were. the fourth quarter is going to be a big lowed suit [with the U.S.]; people have
Despite those conditions, however, one. “All signs are indicating the fourth pulled back and are being more cau-
many retailers at RetailVision 2008 are quarter isn’t going to be that bad,” he tious with their purchases, but as a
looking to the ever-powerful fourth said, noting that gas prices have started retailer you have to adapt. I don’t think
quarter to break the economic slide. to drop and the housing market is we’ll struggle in the fourth quarter.”
While some say they are approaching poised for a turnaround. Razmilovic Steve Boone, sales and marketing
the fourth quarter—which is typical- said the industry will be “pleasantly sur- director for Edmonton-based retailer
ly a retail boom because of holiday prised” once gadget-hungry holiday ado said are already up 50 percent MyMacDealer, agreed.
spending—with “cautious optimism,” shoppers start opening their wallets. from last year. And the Internet will “A lot of people will have some
others immediately draw a line in the For Overstock, a solid mix of LCD facilitate those sales more strongly. uncertainty,” he said. “We’ve seen
sand, predicting one of the strongest TVs, GPS systems and HD digital “Retail is now driving the Web,” he some of the impact, but come Oct. 1
fourth quarters in years. video cameras are expected to be the said. “We’re going to see a big fourth- it will pick up. By no means will the
“The fourth quarter is definitely hot sellers as old Saint Nick prepares to quarter increase on the Internet.” fourth quarter be bad.”
the biggest part of the year for online,” load up his sleigh. Liniado said consumers have been Whether the prediction for the
said Andrei Kibrik, director of merchan- Albert Liniado, president of DataVi- pinching their pennies all year saving up fourth quarter in retail is simply “not
dising computers and electronics for sion Computer Video, agreed that for the holidays. He said DataVision has bad” or excellent, DataVision’s Linia-
online retailer Overstock.com, adding products like LCDs, GPS, mobile already started to see an increase in sales do summed up his favorable outlook
that Overstock is predicting fourth- phones, Bluetooth earpieces and mem- over the past six to eight weeks. like this: “Christmas is Christmas;
quarter growth of 20 percent to 35 per- ory equipment are going to be a catalyst “We’re excited about that,” he said. bottom line. People have to buy for
cent over the same time period last year. for a strong fourth quarter. Same goes Liniado even made the bold predic- Christmas; even if they don’t buy all
The only factor that could hinder, or for sales of Apple products, which Lini- tion that this year will see the “biggest year they have to spend at Christmas.”

The Buzz At RetailVision nervous about the whole And we anticipate this year again that we’re
recession, and the cus- going to push video games really hard.
Here’s what retailers are talking about at tomer cutting back spend- Nintendo and then a lot of PlayStation 3 is
RetailVision 2008: ing, and we see that so far going to start catching up this year. We’re look-
this year. And I think that it ing forward to it. We hope it goes a little bit
“It looks like the Christmas will continue to the Q4.” smoother than last year and a lot more sales.”
season will be slow for IT —Jason Wu, Tekserve —Justin Stricklen, Meijer.com
stuff, but it will be really
good for consumer goods. “For us, we’ve been in the game for about a “I think that we’re expecting a
I’m seeing most of the pur- year now, so we just launched Meijer.com last real strong Q4 this year. It’s
chases being restricted September. And so last year we just put up always our strongest quarter.
because of a third-quarter whatever we could. We’d find items from any Some of the things that we’re
slowdown due to the price distributor that could get highlighting obviously are
of energy, oil, that kind of stuff.” their stuff live in time. We great gift items like GPS or
PHOTOS: GENE FEDELE & KIM KULISH

—Robert Brown, E-Commerce Manager, Super Warehouse put them up. We went at it. iPod accessories. Or in the
And there were a few cate- camera division, that’s really
“I still think that it will be a year-to-year growth. gories that did really well. strong.”
But it will not be as much as we have seen in A lot of electronics, a lot of —Laurie Prinzi, Vendor Marketing Manager,
the past three to four years. I’m just very, very toys, a lot of video games. PCMall

