Christie, one of the clear leaders in the rental/staging market, is continuing to strengthen its position with moves made this week. Primary among those moves is the acquisition of cross-rental company, Nationwide Wholesale. Nationwide, which will continue operations under President Gary Becker, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Christie parent company, Christie Systems Inc. Christie told us no changes will be made to company locations and Nationwide and Christie will continue business as usual. So, why the acquisition? By owning a wholesaler that works closely with the rental staging community, Christie can more easily and quickly assess and respond to the market needs. It lets Christie keep closer tabs on what Nationwide's customers (rental / staging companies) require, and it gives Nationwide a direct communication line for product recommendations and special applications support. Christie confirmed that in another significant move, Gary Fuller (former Sales Manager, Pacific and Rental Staging) has been promoted to National Sales Manager, Rental/Staging, which is a new position in the company. "We've always been closely connected with Nationwide, we've helped them, they've helped us," said Fuller. "In our quest to better understand the market and to satisfy the market's needs, by working closely with Nationwide, we'll have instant access to product information we'll need." In addition, the acquisition allows Christie Systems Inc. another way to grow the overall business. What will happen to the other product lines carried by Nationwide? Nothing, confirms Fuller. Nationwide will continue to offer the diverse products and services that they currently offer, he said. Nationwide offers a diverse inventory of LCD and DLP video projectors, lenses and accessories at wholesale rental rates. As a wholesaler, Nationwide's focus is 100% on supporting professional A/V rental companies with their cross-rental needs. Nationwide currently offers local service to 100 major cities in the United States, has regional headquarters with complete inventories and support staff, technical training programs, and offers freight free service to the100 major cities. Christie offers a complete line-up of 3-chip DLP and LCD projectors, including the award-winning Roadie projector. Christie projection technology is used at events such as the Emmy's, Microsoft World Summit and Dell's Annual Employee meeting, as well as, on tours for Celine Dion, Korn and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Several digital movie premieres like Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, SPYkids I & II and Monsters, Inc. made their mark using Christie projectors. Christie has a strong international network of resellers who provide sales support and service to more than 50,000 projection displays in over 50 countries. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.christiedigital.com and click on the Rental Staging Products and Solution section. Gary Kayye's rAVe contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. |