Steve Wright, Safilo North America's president and chief commercial officer.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Safilo USA brought its sales team and home support staff together for the company's national sales meeting here in mid-December, an event, the company said, which paid homage to the company's previous and current strengths with a strong focus on the future, the new demands of an evolving 3O marketplace and a new restructuring of the Safilo USA sales organization, the company told VMAIL. The three-day event at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa included corporate and independent members of the commercial sales team, including optical, corporate chains and department/specialty store sales agents, from across the U.S. 

Set against the backdrop of Camelback Mountain, the theme of the high-energy event was “Everything is Possible Right Here! Right Now!” Steve Wright, Safilo North America’s president and chief commercial officer kicked off the meeting, celebrating the company’s past and current strengths and achievements while outlining a clear path for an even brighter future in 2020, the company said.

New sales EVPs, Eric Blanchette and Victoria Hallberg. Hallberg (r) with Alessandro Tropeano, senior trade marketing manager, N.A. Wright with Denise Strain, manager sales administration, recognized for 40 years of service, and Liz Morikawa, VP sales administration.

This would be accomplished through "a reimagined best-in-class go-to-market sales strategy to better service customers’ needs in a rapidly changing market." To that end, a new 3Os sales leadership team was formally announced at the meeting: Eric Blanchette was named executive vice president, East Sales, Safilo USA and Victoria Hallberg was named executive vice president, West Sales, Safilo USA.

The meeting’s guest speaker was Mark Wayshak, founder of the Sales Insights Lab and a best-selling author of Game Plan Selling and the recently released The High-Velocity Sales Organization. Wayshak, whose been consulting with Safilo USA for several months, provided an intensive full day of game-changing and transformative sales training designed specifically for the company’s optical sales force.



The meeting hosted more than 250 people in Scottsdale, Ariz. including Safilo reps and home office staff in attendance.
The sales meeting underscored the recently announced acquisition of San Diego-based Blenders Eyewear, a key building block in the company’s digital transformation strategy; the re-signing of important licenses, including, kate spade new york, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger and Marc Jacobs; new launch collections including David Beckham, Missoni, M Missoni and Levi’s and the just announced Under Armour license. Interactive clinics were held on the company’s SS20 collections, as well as providing sessions on Medicare and new digital technologies being rolled out to sales reps, the company said.

“2020 is a very important year for Safilo North America and this super-fun and engaging sales meeting really set the tone for how we plan to reinvent ourselves in the coming year," said Wright. "We are step-changing our approach, to be more agile, because the market is changing at a record pace and demands a radical shift in our mindset and selling approach. Sales agents who work for Safilo will have the best training, tools and sales leadership.


The Safilo Brand Management team.
"We are investing heavily–making considerable enhancements at all customer touch points–from a more inviting and inclusive show presence at trade shows to our new state-of-the-art distribution center in Denver, to further besting our enhanced on-time delivery rates, as well creating restructured, optimized sales territories and brand portfolios for reps to better service our customers with more specialized service and support."

As part of the four-day event, guests were treated to a Western-themed night under the stars in a faux old Western town at the base of Mummy Mountain, complete with BBQ, line dancing and a Wild West themed photo booth. The group also attended a cocktail and awards dinner gala honoring top sales achievers the following night where honors presented included Million Dollar Member Awards, Presidents Club Member Awards, Top Rep of Each Collection Awards, Rookie of the Year Awards, Regional Manager of the Year Award, Service Awards and Retiree Awards.