The pro AV integration channel doesn’t need another source for boxes. Instead, the channel is crying out for responsive support, technical guidance and help navigating increasingly complex project scopes. That is precisely the gap that Transformation Entertainment Group (TEG) is rapidly filling in the distribution space.
Based in Southern California and recently having marked six years, TEG positions itself as a distributor of high-end display products while also extending support well beyond a product transaction. The company has about a dozen associates engaged across departments, with headquarters in Orange, Calif., warehousing in Garden Grove, Calif., and a service center on the West Coast.
For integrators, dealers and consultants, TEG’s pitch is straightforward. Chuck Collins, vice president of sales, puts it this way: “We’re basically a one-stop shop for integrators where they can get projectors, LED walls, or screens or accessories.”
But that pithy description is just the starting point. What TEG wants the integrator channel to understand is that its model is centered on accessibility, technical engagement and value-add support.
In short, in a market where distribution can feel automated and distant, TEG is leaning hard in exactly the opposite direction.
Who Are Tom Schwartz and Chuck Collins at TEG?
Part of TEG’s positioning rests on unimpeachable industry experience. Chuck Collins, along with Tom Schwartz, the CEO, brings decades of AV and adjacent-industry knowledge to the business. And both frame that background as central to how TEG supports partners today.
Schwartz describes his 30-plus-year experience, saying, “The first part of my career was really as a technician in a technical capacity on the cinema side of things for about a decade. Then, [I spent] another almost 20 years with a major manufacturer, ultimately [becoming] responsible for their global managed services division.” That included handling sales, service, installation, a network operation center and remote management of service support for companies like Dolby, Universal, AMC and others. His latest chapter, with TEG, began a half-dozen years ago.
Collins, meanwhile, references well over 40 years in the industry as both a dealer and a manufacturer team member. Most recently, he retired from Digital Projection, but the hankering to remain part of the industry community attracted him to TEG.
And, as always, deep experience matters. Schwartz knows the ins and outs of technical operations, service and managed support. Meanwhile, Collins brings perspective that bridges the divide between dealer and manufacturer. Together, they make the case that TEG is not simply moving products; it’s applying battle-tested knowledge to help partners solve real-world project challenges.
What Makes the TEG Distribution Model Different?
Schwartz is unequivocal when asked what sets TEG apart: It’s the personal touch. “We’ve toyed around with the boutique-style approach,” he says. “A little bit more personal, a little bit more hands-on and engaging with the customers.” Schwartz continues, “We’re not really [about] automated processes, automated emails — the box-shipper style of some of the larger organizations out there.”
Instead, Schwartz says, TEG is about “…getting engaged, understanding the client’s needs, having various discussions and reiterations of projects — could be sizes, shapes, form factors — to really nail what their customers are looking for.”
Collins explains an approach that TEG has adopted that is unique to the distribution market. “As a distributor, we use manufacturers reps,” he notes. “By using rep firms strategically located around the U.S., we have more feet on the street. And those rep firms all have intimate business relationships with the customer base.”
When the partnership with those reps is firing on all cylinders, it brings TEG to the table and into dealer relationships that TEG can foster further. “It’s really fun to watch that develop,” Collins says. “Between the rep’s relationship [with the dealer] and the relationship that Tom and I bring to that integrator, they just feel like they’re in a warm blanket of attention.”
According to Schwartz, that’s where the technical solutions element comes in. TEG’s approach is miles from old, traditional pick, pack, ship. TEG is focused on how the widgets work together, demystifying the complexities, resolving the “gotchas” and tracking down the essential accessories. “Just say it’s a mount, or it’s a HDBaseT transmitter, or any of those types of things,” he says. “[We’re focused on] that extra mile. When you go to an online commerce site and put something in your cart and pay for it, it ships. That’s the beginning and the end of it. But this is like real people, with real solutions, and real support. And I think that’s the differentiator.”
How Does TEG Connect Distribution and Managed Services?
TEG’s distribution approach leads naturally to managed services because the company sees both as part of the same value chain. If a partner requires help before, during or after a deployment — whether it’s design consultation, project management, installation or field services — TEG is ready to provide it.
“I’d say 90% of the manufacturers out there today make a really good product,” Collins says. “[The difference lies in] the service and the support that they provide to the integrator before, during and after the sale. And I don’t think anybody does it better than TEG and the rep firm that we partner with.”
Collins says, once again, it comes down to those tight, field-tested relationships that the rep firms have cultivated. “And then,” he adds, “it’s the knowledge base that Tom and I bring to that integrator. “They get us involved, and we take it from there, and it’s really working out great.”
Speaking of the managed services side of TEG’s business, Schwartz says that it’s an extra set of hands providing support. “You can say soup to nuts or cradle to grave — whatever you like to call it,” he states. “But it’s the ability to not just have products but [also] be able to have some solutioneering around them.” The integrator has their own crew, of course — whether it’s small or large—but TEG finds many integration leaders want a supplement to their efforts.
“It could be new technologies for them,” Schwartz continues. “So, they might need some initial support to help them to become familiar with the technology. Then, [they’ll be] self-sufficient for future projects.” Plus, TEG has remote management and remote support tools optimized for managing and supporting client organizations’ technology estates. “As customers have a growing empire of these solutions, [they often want help] to help manage and support them,” Schwartz says.
“So, it really is from front-end solution design, to project implementation and installation support, to post-installation support of onsite technical service, coupled with remote technical-support tools,” Schwartz adds.
What Kinds of Environments Can TEG Help Partners to Create?
TEG frequently points to integrated solutions that it has developed — the HoloTheater and Toca Social, among others — as prime examples of the immersive applications it can empower integrators to deliver. They’re proofs of concept, Schwartz and Collins tell Commercial Integrator, and they show dealers and integrators what is possible.
“When I’m on a virtual sales meeting with a dealer, I show them the integrated solutions tab of the website and say, ‘These are some projects that we’ve done. So, if you run into this application with your local museums, performing-arts centers or things like that, we have experience with [these things]. We have teams that can work with you, and we can access this technology for you.’ That includes everything from experience with digital cinema projectors to expertise in curating themed restaurants.
In short, whether integrators are developing opportunities in immersive galleries, performing-arts centers, themed venues and similar environments, TEG can help its partners access the enabling technology, as well as the technical knowledge and support structures, to bring those spaces to life.
How Can Dealers and Integrators Connect With TEG?
Why should you sit up and take notice of TEG? Because the company is trying to offer a more engaged alternative to transactional distribution. Because leaders like Schwartz and Collins bring decades of experience to that mission. Because its product mix centers on fast-growing categories like DVLED and immersive video. And because its managed services help partners close gaps, reduce risk and support projects for the full life cycle.
“Every dealer has a common thread of trying to implement projects,” Schwartz reflects. “But they’re not necessarily all on the same level playing field [in terms of] their capabilities, strengths, weaknesses and so forth. That’s where we try to be able to supplement that, once again, with that hands-on engagement.”
For integration business leaders seeking a distribution partner that also understands design support, implementation realities and post-installation service, that message is deeply resonant.
If you need projectors, LED walls, screens, accessories, technical support or help shaping a complex visual environment, TEG wants to be part of the distribution conversation. To learn more, visit TransentGroup.com or email Collins at [email protected].
