Michael Gleason, director of sales, Skyworth USA, discusses the company’s latest products, the industry’s reaction to its previous ones, and what to see at their CEDIA Expo (booth #2923) exhibit.
What are Skyworth’s goals and priorities for this year’s show?
MICHAEL GLEASON: This is our fourth CEDIA. The first few were just exploratory where we started coming out with product, but last year we launched our Canvas Elite, which skyrocketed us. We’re having our best year ever by far, and now we’re expanding our Canvas Elite line.
CEDIA is incredibly important for us. We have a new booth location this year that is closer to the main area, which gives us an opportunity to showcase our product to people that have seen the new product, but also to people that haven’t had a chance to see it in person. TV, more than any other category, requires people to see the picture quality in person. CEDIA Expo is like a retail showroom for our dealers to see the performance of the product, and it really is a kickoff for us for Q4 and the busy part of the season.
Beyond the Canvas Elite, what else will dealers get to experience at your booth?
We’ll have our outdoor TVs. We also have a new company called hydroframes that make wood and ornate frames to match our Canvas Art TVs. It’s great for us because we previously only had one frame for our products. Now we have a supplier that can make a frame in virtually any color. They have a factory outside of Chicago that can hydro-dip paint to any color. If you want Ferrari Red, you can get Ferrari Red. It allows us to expand our bezel offerings, and more importantly, the consumer gets to match their home décor.
Having been at CEDIA for four years now, how has Skyworth adjusted to position itself better in the custom integration market?
When I joined the company almost four years ago, the executives wanted to sell outdoor TVs and specialty products, but they had no idea how to get there. They went to the first CEDIA with me and were amazed to learn this channel existed. Now, the company is 100% focused on it.
Skyworth makes other brands; for instance, we hold the license for Philips TVs sold at Walmart and Sam’s Club. That gives the parent company its national retail fix. With our Skyworth brand, we are 100% committed to custom integration and do not sell retail. We don’t change prices every week. It’s a true CI brand.
Which of Skyworth’s products are seeing the highest demand from integrators right now?
The Art TV category has exploded in the past couple of years. There weren’t many options offering incredible picture quality. We targeted that gap with our Canvas Elite product line in 86-inch and 100-inch models that we launched at last year’s CEDIA. Demand took off — we started shipping in November and were sold out for the first four months. We are just now catching up on backorders.
We’re taking that exact concept to our new line, which will launch late this year or early Q1 to replace our 55-, 65-, and 75-inch models with even better picture quality and performance.
When a new dealer walks into your booth, what sets Skyworth apart from competitors?
The first thing I let them know is that Skyworth does business in over 110 countries and is a $10 billion company that just hadn’t formally entered the U.S. market with high-end products until now. I explain our Philips division, so they understand our high-volume national business is already handled elsewhere. That assures dealers we aren’t using the CI channel as a steppingstone to go national. Dealers need to make money and establishing that credibility immediately lets them know their margins and exclusivity are protected.
We have our product listed on Amazon, and people sometimes ask about it. We’ve only sold maybe one unit on Amazon in six months. We keep it listed there strictly for price validation. When an end-user receives a $100,000 integration bid, they almost always look up the TV price. If they check Amazon and see the exact same price as the bid, it gives the integrator instant credibility across their entire proposal. Unlike competitors who shift prices weekly to hit retail targets, our pricing stays stable. If you spec a job on Black Friday, it will be the exact same price four months later.
What are your expectations for CEDIA Expo this year?
I think we’re going to have a much busier booth. We’ve grown so much over the last 15 months. The first two and a half years were about introducing ourselves, but now I get calls once a week from integrators asking where they can buy our product. That momentum happens without reps even making a call.
This show represents a mix of existing partners catching up on Q4 business, along with a wave of new dealers who have heard about us and want to see the product in person for the first time. On top of Art TVs blowing up, we’ve also had our best outdoor TV season ever, so we’re really excited to showcase everything.
For more information, visit Skyworth USA at CEDIA Expo booth #2923 or online at skyworthusa.com.
