Hi, I’m Jeff Francisco, president and CEO of The DaVinci Group. I wanted to take a moment to share with you our vision on where The DaVinci Group (TDG) is headed in 2017. Many companies are happy to take your money and ship you stuff, but many times they keep you in the dark about their plans and their progress.
We aspire to be a different kind of partner – one with a better appreciation of your role in this journey we’re taking together. For a company our size, we invest heavily in sales support both in terms of manpower, and in terms of programs – because we understand your challenges. We also want to share early information with you, out of respect for our partnership.
But before we get started with 2017, let me say this – if you are an integrator or dealer that is currently selling and installing TDG Audio, Vanguard Dynamics, or Blue Aura products in systems you’ve created for your valued clients, I want to personally thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thanks to your efforts, The DaVinci Group achieved another record year in 2016!
We will never take your role in our success for granted!
Before we discuss where we see our business headed in 2017, let’s review some of the milestones achieved in 2016.
Key Milestones of 2016
- Amazing Growth – Although we’ve grown every year since our founding, 2016 was truly different. Not only did our overall rate of growth increase, we picked up momentum each month of the year.
- Strong Finish – Our results showed amazing traction in the last four months of the year, including in the normally slower November and December months which turned in results beyond our wildest imagination.
- Spectacular Show – Kicking off those results was an amazing CEDIA show in September. In the weeks leading up to the CEDIA2016 show, we received tremendous press coverage, had a record number of dealers and prospective dealers visit our CEDIA booth, and closed several key deals at the show.
- More Awards – TDG continued to be recognized by major trade media in 2016. CEPro awarded us a “Kudos Award” in their Quest for Quality Program in the “Dealer Programs and Incentives” category. Residential Systems awarded us a “Gold” Stellar Service Award in the “Warranty/Return Policy/Tech Support” category. We also deeply honored to have won a Vendor Partner of the Year award from Dennis Sage Home Entertainment called the “Ring of Distinction Award.”
- More Outdoor Audio – We dramatically expanded our landscape series product line, including models optimized for residential and commercial purposes.
- A New Signature – Perhaps one of our proudest moments was the launch of the Signature Series high-performance, high-spl, in-wall speakers designed for dedicated home theater installations. The response from our dealers to this new category of product from TDG has been truly amazing.
- A New Website – Thanks in large part to the efforts of our CTO and co-founder Alex Chiou, we launched all new websites for our TDG Audio and Vanguard Dynamics brands. With stunning visuals and more logical structure, it’s now easier than ever to find the items or information you’re looking for on these sites.
- International Expansion – As the reputation of The DaVinci Group brands continues to grow in the United States, so has interest grown in our brands in the international community. We have successfully signed up several key international distributors who are creating fans for TDG Audio and Vanguard Dynamics products across the globe.
What to Expect in 2017
- Continued Growth – We have every reason to believe that our strong month-over-month growth will continue in 2017, as our dealer network expands and as growing traction drives greater adoption of our products
- Infrastructure Expansion – Growth can be good…and it can be bad. For example, if our growth outstrips our ability to provide adequate service and support to our integrators and dealers…that would be bad. Rest assured, however, that we have plans in place to grow our support infrastructure – such as dealer support staff, support systems, and programs to ensure growth in support commensurate to our growth in revenues. This is part of our commitment to our integrators and dealers to be there for them, even as we continue to scale.
- New Dealer Support Option – Soon we will be launching an entirely new dealer support option that promises to make your life easier. We don’t want to get into detail at this time, but the system is in the testing phase right now. Assuming it passes the test, we will make the announcement shortly. So stand by for more details…
- Product Line Expansion – You can expect to see continued extension of our existing product lines. We will stay true to our roots of building product solutions that meet your needs, solve your problems, and offer a balance of both performance and value.
- New Technologies & Categories – We have some surprises in store for you this year, including new technologies and new categories. We will continue to expand our footprint in order to be in the position to offer you the perfect solution for any of your installation needs. I wish I could tell you more, but it would be premature. We will be able to share more with you about these exciting new products soon.
It is our goal to continue to earn the support of our integrators and dealers in 2017 by offering products that embody the peak of both performance and value…with programs that are attuned to the unique needs of integrators in the custom integration industry.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to working with our integrators and distributors towards a GREAT 2017!!