Stampede Presentation Products president and COO Kevin Kelly highlighted the need for evolution and innovation in an ever-changing pro AV landscape during the company’s annual U.S. Vendor Summit.
It’s the same approach that’s helped Stampede reach its 20th anniversary and achieve a 33 percent increase in overall revenue in the past year alone.
Presentation Products vendors, industry professionals and sales team members converged on Buffalo for three days in mid-October for a keynote presentation by AVIXA executive director and CEO Dave Labuskes, two days of vendor exhibitions, one-on-one ‘speed dating’ style sales meetings, a state-of-the-business presentation and a half-day Drone Vendor Summit.
Stampede “has capitalized on the growing role that distribution continues to have in the AV marketplace,” Kelly said during the U.S. Vendor Summit.
“We are experiencing profitable times in the AV business and Stampede’s success is a clear reflection of the industry’s growth as we continue to drive revenue opportunities across many applications,” he said.
In the past year, Stampede Presentation Products has continued to strengthen its involvement with a broad range of commercial vertical markets, including corporate, education, government, hospitality, retail, amusement and health care, assisting with high-profile installations at clients like McDonald’s, SunTrust, Snapchat and more.
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“More than ever before, Stampede is helping to deliver the AV experience to companies around the globe,” Kelly said, “and we are doing so by partnering with manufacturers and solutions providers that we are proud to represent.”
Stampede has added global manufacturers to its roster in the past year, with more than 20 new manufacturers currently finalizing their partnership contracts.
Stampede chooses each new partner carefully to complement current vendors, with the ultimate goal of providing resellers and end-users with “a cohesive solution built entirely from Stampede’s portfolio,” said Kelly.
Stampede unveiled several new initiatives during the U.S. Vendor Summit that will be rolled out over the course of 2018 — including a new business intelligence team, LED technology solutions centers, Stampede 1:1 power networking events and special 20th anniversary sales promotions.
These new initiatives are in addition to the company’s existing program of sales and marketing programs that include the Big Book of AV Tour & Conference series, participation in major industry trade shows in the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific and strategic partnerships with Unmanned Vehicle University and Unmanned Vehicle Insurance.
As part of the expanding Business Intelligence team, Kelly noted a new technical sales specialist will be provided to each vendor marketing partner.
“This new dedicated resource will assist our partners in launching products quicker and tracking new sales opportunities efficiently,” Kelly said. “Our goal with these initiatives is to make sure that even the smallest manufacturer is receiving the best customer support.”
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Kelly also vowed to continue expanding Stampede’s reach into emerging categories in 2018 and beyond. Their investment in drone video systems, for example, has increased sales in the commercial markets and has resulted in more add-on AV component purchases.
Likewise, since committing to the audio channel in 2016, Stampede Presentation Products has experienced double-digit growth in the category, noting that industry audio practice has evolved so that distributors can successfully build cohesive audio solutions. New categories of significance include educational tech and LED displays.