13
rv08_day2_p14 8/26/08 7:28 PM Page 14

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

S H O W D A I LY

Psst … Here’s The Secret To Fast Growth

Panelists divulge how they’ve been able to achieve meteoric revenue growth rates. Hint: It takes a lot of hard work
By Craig Zarley get products quickly to customers, usu-
What’s the secret for fast growth in the ally within two days,” he said. “And on
rough-and-tumble world of retail elec- the back end, if anything goes wrong,
tronics? Lots of hard work and keep- we are going to take the product back.”
ing customers happy. Gary Stern, president and CEO of
That’s the message fast-growing Boca Raton, Fla. -based PC Universe,
retailers gave during Tuesday’s Industry said customer satisfaction was crucial to
Insight panel. Albert Liniado, president his 37 percent growth over the past two
and co-founder of DataVision, a New years. “We are a VAR and we moved
York City retailer that’s seen 29 percent our business over to an
growth from 2005 through 2007, said e-tailer, and a lot of
a hands-on approach to all aspects of our focus was on cus-
the business is crucial. “We are on the tomer sat,” he said.
floor. We are in accounts receivable. “And that’s what drove
We’re in accounts payable. We’re in the us to the next level.”
warehouse. We’re in shipping. We are all “Our secret sauce is
over the place,” Liniado said. the people working for
That visibility means management the company,” said All Hands On Deck: Moderated by Everything Channel’s Steve Burke,
knows instantly what’s going right Michael Carioti, man- Fast Growth panelists covered a range of topics, including visibility
and what’s going wrong and can act ager of marketing into all aspects of the business, search engines and Internet sales taxes.
appropriately.“If the customer is development at ProVantage, a North
upset, the owners know,” he said. Canton, Ohio, e-tailer with 45 percent Carioti also said the company val- SEM,” he said. “It’s a constant battle
Bernard Luthi, vice president of growth from 2005 through 2007. ues its relationships with its vendor to stay on top [of major search
merchandising at Newegg.com, a City He noted that many of ProVan- partners and instead of just dumping engines]. This year Google is eating
of Industry, Calif., e-tailer that’s grown tage’s top executives have been with the any product on the site, ProVantage everyone’s lunch.”
46 percent over the past two years, company for more than 15 years. carefully evaluates products and the Stern agreed that search engine opti-
added that superior logistics and a will- “We’ve ridden the pre- and post-Inter- vendors that sell them. mization is vital, but he remains cau-
ingness to bend over backward to sat- net waves up and down, and now we’re Fred Lerner, president and CEO of tious about using third-party search
isfy customers is key. “We make sure we back again,” he said. Ritz Interactive, an Irvine, Calif., e-tail- engine companies. “We’ve all been
er that’s seen annual revenue grow from burned by paid search companies,” he
$21 million in 2005 to $34 million in said. “We take a look at each individu-
Test Center: Taking IT On The Road 2007, said, “The secret to fast growth is al paid search and make sure there is a
that there is no secret at all.” Instead, return on investment.”
Lerner said it’s about execution. “One Panelists also said they struggle with
thing all of us in this room share is that Internet sales taxes imposed haphazard-
we have beautifully written business ly by state governments. Luthi said
plans,” he said. “The question is how Newegg stopped selling in New York
well we execute on these business plans.” after new taxes on Internet sales were
Lerner noted that Ritz Interactive imposed on June 30. He said the com-
has no warehouses or inventory and pany is now in compliance and has
instead relies on its distribution part- resumed tax-free sales to New York.
ners to drop-ship products to cus- And DataVision’s Liniado said he con-
tomers. As such, he said Ritz Interac- sidered building a warehouse in New
tive is a marketing company. And Jersey, but decided to locate it in New
much of the company’s marketing York to avoid paying sales taxes on
energy is devoted to search engine mar- products sold in New Jersey.
Fashion Statement: Jeffrey Thompson (l.) of New York City-based keting, or SEM. He said the company “This sales tax issue will ultimately
PHOTOS: GENE FEDELE

icon/Motion Systems, showcases the company’s line of computer laptop bags. has 12 marketing people and that he wind up in the Supreme Court because
Standing by are the Test Center’s Brian Sheinberg and Samara Lynn. plans to spend $6 million on market- it’s an interstate commerce battle,” said
ing this year. “All of it will be spent on Ritz Interactive’s Lerner.

14
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