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Enthusiasm Builds at Inaugural Spring Conference; OASYS has Arrived

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Nashville downtown with Oasys logo

Last week, I was invited to attend the inaugural OASYS Spring Conference at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Nashville, TN, aka Music City. Formerly known as HTSN (Home Technology Specialists of Nationwide), the group has been rebranded and infused with new energy as Oasys Residential Technology Group. This spring gathering was its inaugural event launching a new brand, a new operating process, and – I have to say – a new attitude.

It was an eye-opening experience that helped me realize just how serious Nationwide is at cementing Oasys as the bedrock foundation of its buying group dominance.

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HTSN Becomes Oasys, Welcomes an Expanded Class of Dealers as Part of Nationwide’s ‘Drive to 1,000’

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HTSN is now Oaysis

Home Technology Specialists Nationwide (HTSN), part of the Nationwide Marketing Group’s stable of dealer/integrator buying organizations, announced today that it is rebranding its group, signifying an all-new image and an expanded mission to welcome an underserved class of dealers as part Nationwide’s “path to 1,000” members. HTSN will now be known as Oasys Residential Technology Group (ORTG).

Learn more about Oasys and Its expanding role

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Savant Exec Angela Larson Joins Azione Unlimited Advisory Board

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Angela Larson, an SVP of Savant, joins the Azione advisory board

Azione Unlimited announced that it has elected Savant Senior Vice President of Services & Customer Operations Angela Larson to its advisory board. Unique to the buying group scene, Azione’s advisory board consists of five dealer members and five vendor members who all work together with the goal of “creating, expanding, and implementing the organization’s mission.”

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Influential East Coast Integrator Bob Gullo Dies

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Bob Gullo

Services to Be Held February 10th in Pearl River, New York

Robert R. (Bob) Gullo, founder, President, and Chief Creative Officer of influential East Coast integrator Electronic Design Group, Inc. (EDG) died on Wednesday, February 1, 2023. According to several sources, the cause of death was cancer. A creative, energetic promoter of the then-nascent custom installation, now custom integration, industry, Gullo played an influential…even outsized…role in the development of the industry and was an oft-cited inspiration for many others to follow his path and embrace the industry.

Learn more about the life of Bob Gullo

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Nationwide Sets Sights on Custom Integration & Luxury Home Dominance

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Nationwide tiny home with home automation display

See My Interview w/Nationwide President Tom Hickman

In the days leading up to the recent CEDIA Expo in Dallas, Nationwide Marketing Group, one of the largest buying groups in the U.S., announced that former ProSource VP Andy Orozco would be joining Nationwide as its Senior Vice President of Custom Integration. That news grabbed my attention as it came less than a year after Nationwide’s acquisition of one of the top custom integration buying groups, Azione Unlimited, back in October 2021.

Clearly, something big is going on at Nationwide…

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Former ProSource VP Andy Orozco Named Nationwide Senior VP of CI

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Nationwide Marketing Group logo

Nationwide Marketing Group (Nationwide) continues to hit the accelerator pedal as it seeks to build upon its plans to expand the custom integration segment for the group, first indicated when it acquired another CI-centric group, Azioned Unlimited, back in October of 2021. Now Nationwide is announcing that Andy Orozco, a former top (and long-time) executive with ProSource, has joined the organization as its Senior Vice President of Custom Integration.

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ProSource Expands Leadership Team; Appoints Jim Pearse as President

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Jim Pearse, new ProSource President

This week, ProSource announced that it was expanding its leadership team by adding well-known retail industry executive Jim Pearse as its new President. The duties of the president were once part of CEO Dave Workman’s role, but the group says this management team expansion is now necessary to support the group’s continued growth.

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Azione Unlimited Merges with Nationwide Marketing Group

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Azione logo

Azione Unlimited announced today that it has partnered with Nationwide Marketing Group, a group representing more than 14,000 storefronts made up largely of appliance, furniture, and electronics retailers. While Nationwide may not be an immediately obvious choice as a partner for Azione, the custom integration specialist group maintains that it makes perfect sense as they say integrators must be able “to address all of their clients’ needs, no matter the room in the home.”

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Emerald: The Show WILL Go On!

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Emerald Holding logo

Emerald Letter Tries to Nail Down Remaining Exhibitors

On Wednesday, Emerald emailed a letter to exhibitors that appears to be an attempt to stem the outflow of companies that have canceled their participation in the CEDIA Expo 2021 – 42 brands according to Strata-gee’s tracking – and encourage those exhibitors that have not yet abandoned the show from leaving. Signed by Emerald executives Brian Pagel and Jason McGraw, the letter declared “the show is still very much on as planned.”

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High-End Faces A Matter of Survival in Pandemic’s Wake; Here’s What We Should Do Now

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In This GUEST POST, Bill Leebens Takes You on a Journey from ‘Me’ to ‘We’ & Proposes a New Industry Association

A few months ago, I unexpectedly became unemployed. There had been occasions in my career when it was clear that I needed to get the hell out of Dodge —but this wasn’t one of them.

A new job would not appear overnight; that was obvious. I was up to my ears in fearful self-absorption.

Then things changed…and the world was in upheaval.

This changed everything…

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