POA exceeds pre-pandemic sales, pointing to significant growth ahead
BEAVERTON, Ore.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pacific Office Automation (POA), the largest office equipment dealer in the U.S., announced 2022 revenues increased by $33 million, or 8.6 percent, over 2021 while the office market crawled back to a new normal. This is the company’s 44th consecutive year of revenue growth, announced at its Annual Meeting at the Oregon Convention Center on Saturday, January 14. The company’s president and CEO, Doug Pitassi, reported the results to more than 900 of the company’s 1500 employees in attendance, while hundreds of others joined virtually. The $421 million in 2022 sales surpassed the company’s revenue goal, and was supported by growth across several other key categories.
The pandemic caused unprecedented challenges for most industries, and business services and supplies were especially touched since remote work took the world by storm. But POA exceeded pre-pandemic numbers, demonstrating its strong comeback. While the year-over-year increase was 8.6 percent, the company increased revenues by $56 million over 2019, the last full fiscal year before the pandemic, representing 15.3 percent growth. POA projects $442 million in revenue for 2023.
“I like to focus the company around a theme to drive our growth each year, and grit encapsulates the remarkable passion, courage, and determination that our employees demonstrate on a daily basis,” said Pitassi, while reflecting on the theme of the company’s Annual Meeting. “Whether it’s working in sales or supporting the company behind the scenes, we couldn’t have achieved this kind of growth without everyone’s undivided attention.”
At the annual meeting, Pitassi and the regional directors announced each market’s revenues. Oregon, the company’s headquarters state and largest market, saw a 4.9 percent increase in revenue between 2021 and 2022. The company saw increases in all markets including: 6.4 percent in Washington; 13.3 percent in the Southwest; 12.9 percent in the Mountain Region; and 23.6 percent in the combined California and Nevada market.
In 2022, POA not only continued to grow its previous markets, but it also expanded to Las Vegas, Nevada and Austin, Texas. The company plans for growth in Flagstaff, Bellingham, Colorado Springs, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio in 2023, and will continue to build up its workforce in those new areas, and strategically use remote workforce as an advantage and opportunity for growth.
Beyond geographic expansion, POA has identified new, innovative ways to serve their customers. The company’s focus on improving IT services has largely aided its post-pandemic resurgence. While print is still highly valued by POA, Pitassi and his team recognized that expanding into services is immensely important as office supply needs shift, and is growing in IT, unified communications (UC), professional services, camera, kiosk and electric vehicle (EV) charging. This year, services alone brought in more than $52 million in revenue.
“We think there’s demand for 20 percent of our total revenue to come from IT, UC, security, and ancillary services over the next seven years. At a growth rate of seven percent, POA would be at least a $600 million company with $120 million in the services categories driven by rapidly changing market conditions and accelerated by the pandemic,” said Pitassi.
Frank Cannata, publisher and editor in chief of the Cannata Report, recapitulated POA’s 2022 Annual Meeting in a video, stating that it was incredibly positive, educational, and motivational despite touching on sore subjects. “POA is giving the whole industry a lesson,” said Cannata.
About Pacific Office Automation:
Founded in 1976, Pacific Office Automation (POA) is a privately held office technology company headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon. POA has more than 1,400 employees across ten states. It has grown to be the largest authorized dealer of high-quality printer manufacturers, and it commits to offering custom office solutions, state-of-the-art technology, and award-winning customer service to customers and the community. POA provides managed print services, enterprise level IT services, software, office equipment, and unified communications all over the United States. Learn more at www.pacificoffice.com.
Contacts
Pacific Office Automation media contact:
Christie Wakefield
christie.wakefield@pacificoffice.com
(503-601-2228)
