Dealerscope Podcast

My voice may be unfamiliar, and that's because this is my first conversation as Editor in Chief here at Dealerscope. My name is Kevin Hogan and I'm very excited to dive into the world of consumer electronics. I was very lucky in the first two weeks of this job to meet with two industry veterans‚ Sam Taylor and Dan Smith, the incoming and outgoing executive vice president and COOs of Exertis Almo. I thought this would be a perfect time to bring them together to discuss the current state of play in the industry as well as where they see Etertis Almo's position in it during what is obviously a pivotal moment in time.During his tenure, Sam Taylor has been in charge of more than 250 employees, with annual revenues of approximately $1 billion. Prior to Exertis Almo, Taylor served as executive vice president and COO of Almo Professional A/V, which was formed in 2009. Previously, he was president of Electrograph Systems and has held various other sales, engineering, technical, and management positions in the Pro AV industry. Sam is the pioneer of the “value added” distribution model, having built the first AVIXA-trained outbound distribution sales team, the first business development management team for technical and expert support, as well as the first set of AV-managed services to create a path for resellers to expand their reach and earn recurring revenue.Dan Smith has more than 30 years of AV experience in roles that have encompassed the manufacturing, distribution, and systems integration sides of the industry. He's held positions in sales, product management, product marketing, supply chain procurement, and business process improvement at companies including Magenta Research, Samsung, Tech Data, and Inacom Corporation. Most recently, Smith spent nearly 13 years as U.S. vice president of sales, IT and commercial large format displays, at LG.Both were gratuitous enough to meet with me again virtually this time to flush out our first conversation. Have a listen:

Our November AudioMag is out now! End your day by hearing how consumers are buying the next best TVs to prepare for #superbowl season and more on what's happening in the #consumerelectronics industry.

Our editor, Sam Hitt, joins Rob Stott from Nationwide to talk about their experience at IFA as well as emerging technology segments.

Learn about the buzz behind digital twin technology, cryptocurrency, and how induction technology is replace gas stoves.

Rob Tobias, CEO of HDMI Licensing Administrator Inc., honors the 20th anniversary of HDMI with a discussion about how HDMI has grown in the gaming industry, the company's main concerns with the supply chain and what's coming next.

Jim Mayo, Samsung CEO, gives us a explanation of what Samsung is bringing to CEDIA.

Listen to our editor's favorite stories from selfie drones to Black Friday predictions in this issue.

Listen to our favorite stories from the 2022 August Issue of Dealerscope. Hear about the latest school technology, TechTok pages on social media, and more!

The Dealerscope editors come together and read their favorite stories from the July 2022 Issue. Stories range from social media tech, to travel tech, to smart watches, and more!

We invited Paul Richards to unpack e-sports rise to fame and why it is relevant to consumer electronics retailers and tech industry.

Deena Ghazarian, founder and CEO of Austere, and Brad Bramy, VP of marketing and operations for HDMI LA, provide their perspectives and provide important info.

Dealerscope Editor in Chief Tom Samiljan interviews Steve Erickson, COO of Cyber Acoustics, which makes bang-for-the-buck computer accessories for school and work scenarios. Erickson discusses the latest trends in the office tech space, as well as the story of Cyber Acoustics and its further expansion into B2B markets.

Johan Liljeros is the GM and Senior Commerce Advisor at Avensia, an e-commerce solutions company. In episode 126, Dealerscope Editor in Chief Tom Samiljan talks with Liljeros about the latest trends in what is increasingly called "digital commerce" -- and whether or not retailers need to claim their space in the metaverse just yet.

Online reviews are an increasingly important way to attract consumers to retail and other businesses, but unfortunately, the legitimacy of those reviews can't always be verified. In today's episode, we discuss the issue, along with solutions, with Curtis Boyd, the founder of The Transparency Company, which has developed software that detects fake reviews on Google and other sites.

Sustainability and style are two of the main components of Austere, which CEO Deena Ghazarian founded in 2019 to give audio, video, and power accessories the same brand cachet, design focus, and quality that lifestyle and fashion brands have. Ghazarian is a veteran of the fashion industry, which also informs her emphasis on sustainability in terms of Austere's products and packaging. Dealerscope Editor in Chief Tom Samiljan asks Ghazarian all about it in Episode 124 of the Dealerscope podcast.

Our group publisher, Tony Monteleone, attended the 2022 Inspired Home Show in Chicago, IL. On today's episode he talks about how he enjoyed the show and what home technology will catch consumers attention once they hit the market. He also discusses why he thinks it's important for retailers to attend the show.

HDMI 2.0, HDMI 2.1, and HDMI 2.1a: What's the difference between these three audio-video standards, and what do retailers specifically need to know about them? Dealerscope Editor-in-Chief Tom Samiljan spoke with Brad Bramy, Vice President of Marketing and Operations at HD Licensing Administrator (HDMI LA), to find out.

