Azione Unlimited (AU), an education and buying group for integrators, is celebrating its four-year anniversary this month. Azione was launched in February of 2012 and since its inception the buying group has experienced substantial growth.
Over the past four years membership has grown to 142 dealer members and 40 vendor members, which puts Azione well on its way to achieving one of its stated goals, which is 250 dealer members. In addition to membership growth, the group reports over $475 million dollars in combined dealer sales, which represents an increase of 45 percent over the previous year.
“It was touch and go in the beginning with lots of praying and anguish which I assume happens in all new businesses. It is exhilarating to deliver growth to vendors and dealers, and likewise additional profits,” states Richard Glikes, president of Azione Unlimited. “Thanks are in order to the vendors who bet on us and dealers who took a chance. We came to the market with simple concepts like Share, Trust, Prosper and it is working and working well.”
As part of its membership Azione hosts two educational conferences per year that are free to members. The buying group points out these conferences are packed full of information tailored to the custom integrator. It adds the agenda of these conferences are designed to promote and encourage the sharing of ideas and best practices among members. Guest speakers provide valuable insight on trends and challenges in the consumer electronics industry. To date, Azione has hosted these eight, three-day conferences, and the next is scheduled in April 15-17, 2016.
Announcing its goals and initiatives for 2016 Azione has several new benefits slated for its membership. Those new initiatives include a discounted healthcare plan, a new comprehensive customized software platform and a multi-faceted marketing initiative.
