[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Thank you. Thanks for having us.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: We are so excited to have you as part of our new podcast distribution, Unpacked. What’s new? Tell me all the fun things that are going on at Victor Technologies.
[00:00:15] Speaker A: Oh, gosh. So that’s. That’s a loaded question.
It’s a great question. Yeah, we’ve got. So I joined Victor about a year ago, and in the last year come We’ve launched over 40 new items to the through the marketplace.
[00:00:30] Speaker C: Right.
[00:00:30] Speaker A: All around the theme of thoughtful innovation.
[00:00:34] Speaker B: Tell me more.
[00:00:34] Speaker A: So thoughtful innovation is you take a clipboard.
[00:00:39] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: Right. We make clipboards in Edison, New Jersey. Is that right?
[00:00:43] Speaker C: Yep. Made in usa.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Made in usa. So I sit back and I think we need to start thinking about how to change a clipboard.
What does every clipboard need? A pen.
What does every clipboard have? Not a pen holder. You’re like, you’re taping it, you’re stringing it in there. So we found clip. Whoops.
[00:01:00] Speaker B: I’m a big fan of when the string hangs.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: Yeah, the string hangs.
We like that. Or the tape.
[00:01:05] Speaker B: With the tape on the pen. Yeah, yeah.
[00:01:08] Speaker A: So we did a little clipboard. Every one of ours has pen holder now. And then we reached across the aisle to our friends at Zebra Pen, and we’re selling a clipboard set with zebra pens.
[00:01:18] Speaker B: It’s exciting.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: That’s fun, right?
[00:01:19] Speaker B: That. I mean, that’s innovation in the op.
[00:01:21] Speaker A: Thoughtful, easy, go to market quickly. And we’ve done it. 40.
[00:01:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:01:26] Speaker A: We did a whiteboard, and guess what? We added a marker. A marker. I love that.
[00:01:31] Speaker C: Yeah. We’re not making it complex or difficult just taking something we already have and thinking about how we can make it a little different, a little better.
[00:01:39] Speaker A: Yeah. My view of thoughtful innovation is when you see it, someone goes, why didn’t I think of that?
[00:01:45] Speaker B: It’s like a shark tank episode in here.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:01:48] Speaker B: You know, if we’re thinking about thoughtful innovation, we’re thinking about innovation in general.
[00:01:51] Speaker A: What.
[00:01:52] Speaker B: What’s some new things that are coming in the pipeline in 2026.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: So we just released at the end of last year 25, a whole new line of cell phone lockers. Tell me one of the big trends in the marketplace is the schools and the states are locking down cell phones.
[00:02:09] Speaker C: Yep. There’s over 30 states now that have some sort of ban. Either a full ban where no use of cell phones in the classroom or some sort of restriction. So we jumped on that trend. And.
[00:02:21] Speaker A: And so we’ve got a cell phone locker. We got one that just put the.
Under our seat Sack brand, which is our school brand, we have a Victor one that has a little lock.
And then I’m going to give you big news.
We’re going to come out with a Voltz brand with Victor. If you know what Voltz is, I think you probably know Voltz as the brand. We’ve partnered with them because I know the two guys and we thought it was a great idea and we’re going to release that in May of this year.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: That’s exciting.
[00:02:46] Speaker A: Yeah. So we’re going to have a good, better, best.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: What I’m hearing is heard here first.
Exciting.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: It’s really exciting. I didn’t mean to be that excited.
[00:02:55] Speaker B: Listen, love a new product. So I didn’t even think about this. So in schools, obviously, I just, you know, lock my cell phone up in the classroom or like in the school for the day.
[00:03:02] Speaker A: So this is literally. It’s a. It’s a. It’s a locker. And the states are requiring that kids come in and put their phone somewhere. And everybody wants them to be put away where they can actually see them and get to them, but can’t get to them too easily.
[00:03:14] Speaker C: Right.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: I love this.
[00:03:15] Speaker A: And we’ve sold, I think in the first three, four months, we sold four or five thousand of them.
[00:03:20] Speaker B: I mean, offhand, how many states.
[00:03:22] Speaker C: Yeah, we’re up to. There’s up to 30 states in the country that have some sort of ban. Either it’s a full ban where no. Of the cell phone in school, or some sort of restriction where it can still be used during, you know, class periods, but once you come into the classroom, it has to be put away. So the cell phone locker is a perfect solution. And we were, you know, we, we launched it ahead of the game when. When there was only a few states that were really looking into this restriction. And now it’s doing very well for us.
[00:03:50] Speaker A: Timing in life is everything. Yeah.
[00:03:53] Speaker B: You know, I was just going to ask you clearly, what’s a big. What’s a big growth, you know, segment for you guys? But it sounds like education.
[00:04:00] Speaker A: That’s a big one. But I would also say, you know, we have a very nice narrow line of standing desks.
[00:04:05] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: Standing desks are still, you know, I love mine. Yeah, it helps my back. It helps everybody’s back. It helps your attention. So now where we’re going, and this is somewhat new news, but not maybe broken right here, but we are starting to accessorize the desk.
[00:04:20] Speaker B: Doug, all of this new excitement, I don’t know.
