Ricoh Dealership in Minnesota will buy.......

When will this all happen? This is pretty big news if true.

all I can say is rumor has it to be imminent

Ricoh just did the same in four East Canada provinces.

RJ Young was certainly not a one time event.

This will be interesting to see if this is a continued model. Is Ricoh looking to have the dealer channel target the down the street business and have the direct side target verticals, major and national accounts?

That's what GIS does with Xerox, and with IKON people at the helm of Ricoh, I'm thinking it's a good bet that we'll see more of this.

If this is the strategy I am sure they have run the numbers. However, I would think that the down the street business is more profitable on the service side than the major and national accounts. The large accounts represent high revenues, but usually very tight service margins when compared to down the street business. I wondeer if overall profitability would suffer if they move all the down the street business to the dealer channel?

Risky move...

Anythingnew on this.....

December 1st

Ahead of schedule:

Ricoh Hands Over Accounts to Dealer

MALVERN, PA. and MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Nov. 20, 2012 –Ricoh Americas Corporation and Metro Sales, Inc. announced a strategic agreement for the sales, service and operations of certain Ricoh direct channel commercial customers in the Duluth, Rochester and St. Cloud, Minnesota areas.

Beginning December 1, 2012, Metro Sales, Inc. will acquire select Ricoh commercial accounts and support these customers with sales, service and supplies.

“Metro Sales has been Minnesota’s exclusive Ricoh dealer for over 30 years. This agreement with Ricoh Americas Corporation is an opportunity for us to further that relationship. We look forward to expanding our business and providing these accounts with the highest level of products and service,” said Jerry Mathwig, President of Metro Sales, Inc.

As part of the agreement, Metro Sales will now support the commercial accounts in the Duluth, Rochester and St. Cloud Minnesota areas. Ricoh will continue to retain all global, national, federal government and managed services customers in this geography, as well as its direct customer base in other parts of Minnesota, including the Minneapolis – St. Paul area.

“This announcement is the result of a strong partnership between Ricoh and Metro Sales,” said Jim Coriddi, Vice President, Dealer Division, Ricoh Americas Corporation. “It is also an example of Ricoh’s commitment to expand our business and collaborate with our dealer community. While this agreement with Metro is not part of a national strategy for Ricoh commercial accounts, we have identified a unique opportunity in Minnesota to provide a stronger collective Ricoh footprint in this segment and look forward to continued success for our customers in the area.”

RICOH AMERICAS CORPORATION www.ricoh-usa.com

70 Valley Stream Parkway, Malvern, PA 19355 Phone: 610-296-8000

About Metro Sales, Inc.

Metro Sales has served Minnesota since 1969 and through our demonstrated commitment to customer satisfaction has grown to become one of Ricoh’s largest independent dealers in the U.S. Metro Sales has been Minnesota’s exclusive Ricoh dealer since 1981 and proudly offers their products.

| About Ricoh |

Ricoh is a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in more than 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2012, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 1,903 billion yen (approx. 23 billion USD).

The majority of the company’s revenue comes from products, solutions and services that improve the interaction between people and information. Ricoh also produces award-winning digital cameras and specialized industrial products. It is known for the quality of its technology, the exceptional standard of its customer service and sustainability initiatives.

Under its corporate tagline, imagine. change. Ricoh helps companies transform the way they work and harness the collective imagination of their employees.

For further information, please visit
www.ricoh.com/about/

###

© 2012 Ricoh Americas Corporation. All rights reserved. All referenced product names are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Contact:

Linda Montefusco
Ricoh Americas Corporation (973) 882-2172 linda.montefusco@ricoh-usa.com

Jill Searl
Brodeur Partners (603) 559-5824 jsearl@brodeur.com

Jerry Mathwig
Metro Sales, Inc.
(612) 798-1227 jmathwig@metrosales.com

I wonder what else comes with Dec. 1st?

The new IKON (Sorry, I mean Ricoh, I keep forgetting) may continue to follow this stratgey with certain key Dealers only, or in very rural markets where Direct (RBS / IKON) do not want to travel for service and support. Metro Sales is Ricoh's largest Dealer (either #1 or #2 in revenue), so this makes sense for them. I can more clearly see that Ricoh will focus on Direct and the IKON executives in charge now (down in Malvern, PA) will try to implement the Services-led business. Yet, smaller to mid-size Independent Dealers will certainly begin to feel the squeeze when the pricing model combined to Services makes them unable to compete. This gift to their Ricoh Dealer also hurts the respective Savin and / or Lanier DEalers that share the Authorized Territory. Risky movexs indeed...

Independent Dealers will never compete successfully with any Direct _BS branch on price.

The _BS Branch has shown that they are willing to run their branches at a loss for years! We must sell at a profit, IMHO they should (Legally) have to also sell at a profit (Don't get me started on dumping).

If you work for an independent dealer and you are trying to compete with a _BS Branch (that sells your product) on price then you are playing into their hands, and you are going broke. They can outlast you! They have deeper pockets.

Change the focus of the sale, focus on your infrastructure and Service, Support after the sale. Let your customers know up front that you will be a little more expensive then the direct branch, because of your infrastructure (local warehouse full of parts, supplies, and inventory), local dispatch, local Systems Support. You will still need to be competitive BUT you won't have to be the cheapest.

<Insert rant here> Who goes out to buy the CHEAPEST TV, or the CHEAPEST CAR, or the CHEAPEST SUIT that they can find? Yet for some reason Purchasers think it is a good idea to buy the CHEAPEST MFD from the organization offering the CHEAPEST Service!!!<Start second rant here> By the way who do you know that bought their last car directly from GM or FORD? No! We buy cars from a local dealership that has a good reputation for Service & support after the sale <End both rants>

We just took the largest customer from a _BS Branch because of poor service. They initially won the deal by saying (read lying) "We are the Manufacturer". NO _BS Branch has ever manufactured anything.

Don't play their game! Don't sell on price. Don't meet their price make them meet your Service & Support. That has value to a customer BUT ONLY if you make it a selling point. The sweet taste of a cheap price soon turns sour in the face of poor service over the life of the lease!

I am going to get off my soap box now.

Vince McHugh

quote:

<Start second rant here> By the way who do you know that bought their last car directly from GM or FORD? No! We buy cars from a local dealership that has a good reputation for Service & support after the sale <End both rants>

Keep in mind, auto manufacturers would directly dominate car sales if not for state laws designed to protect local dealers passed in the early 20th century.

Some very interesting reading on the subject... http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/eag/246374.htm

Cash: Thanks for posting that link. I've read Section I and am wondering if you have researched this specifically for the MFP/Copier industry, the similarities are HUGE?

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck:
Cash: Thanks for posting that link. I've read Section I and am wondering if you have researched this specifically for the MFP/Copier industry, the similarities are HUGE?

Yes, but the auto dealers had great political clout in the 20's/30's when the industry was new. The manufacturers were distracted with growth and labor problems and failed to defend the consumers or themselves. The dealers were the "home team" in each market and were able to lock up the state legislatures, and (permanently?) keep the extra layer of markup in the business, preventing it from logically rationalizing to a direct model.

MFP market is not even an rounding error by comparison, the legislators aren't likely to support legislation that is anti-competitive and anti-consumer, and there is a lot more sunshine in the process these days.