Five Minutes at NSCA Expo with... David Solari CEO, Nexo USA Interviewed by Keith Clark Editorial Director ProSoundWeb

Q: So, how has it gone this year?

David Solari

David: It's been a very good show for us. This is the first show that we've done with Harry Klane (national sales manager) fully on board with us. One of the biggest things we've been working on the past few months are some pretty significant changes to our distribution network. We're really trying to set things up so that we can grow the business without running into problems and trying to restructure things every six months. And we're very encouraged by the progress so far. Besides our existing reps that we already had in place, we've added three new rep firms in key territories -

the entire U.S. is covered?

David: Yes, we're covered. Obviously, there's work to be done in teaching about the products, but we're all working together on that. We've chosen to use a limited distribution model, differentiating between people who do contracting work and production work. All of us are trying to use the experience we've gained over the years at different companies over the years to say, "we know where we want to go, so what's the right way to do that?"

Nexo as a company has been around for 21 years, so it's somewhat different. While we're coming around to seriously growing the business here in the U.S., we also don't have the problems of growing the manufacturing side or managing financial issues, because that's all been done. So it's actually very fun.

Q: What do you think the market likes about Nexo products?

David: The stuff really sounds great. That's primarily what it boils down to. The easiest way for us to sell product is to let customers try it out. It's really that simple. Extrapolating on from that, all the products perform like they're supposed to, and the sound through the entire product range is very similar. So you can go from our smallest speaker, the PS8, up to the Alpha, and it's not like you're dealing with totally different companies or concepts, which can sometimes be the case with others.

Q: What else is Nexo focusing on with regard to the U.S. market?

David: A lot of things. We have a huge amount of work to do, even with the distribution now in place. We need to continue to keep these folks informed and motivated, and teach them about our new technology. It's all about continuing to communicate with all of these new people - really listening as they tell us about the market and products.

The biggest thing in our world, product-wise, is the new Geo Series of arrayable loudspeakers. This is a new dimension for us, and there's a lot of knowledge that has to be exchanged both ways. It's a two-way street - from us to the user, and back to us, about how effective Geo is in applications. This will consume a good deal of our time over the next six to nine months.

Q: What will you remember about this year's NSCA Expo?

David: Harry (Klane) laughing… he has one of the most enjoyable and infectious laughs you've ever heard. (Editor's note: I concur!)

It's been a very positive show for us. Probably the thing I'll most remember is the surprise generated with our product demos at the Paramount, how people were amazed that the PS8 could cover a 2,000-seat-plus room. Just two little speakers on poles. For a lot of people, when they actually heard it - even ones who have been with us for a while - they still couldn't quite believe it.