[00:04:22] Speaker A: This is fun.
[00:04:22] Speaker B: This is. I mean, you ready for this live and uncut.
[00:04:25] Speaker A: And here’s how we’re doing it. Because this is thoughtful innovation. We’re doing it through magnetic accessories. We’re starting with what we call magnetrax, and they’re literally just pieces of metal made in the USA that attach to standing desks underneath or on the sides. That’s awesome. And then we pop on surge protectors and fans and speakers, and the gamers are going to love it.
[00:04:46] Speaker B: It’s funny.
[00:04:47] Speaker A: The gamers are going to love it.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: What’s funny is we recently relocated and downsized dramatically, and so I lost my nice little, like, you know, work from home station. No, it’s awesome.
[00:04:55] Speaker A: You’re okay.
[00:04:56] Speaker B: No, we’re loving it. Okay. But I literally went shopping to go find, for lack of a better term, I wanted, like, a nurse’s cart, if you will, something small and tiny. I put my laptop on. I have my monitor that I could work from, and it was interesting, to your point, but I wanted, like, a surge protector that I could. You know, I needed something that raised and left, and there was really nothing out there.
[00:05:14] Speaker A: There is now. That’s.
[00:05:16] Speaker B: That’s super.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: Yeah. Because cable management’s everywhere.
Everything. So we’ve got.
We got tracks that are magnetic, but we had to, like, put things onto our desks and our rolling desks that you could put magnets on. And this is new way to do it.
[00:05:31] Speaker C: Everyone wants that minimal design, too. So you declutter the workspace, but you still have all your accessories within.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: That’s what I want. I wanted something to just wheel out and, you know, work in the different space.
[00:05:42] Speaker A: And, you know, the other thing, the magnetis, you know, accessories allow you to do is, I don’t know where you want your coffee in your fan and stuff. So you could. You just put it wherever you want. So it’s really modular in approach. It’s not like, oh, I had to put my thing here, my thing there. My thing there’s, like, once you get these little magnetic tracks onto your tables and desks, put on what you want. It’s really fun.
Really fun.
[00:06:02] Speaker B: Thoughtful innovation.
[00:06:03] Speaker A: It is. It is.
[00:06:04] Speaker C: It’s a big, big term around our company.
[00:06:07] Speaker A: Yeah. So so far, Adam, what you’re not hearing about is our history is Victor calculators and sharp.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: Well, I don’t want to go there. I don’t know if we wanted to go, you know, talk about our history. I mean, I know you guys as a kid, I mean, my mom used to, you know, use the Victor machine and that she could do this with her eyes closed and yes. You know, you hear the roars and they’re in the finance department on the, on the, on year end clothes. You hear the tape falling on the floor and everything.
[00:06:30] Speaker A: So it is a.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: But you’ve done some great stuff. And you know, I would argue through your thoughtful innovation, new products, new brands, new things are going on.
[00:06:40] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So we did just sign a deal with Alba, which is the French manufacturer of what I would again say thoughtfully, innovative design. They do coat racks, they do trash cans, they do magazine holders. They’re all really nice products.
They were looking for big retail focus for them. A little bit of retail.
[00:07:00] Speaker B: Yeah, big retail focus.
[00:07:01] Speaker A: But what I really love about the European side of the business is that it’s very environmentally friendly and recycling and, and, and yet they’re also really good at packing things into ship easily. Yes. And then their mantra is we want it to be so easy to assemble. No tools.
[00:07:18] Speaker C: Yeah, no tools.
[00:07:19] Speaker A: Literally no tools.
And I’m like, we’re in. We’ll, we’ll sign up today, we’ll do it. And SP Richards is one of our biggest customers for them.
[00:07:26] Speaker B: Yeah, that’s great.
[00:07:27] Speaker A: And now we’re shipping out of our warehouses and we’re coordinating with them and we’re going to launch a whole set of new products with them.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: That is so awesome.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: Really fun.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: Let me, let me, let me rephrase. Let me.
[00:07:36] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: We’re going to refocus us for a little bit. So obviously, you know, our customer, shared customers, the distribution player or the, you know, the dealer distribution partner. What or how can they best position who you are with their end users? What’s the best way for them to walk in? You know, because you guys are now from the adding machine or the calculator
[00:07:54] Speaker A: will thank you for the adding machine reference all the way.
[00:07:57] Speaker B: I, you know, I try to do.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: That’s a good one.
[00:07:59] Speaker B: I try to do my best. You know, the pen guys are here. It’s a writing and I do my best.
[00:08:03] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:08:04] Speaker B: You know, in the cleaning guys are here. It’s, it’s proper chemicals. But my question for you really is how can our, you know, shared customer, the dealer, distributor, take your brand, which is now varied over so many cool things and how can they be successful? How can they lean in with your products and frankly your solutions.
[00:08:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: To go sell.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: Well, I’ll tell you what, Adam, it’s, it’s probably the question that runs through my mind the most after a year of what I call stirring the pot.
[00:08:29] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:08:30] Speaker A: Spending time on new products and New ventures.
[00:08:32] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:08:33] Speaker A: Is how do I now go back and execute out through the channels in the markets. And it’s not easy.