The WiSA wireless standard powers seamless high-resolution and multi-channel audio for music and home theater applications alike -- without a jumble of cables all over the place. In this episode, Dealerscope Editor in Chief Tom Samiljan asks WiSA Association President Tony Ostrom about everything from WiSA basics to retailer education to the launch of WiSA Technologies, a new initiative that brings new technologies and hardware to the marketplace.

In today's episode, Dealerscope Editor in Chief Tom Samiljan speaks with Roei Friedberg, CEO of Aura Americas, which makes a line of air purifiers for consumers and offices and just launched the Aura Web Platform, a new enterprise solution that lets businesses and institutions manage their indoor air quality intelligently and at at scale. We'll also find out just how the tiny beer can-sized Aura Air Mini works to keep viruses, including COVID-19, at bay within 100 feet of a desktop.

In today's episode, Dealerscope Editor in Chief Tom Samiljan speaks with MeetKai CEO and Co-Founder James Kaplan about AI-powered VR experiences in the metaverse. Kaplan's company got its start as a conversational AI provider, but is now branching out with a new lifestyle VR environment known as the MeetKai Metaverse, which features virtual environments such as museums, boxing gyms, and meditation spaces that will be staffed by AI-powered curators, boxing teachers, and meditation teachers, respectively. Think a deeply-focused Google Assistant or Alexa filtered through a walking and talking avatar

Join us as we discuss CES 2022 with our Group Publisher, Tony Monteleone. Tony is a CES veteran, but this year the show was different due to the show being half in-person and half virtual. Hear what he believes did and didn't work as well as what new technology caught his interest.

Take a trip to your favorite retailers without ever having to step foot in-store. Go Instore, the live video retail experience provider, harnesses live HD video to connect customers to product-specialized, in-store experts. On this episode of the Dealerscope podcast, we sat down with, Andre Hordagoda Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Go Instore to discuss retail trends for this coming holiday season and how cutting-edge video retail is poised to add a new dimension to online shopping.

On this episode of the Dealerscope podcast, our Web Editor Brenda Thelusca is joined by Jessica Klodnicki, Chief Marketing Officer of Skullcandy. Based out of Park City Utah, Skullcandy has a natural affinity for the outdoors. Thus it is only fitting that it has teamed up with Protect Our Winters, a non-profit sustainability organization founded by professional snowboarder Jeremy Jones, to upcycle old products and reduce the company's e-waste footprint. Not only does this program give products a second life, but a portion of the proceeds also go directly to Protect Our Winters to advocate for climate policy.

Joining us today is Karl Wiley, CEO of Allstate Protection Plans, who will discuss the extended warranty provider's just-launched Allstate Protection Plans Express, a new dedicated team and technology solution allowing retailers and e-commerce businesses of any size the ability to provide their customers with the same Allstate product protection offered by many of the largest retailers in the country.

From UHD gaming TVs to low EMI emission cables that won't interfere with your WiFi, HDMI 2.1 products are hitting the marketplace in a big way this holiday season. HDMI Forum president Chandlee Harrell joined today's Dealerscope podcast to tell us all about why HDMI 2.1 is a gamechanger, which compatible products will be shipping this quarter, and how even the next-gen cables themselves are particularly special.

The Los Angeles-based Supervinyl boutique sells a unique mix of records and audio equipment by Rega, McIntosh, Sonos, Faber, and Sennheiser. We spoke with owner Barry Perlman, who co-founded Lucky Jeans, on his distinct hybrid retail concept, and how working in fashion influenced the way he sells electronics.

We spoke with Grant Lafontaine, the co-founder and CEO of WhatNot. Available as a mobile app and website, WhatNot is an online marketplace and livestreaming platform where, according to Lafontaine, "anyone can turn into a QVC-style host or Sotheby's-style live auctioneer." Given the viral and off-the-cuff nature of live video, WhatNot is focused mostly on enthusiast categories such as collectibles, toys, and video games and consoles. While other consumer electronics categories are still further down the pipeline, Lafontaine sees a potential place for enthusiast tech categories such as custom and modified PCs and mechanical keyboards, to name a few. Listen now to find out more about WhatNot and the exciting and growing world of livestream shopping.

Since the last time Dealerscope spoke with David Glen, President of the HDMI Forum, the number of HDMI 2.1-enabled products in the market has grown tremendously, including all major TV manufacturers. HDMI 2.1-enabled TVs are now a viable option for gamers that have traditionally thought special gaming monitors were their only choice. Glen details features like VRR, ALLM, 4K120, and eARC, which make for a fully-immersive gaming experience thanks to HDMI 2.1.

Through their growing number of partnerships with custom integration brands and a suite of products made specifically for pro installers, Ring continues to prove it has so much more to offer in addition to its already well-established DIY solutions. GM, Andrew Vloyanetes explains Ring's commitment to the custom integration channel and the plans they have to continue to serve this booming segment.

