New
York – Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) selected Meridian America
as a preferred vendor.
This will give Meridian access to HTSA membership “while still
maintaining a controlled distribution,” said Meridian America CEO Peter
Wellikoff.
The
partnership fits in with the high-end A/V brand’s
which has been successful, he told TWICE. Under that strategy,
Meridian America significantly scaled back its dealer base and product
selection beginning in 2009 and, by June of this year, reduced its dealer base
to 100 accounts from 250 as part of an effort to focus more resources on fewer,
more committed dealers. As part of that effort, Meridian also adopted more of a
luxury position in the A/V market.
By
the end of this year, the company expects its dealer base could grow to as many
as 120 from the current 100, in part through the HTSA partnership.
Meridian
previously did business with about a third of HTSA’s 61 members, and with the
formal HTSA partnership, Meridian is able to participate in all HTSA
initiatives and programs, Wellikoff said. Neither the HTSA member nor preferred
vendor, however, is required to engage in business together. “This is still
done on a case-by-case basis, although ‘preferred’ is the operative word,” he
said.
Meridian’s
less-is-more strategy is working, Wellikoff also
told TWICE. “We just closed our fiscal year, and we’re up again in a tough
market. We’ve improved our financial performance by reducing almost all
operating expenses while increasing revenue and better managing and executing
our best-in-class business model.”
HTSA
executive director Richard Glikes said the partnership “brings two
high-performance organizations together with mutual benefits that will make the
client acquisition process stunningly fruitful.”
HTSA
members consist of 61 custom retailers and integrators with almost 100
storefronts in 39 states. They represent a combined buying power of more than
$350 million. Members install high-end audio, video, automation, lighting, climate-control
and energy-management systems.
