New Jersey-based C&A Marketing –a wholesaler/distributor of imaging and technology product for over two decades – recently announced the appointment of Ed Rivera and Sam Ash to head the company’s Sales & Marketing division respectively to focus on the Polaroid brand the company is now distributing.
Rivera, whose career spans almost three decades and includes both sales and management positions at Sony, Konica/Minolta and others, was viewed by C&A’s management as the perfect person to help realize the “Polaroid Potential”
“While the incredible history of the brand definitely adds value to a category that’s synonymous with parity products, the person we were looking for had to understand that the days of brands that sell themselves are by and large over,” explained COO, Chaim Pikarski.
Pikarski added, “More than experience and a stellar reputation, Ed understands that even when you’re representing a legendary brand like Polaroid and backing it with highly competitive pricing and a diverse line of photo and video accessories, you still need to be out there selling. The business isn’t about protecting your ‘turf’ – it’s about growing it and that’s why it’s a contact sport. Regardless if you’re selling to national big box, local mom and pop or on-line, you have to be out there. What we saw in Ed was a seasoned pro ready to immerse himself in every aspect of the products and process. He believes in the Polaroid brand which considering he spent almost two decades at Sony means a lot to us. Here’s a person who understands where the real value of a brand is—and how to best leverage it.”
Rivera’s initial focus will be on setting up a national and international sales infrastructure utilizing both C&A’s external/internal resources and outside sales groups. “C&A is one of the best kept secrets in the industry,” said Rivera. “While they may not be ‘on the radar’ like some other distributors, it clearly didn’t prevent them from building the war chest needed to acquire the Polaroid accessory license and commit to the sourcing, manufacturing and marketing of what will be over 150 SKU’s by Q1 2012.”
Aside from overseeing Polaroid, Rivera will also be involved in managing the sales of C&A’s product development and distribution arm which encompasses the cutting edge (MicroVision’s ShowWX laser Pico projectors), the cool (Wowee’s Paper Jamz —the “must have” toy of the upcoming holiday season) and a number of unique items the company is putting into wide release as part of their ‘LifeOlogy” line—innovative, value-driven products which use technology to enhance one’s lifestyle both at home and in the workplace.
The company claims that because these products cover every category except imaging, it fits nicely with their Polaroid business – particularly with mass retailers who like the fact that one supplier can provide them with over 150 photo/video accessory SKU’s—as well as the ‘LifeOlogy’ related products.
For the last three decades Sam Ash has handled the branding, marketing and creative development for numerous lifestyle, technology and entertainment clients—all of which he says was a great “warm up” for his current position .
Prior to joining C&A, Ash was VP/Strategic Creative Director at MSA, where he created the advertising for numerous technology and entertainment accounts including Brother International, JVC, Pitney Bowes, TUV/North America, CBS, HBO and Samsung Optical.
His work has been featured on CNN, Howard Stern and America's Funniest Commercials and has won him numerous awards. He has also chaired panels at industry shows including CES and COMDEX.
“Aside from the fact the job description appealed to my ‘inner geek’ and my inner/outer creative, the C&A style is extremely entrepreneurial—in many ways the company is run like a agency creative department. There are no multiple tiers of management, buyers and salespeople are encouraged to think out of the box and most important management understands the real value of a brand comes from nurturing it—as opposed to randomly slapping it on anything even mildly relevant to its core attributes,” Ash explained.
To find out more about C&A visit www.candamarketinginc.com.
