MERA Changing Meeting Dates

Staff -- TWICE, 2/26/2001

INDIANAPOLIS -The Mobile Electronics Retailers Association has pushed back its annual Knowledgefest meeting from September 2001 to February 2002 at a location to be announced.

MERA said the tradefest date was shifted, at the request of dealers and retailers, because most new products are shown in January. "September is not good for retailers to review new products," a spokesman said. "Given the manufacturer product cycles, the products are old by then, where February is a great time for retailers to learn how to sell, install and service new items."

In addition, MERA said that CEA is no longer sponsoring MERA's National Tour, so the tour will be partially cut back and will this year focus primarily on installer training.

Rather than offering classroom sessions, the tour will offer hands-on training, which the association considers more useful and which it hopes will bring in retailers beyond the MERA membership. Specific dates and locations will be announced.

Two currently scheduled events for store managers and owners will be held on April 22 in Columbus, Ohio, and Aug. 5 in Detroit.