I’ve been in the industry a long time.
The dealers have a lot going on.
A lot going on. Now more than ever now more than a lot. Yeah, a lot going on, more than ever.
[00:08:49] Speaker B: A little bit of change.
[00:08:50] Speaker A: And so what we’re trying to do is build a support sort of network. I’m thinking about inside sales and customer care and Carmen’s our rep. But it’s really helping them so that we can get our message to them around. We are very much a niche solution.
[00:09:04] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:09:05] Speaker A: And that means someone’s gonna have to talk to us and we’re gonna have to talk to them and give them all this energy around.
You know, why did we solve this problem? What was the challenge? Yeah, we need to get that message out. And we’re doing it, you know, the new way. Social media. We have a lot of social media going on. I don’t know if the independent office products dealers are watching all the social media, but they should. They learn a lot that way.
But honestly, it’s a challenge for us, Cohen through 26, is how do we go out and how do we leverage SP Richards relationships and education and entryway into these guys? Yeah, that’s what we need.
[00:09:41] Speaker B: Well, and I think marketing has shifted too. I mean, for so long, it was always. I mean, I remember when I was in grad school, it was B2B and B2C.
[00:09:46] Speaker A: Right.
[00:09:47] Speaker B: And then I think as we started through that process, those 18 months in grad school, it very quickly went from two separate worlds to it just crashed. And now B2B2C. So how do you guys in the B2B space now act like a B2C player to give the dealer, the distributor, that tool to go out and sell, you know, get the product in front of them differently. That way they can just fulfill the order potentially.
[00:10:09] Speaker A: And I think it starts with, I mean, all of them. The good news is most of the resellers now have very nice websites and interchange. So for us, our best thing that we can do at the beginning, at the minimum, is have really good content.
[00:10:21] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: And we do. Yeah, we’re getting good content, good video, good how to’s out of sales.
[00:10:27] Speaker C: And yeah, even for the sales team, we have these marketing briefs that we’ve been creating for all of our new product launches. So, you know, a sales rep can use that marketing brief. Like, what’s the problem?
What’s the product? And why is this the Solution and
[00:10:42] Speaker B: how do we elevate to the solution? So I think that’s really exciting.
[00:10:45] Speaker A: Yeah. Gotta keep it simple.
[00:10:47] Speaker B: I think that’s awesome. So you know, one of the big things for us at SP moving into the New Year’s, we’re kind of relaunching. I don’t want to say we’re rebranding or anything like that. We’re introducing a new tagline, kind of a mantra around the building as we think about the. And it’s all about simplifying complexity. Are simplifying complexity. We’re not there yet. We, you know, we are still in a very complex space. But as we think about that, how do we partner to simplify complexity for our shared distribution colleagues?
[00:11:10] Speaker A: Yeah, I think you know, and I, because I my past industry experience was in wholesaling and I felt like the wholesalers value in a lot of respects was aggregating risk.
[00:11:21] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:11:22] Speaker A: And complexity is risk.
[00:11:23] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:11:25] Speaker A: So if you think about what we’re trying to do is this industry needs new products and new solutions and it needs a way to get out there. So having SP Richards focus on how do we aggregate the risk of new products and content and marketing to support the suppliers who are doing it, to me that’s the best, it’s the best relationship we could have. And if I can keep it simple by saying again, we’re not rocket science, we’re not nanoscience and technology. We are putting a pen on a clipboard.
But it’s a pretty good one and we care about it. We’re putting. I didn’t even mention we put heats our fat. One of our fastest growing line is our heats around our. We have a warm desk.
[00:12:07] Speaker C: Yeah. Heated heated desk.
[00:12:08] Speaker A: Pad and foot and a leg warmer, coffee warmer. And yeah. It’s amazing how many people are like oh my God. And all we’re really doing back to your simplification is it’s really. There are space heaters out there that are dangerous. Get them out of there.
[00:12:24] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: This thing is super simple and it’s all ul sort of, you know, tested and ready to go and it doesn’t cause fires.
[00:12:31] Speaker B: That’s awesome.
[00:12:32] Speaker A: Keep everything simple. That’s simple. So yeah, I think your idea of trying to simplify and route again. Boil the ocean. Give us the steps and let us, let us follow with you.
[00:12:43] Speaker B: Let’s not boil the ocean.
Guys. Thank you so much. Thanks for joining us.
[00:12:47] Speaker A: Too much fun.
Can I ask one more question though? When with her.
[00:12:51] Speaker B: We’re flipping it.
[00:12:51] Speaker A: We’re flipping it with the Wisconsin accent. Does these microphones change it so we an understander.
[00:12:55] Speaker B: It’s all good.
[00:12:56] Speaker A: Listen, you.
[00:12:57] Speaker B: You’re going to be just fine.
[00:12:58] Speaker C: Oh, no.
[00:13:00] Speaker A: There it is.
Here we go.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: Guys, thank you so much.
[00:13:03] Speaker A: I appreciate it.
[00:13:04] Speaker B: Thanks for joining us.
[00:13:04] Speaker A: Appreciate it. Thanks, guys.
