Good Afternoon! I am pleased to share with you the exciting news of the approved plan for Sharp's alliance with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. and other related entities (in short, Foxconn) which was announced earlier today in Tokyo. This strategic alliance with Hon Hai will provide Sharp with the financial stability we all seek, but more importantly will be the catalyst for growth of both Sharp and our Business Solutions Company. As part of the proposed plan, Hon Hai will invest 40 billion Yen (over $350 million) in the Business Solutions Company, with a very significant portion targeted to grow the US Business. This investment will be a great commitment to our business and signifies the desire to grow and expand in the B2B space. We appreciate all the support the dealer community has provided to Sharp and the SIICA team over the past few years. Your focus on your business and selling the outstanding technology of Sharp has resulted in us growing our market share during this difficult time. This is an outstanding testament to your hard work. Now, with the challenges soon to be in the rear view mirror, it is time to grow the business and leverage the technologies and scale that Hon Hai can bring to our business. While there has been much press about one of their largest customers, what has been missed is how deeply entrenched they are in the manufacturing of B2B products for many of the leading IT companies in the world. Access to this scale and technology is a huge opportunity for Sharp and its dealers and transformative for the industry. Our loyal dealers should now benefit from this planned alliance and we could not be more excited. Over the coming weeks, we will share information with you as the details are made public. We look forward to working together to grow our mutual businesses. In the meantime, we will be posting stories and information to this website that you can share with your customers:http://siica.sharpusa.com/Capital-Alliance. This page will be constantly updated to share current information. On behalf of the entire SIICA Team, I want to Thank You for all of your support and now we can move forward with new capabilities and investments. We are looking forward to it! Best regards, Gary Bailer Director of Product Planning and Marketing, Pro AV Products Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America |