The technology landscape is constantly changing, and while this is great for consumers who regularly want to get their hands on new products, it can be challenging for those in the industry to keep up. Authorized retailer of Verizon Wireless products, Wireless Zone, has survived throughout decades of change by keeping on top of the latest trends and adapting. In 1988, the brand began selling car phone equipment and now offers everything from mobile phones to tablets to home accessories.

As part of this initiative to continue offering customers the latest and greatest technology, Wireless Zone hosts an annual convention with its franchisees and their staff, vendors, and corporate team. This year, more than 310 people across the Wireless Zone network came together at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas between March 11 and March 13 to celebrate the brand’s 2017 accomplishments and to talk about strategic changes for the year ahead.

In 2017, Wireless Zone added more than 30 new stores to the system, reaching 345 locations nationwide. The brand also celebrated positive store growth backed by a number of new initiatives developed by parent company, TCC. Some of those key initiatives included the creation of a new order website, planograms and a new cloud infrastructure strategy.

“In order to continue competing against the large retail giants that are moving their platforms online, Wireless Zone needs to be committed to strengthening the personalized experience that we provide our customers,” said Wireless Zone Executive Vice President Dave Staszewski. “We’re improving the customer journey every day with our product knowledge, superior service, and accessibility, and know that will continue driving our success in the digital age.”

Wireless Zone is committed to finding ways to drive store-level performance for its franchisees, launching over 35 different programs designed to increase profitability while ultimately driving the brand to reach $500M in revenue in 2017. Wireless Zone also had a number of existing store owners opt to reinvest in the brand by developing new locations including Chris Severo, who will be opening an additional 11 stores in 2018 and John, William and David Russell who are opening six new locations.

“We’re excited to continue to grow by increasing store level operational efficiencies, driving existing store performance and bringing on new franchisees,” said Wireless Zone Executive Director of Development Keith Dziki. “While we’re pleased with what we’ve been able to accomplish so far, we aim to more than double our system’s existing presence by 2020 and look forward to achieving great strides in that growth in 2018.”

At the annual awards banquet, Wireless Zone recognized several franchisees who drove results for their locations and the brand in 2017. Highlights included:

• Employee of the Year – Anthony Mastromarino
• Epic Employee of the Year – Melinda Renzoni
• Franchisee of the Year – Dave Bogart
• Spirit of Wireless Zone (outstanding sales performance, avid supporter of the Wireless Zone system and of his/her local community) – Darren Fortner
• 10 Year Tenure Franchisees - Vishal Sood, Michael Mamo, Jonah Engler, David Poulin, Matthew Funk, Hershel Martin, Robert Cheney and Shawn Cheney
• 15 Year Tenure Franchisee – Vadim Levitin

“Our annual convention is a time for us to celebrate Wireless Zone’s successes and growth and to recognize those that went above and beyond to contribute to those achievements,” said Staszewski. “We had a big 2017 and know that with the strategy we have in place for 2018, we’ll have even more to celebrate in the year to come.”