Signals Analytics recently released the Consumer Electronics Market and Category Overviews with insight from more than 13,000 sources. The report identified several key trends that consumer electronics brands can capitalize on now to gain a competitive advantage. Allen Hammock, Solutions Architect for Kenshoo, parent company of Signals Analytics, further breaks down how market intelligence can improve business outcomes.

Val Geisler, Customer Evangelist at Klaviyo details the various ways she sees her clients using the popular new Clubhouse app to their advantage and some of the outside-the-box methods of advertising on this platform.

Amazon does a lot of things well, but gaming isn't one of them. AlphaTech CEO, Matt Schmidt, talks about why this business relies more heavily on creativity and community rather than the raw data, quoting Xbox creator, Seamus Blackley, "Nobody who's successful starts with metrics."

In its 50 years in business, Elo has touched many segments of the retail industry with its touchscreen products and solutions. Sr. Channel Sales Manager, Kristin Roubie, talks about how the company has evolved over the years and the unique challenges facing retail today.

WiSA Association President, Tony Ostrom, details the company's first-ever branded product to hit the market since its inception. He also touches on WiSA's growing membership and the positive impact it has brought to the audio community.

Sound United's Brendon Stead, Senior Vice President of Product Development & Engineering and Phil Jones, Director of Global Training envision a future where all voice systems work in concert. The pair view voice control as a natural evolution in how we interact with our products, just as the remote control revolutionized how we interact with entertainment decades ago.

We recently sat down with one of the photography and video experts at BorrowLenses.com, Tom Anello. BorrowLenses is a Shutterfly brand that provides on-demand professional photography and videography equipment rentals for professional and amateur photographers/videographers. Tom offered up some advice on how retailers can best shoot products for their retail websites to get maximum exposure during this critical holiday selling season.

Discussing the CE Business in the COVID era with Andy Orozco, Vice President, Business Development at ProSource and Tom Campbell, Chief Technologist and Corporate Director for California-based experiential retailer Video and Audio Center.

We recently had the pleasure to welcome as our Dealerscope Podcast guest, Mitch Klein, the Executive Director for the Z-Wave Alliance. The organization recently announced they have completed incorporation as a solely independent non-profit organization.

With the 2020 Virtual CEDIA EXPO set for mid-September, the Dealerscope Podcast Team was excited to catch up Vanco's Mark Corbin and chat about what he sees on the AV horizon as we get ready finish up 2020 and roll into 2021.

With the holiday selling season right around the corner, President of the HDMI Forum, David Glen discussed the most important aspects retailers need to know about the new HDMI 2.1 specification as well as highly anticipated release of the Ultra High-Speed HDMI Cable.

The Dealerscope Podcast team recently caught up with the NPD Group's Stephen Baker, the renown research organization's primary voice on hardware.

Since its inception, the Nationwide community has packed meals at various events around the country, delivering a portion of those packed meals within the local host cities, and the rest to children and their families in locations such as Haiti and the Bahamas.

Peter Weedfald talks about Sharp's new Kitchen Suite of products that includes their Superheated Steam Cook ovens, Induction Cooktops, Wall Ovens, Slide-in Range, Microwave Drawer Built-In Ovens and Over-The-Range microwave ovens.

San Jose-based Atlona recently launched AtlonaComm on June 1st, an exclusive, online event offering a complete schedule of product offerings, training and education experiences, and personalized meeting opportunities for customers, partners and other visitors.

Among the many things that HDMI.org does is they act as the licensing agent to administer licensing of HDMI Specification, the on-going promotion of HDMI technology and education on the benefits of HDMI interface. Rob Tobias touches on these and other HDMI relevant topics in this edition of the Dealerscope Podcast.

The Dealerscope Podcast crew recently sat down with WiSA president Tony Ostrom and among the topics covered were the current momentum the organization is generating and the future of the wireless home theater category.

We recently caught up with Nationwide Marketing Group's VP of Technology Jennifer Danko and she discussed how she's helping independent retailers ramp up their digital marketing efforts.

CyberLink continues to push boundaries and their new FaceMe AI facial recognition technology is taking the the category in some interesting new directions.

Enclave Audio continues to redefine the future of the home theater experience and we sat down with their CTO Rob Jones to discuss where wireless audio technology is headed and how it will reshape the home theater category.

Nationwide's VP of Merchandising, Derek Mattila, discussed the ways in which Nationwide members can get a piece of the $490 billion connected home market.

While attending the Nationwide PrimeTime event in Houston, Editorial Director Mike McEnaney sat down with Doug Wrede, VP of Merchandising at Nationwide Marketing Group. Among the many topics the two discussed were the continued success Nationwide is having with their private label TV endeavor, where the industry is headed when it comes to 8K, and the interesting evolution that Nationwide has seen with regard to the independent retailer.