Vision - January/February 2009 - (Page 48) newsline association news & views cable in their business. Low-margin “commodity” products like flat-screen TVs are a huge chunk of a dealer’s sales, so we must educate dealers on how to maintain good margins by including products like ours as part of the sale. Tell us about how you manufacture. We do all of our fabrication and assembly in Orlando. We source cable and connectors overseas and do our own soldering, final assembly, testing and packaging on site. We test all of our cables and HDMI electronics prior to packaging. We’re a small company, and for us to have an engineering and model shop staff is not possible. We can, however, partner with companies that have that capability in Asia, and we can go there and work with their engineers and designers. Despite culture and language barriers, outsourcing is a tremendous opportunity for a company our size. What are the challenges with outsourcing? It’s all about the companies you work with. Choose the right company and it’s a joy. You can bring in good product and sell it profitably. When we choose our outsource partners, we visit them to see what types of products they produce and what quality control is in place. I offer the same to my dealers and customers. I’ll fly a prospective dealer to Orlando to see our factory to show them how we do things and that we’re someone they will want to do business with. Why is free trade important? It’s simple. We want to sell in countries like Colombia, Panama and South Korea, but the tariffs are so high, we can’t be profitable. I want to see trade barriers removed. It’s the road to prosperity for any country. • sbc member profile Trade Impacts Small Business Joe Perfito, CEO of Gordon J. Gow Technologies Inc., which makes Tributaries Cable, volunteered his Orlando facility as a stop on CEA’s America Wins With Trade promotional tour. CE Vision talked with him about the importance of free trade. How did you get started in the CE business? In the early 1970s, my sister and I opened a small stereo store in Newton, Mass. We were a McIntosh dealer and we got to know Gordon Gow (then President of McIntosh Laboratory Inc.). In 1975 I went to work for him as his southeast regional sales manager. In addition to becoming my boss, Gordon also became my brother-in-law after he married my sister. Gordon passed away in 1989, and a year later I left McIntosh to start a new family business with my sister that we named in tribute to Gordon. How is business going? Business is going well, and we are ahead of last year. We have been working diligently on bringing in new dealers and resellers, especially custom installers. The custom install business is continuing to do better than many other sectors of the industry. What are you hearing from customers? Business is down but not out. That’s especially true in the custom install sector. Integrators working on tract home and multiple home dwellings were hurt the most, but those working with custom home builders remain successful. Many of our integrators tell us, however, that they used to be a year or more out on jobs, and now it’s closer to six months or less. The biggest trend we’ve seen is that customers are downsizing home size and theater size, which for us means less cable to run. How are you responding to the economy? We’re responding by launching new products. We’ve just released a new series of power strips that feature rotating outlets to more easily accommodate “wall wart” power adapters. That has been a home run for us and very popular with our customers. Second, we’re expanding existing product lines, not just cables and power strips but our line of HDMI switchers and other accessories too. Finally, we’re continuously increasing our reseller base. One thing that has proven successful for us is that we don’t do business with large national or regional accounts. We’re always dealing with small business people. The economy of our country is built on small business. Working exclusively with small accounts allows us a lot of flexibility. If an account closes their doors and we can’t collect on a debt, it may cause some pain, but it won’t be a fatal wound. We have personal relationships with our customers. We now have 700 dealers. What do you consider your biggest business challenge? Our biggest challenge is maintaining profit margins. For one thing, we must maintain appropriate inventory levels based on fluctuations in the price of copper, which varies widely day-to-day. Equally as important, we must help our customers—integrators and dealers—understand the value of wire and CEA Events CES Unveiled: The Official Press Event of the International CES January 6, 2009 Las Vegas, NV 2009 International CES January 8–11, 2009 Las Vegas, NV CEA Winter Retreat Digital Music Forum East February 24–25, 2009 New York, NY Greener Gadgets Conference February 27, 2009 New York, NY EHX Spring 2009 March 12–13, 2009 Orlando, FL CEA Washington Forum April 22–23, 2009 Washington, DC Digital Patriots Dinner April 22, 2009 Washington, DC LA Games Conference April 28–29, 2009 Hollywood, CA February 5–7, 2009 Jackson Hole, WY 48 January/February 2009 www.ce.org http://www.ce.org
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