TOSHIBA AMERICA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INC. CELEBRATES MILESTONE 50TH DEALER ACQUISITION

Market-Based Strategy and Industry-Leading Integration Process Cornerstone to Toshiba’s Long-Term Dealer Acquisition Success

IRVINE , California   ( Aug 02, 2007 ) :

Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. (TABS), is proud to announce it has closed its milestone 50th dealer acquisition since initiating the aggressive growth strategy in 1994.  While growth through acquisition is a time-tested mainstay of business strategies, TABS' aggressive pace, savvy market-based approach and industry-leading post-acquisition dealer integration process has significantly contributed to the company's ability to consistently outpace the market.

The result of TABS' strategic approach toward acquisition has yielded the company 136 Toshiba Business Solutions (TBS) subsidiary locations across 27 states, employing more than 3,000 professionals and reporting a revenue growth average of more than 12 percent over the past four years.  Further demonstrating the company's overall business success is that it continually outperforms its competition in an otherwise flat industry, with TABS certifying a unit growth average of 8.0 percent since 2003, compared to the industry average growth for that same period of just 2.8 percent.

TABS' innovative business model is anchored around three basic principles:

1. Focusing on key target markets to grow Toshiba's business where they do not already have a strong independent dealer presence, versus focusing on acquiring specific dealers based primarily on their revenue history;
2. Fostering a supportive, symbiotic relationship with acquired business owners who elect to "sell-up" versus "sell-out" of their business – providing TABS with proven business leaders, and dealers with an exceptional opportunity to run subsidiary operations that grow to be two-to-three times the size of their original company; and
3. Approaching this facet of TABS' business growth plan more as ‘investing in independent dealers' versus ‘acquiring independent dealers' – with a concerted focus on post-acquisition management and employee retention and empowering market-based management.

"Since the inception of this strategy, Toshiba has sought to acquire companies that best position us to secure greater market share in strategic areas for our business.  It may sound overly simplistic to highlight Toshiba's market-based versus branch-based focus while strategically determining our acquisition growth plan, but the reality is that most companies acquire businesses based primarily on revenue potential," said Rick Taylor president and CEO, TABS.  "Ultimately, it's the management team, employee assets and reputation in the market that we're acquiring, so making the post-acquisition integration process seamless for dealers is critical to a dealer's, and our, long-term success."
Immediately upon closure of a dealer acquisition, newly acquired dealers participate in TABS' proprietary and award-winning Special Weekly Acquisition Training (S.W.A.T.), a mobile, 60-day blended learning program that trains a massive force of new sales personnel on TABS' entire line of products and programs, and immerses new associates in its corporate culture in a positive and supportive way, allowing newly acquired subsidiaries to retain their individuality. 

"The owners of the companies that TABS acquires are creative business people who have built highly successful companies.  They're our greatest asset of any acquisition," said Wayne Wilkinson, vice president and general manager, TBS.  "No one understands their business operations and their market better than they do, so we focus tremendous energy behind providing them the tools and resources available as a Toshiba family member, while allowing them to implement their own programs to grow their already successful business."

The result – S.W.A.T.-trained acquired dealerships average an impressive 92 percent employee retention, nine months post-acquisition.  In addition to employee training, TABS also has streamlined post-acquisition management integration with TABS legal, finance, human relations and TBS operations departments, working closely with subsidiary executives to implement integration plans for a seemingly seamless transition for all employees.  TABS business model varies from most other manufacturer direct organizations that run branch operations.  TABS believes in utilizing the market-based management approach, which keeps the talented people who were acquired close to the customer, and centralizes only non-customer-touch business components, such as insurance, workers compensation, legal and healthcare, to name a few.

Looking forward, TABS plans to continue acquiring respected independent dealers as needed to support its market-specific strategy.

About Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc.

Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. (TABS) manages product planning, marketing, sales, service support and distribution of copiers, facsimiles, multifunction
printing products, network controllers, and toner products throughout the United States, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean.  Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TABS has four divisions: the Electronic Imaging Division; the Toner Products Division; the Document Solutions Engineering Division; and TOPAC U.S.A., Inc., dba Toshiba Business Solutions (TBS), a wholly owned subsidiary corporation of TABS, that operates a network of wholly owned office equipment dealers throughout the United States.

Named the most favored manufacturer eight times by the Business Technology Association (BTA), Toshiba's entire product line, customer support and marketing
distribution policies are markers for the industry.  Among the many other awards garnered in recent years, Toshiba was named the "Copier Manufacturer of the Year" six times by the Marketing Research Consultants (MRC), and has twice been named to the CIO 100 for being among the top 100 "bold" (2005) and "agile" (2004) companies in the world.

TABS is an independent operating company of Toshiba Corporation, the seventh largest electronics/electrical equipment company and the world's 91st largest company in terms of sales.  Ranked by Fortune magazine as the 10th Most Admired Electronics Company in the World, Toshiba Corp. is a world leader in high technology products with more than 300 major subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide.  Fiscal year revenue in 2006 was approximately $60 billion.

For more information on Toshiba copier, facsimile, multifunction printing products, network controllers or toner products, or for a dealer in your area, call 1 800 GO TOSHIBA or visit the TABS Web site at www.copiers.toshiba.com.