APRO Vendor Advisory Committee member Robert Feliciano of GEMINI Sound was recently honored in the 2020 40 Under 40 by Dealerscope. The annual 40 Under 40 program by Dealerscope was designed to recognize the best and the brightest idea-generators in the consumer technology industry. To gain recognition, individuals are voted by their supervisors and by their industry peers, followed by a review from the Dealerscope staff. The motivation for voting remains the same: to honor excellence.
Feliciano, 39, Gemini Director of Sales, has been in Consumer Electronics for 20 years. He grew up in Deptford, New Jersey, a suburb just outside of Philadelphia, and now lives in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, a suburb just outside of New York city.
“Out of all of my accomplishments, my recent wins at Gemini have been the most satisfying. During my first year at Gemini, I was able to help successfully expand and cross over Gemini products from pro audio into consumer specialty retail and rent-to-own markets across the country. That effort was then recognized the following year with The TRIB Group’s Soaring Eagle Award for highest growth within the group. That award didn’t just help me or my company, but my category as whole within rent-to-own because it helped to validate audio as a must-have category,” explains Feliciano.
“A year later that same hard work and determination yielded a Vendor of the Year award from my largest retail account. Lastly, in 2019, the icing on the cake was to be elected to the APRO Vendor Advisory Committee. With the first two accolades, I felt like I earned the respect of the dealers with the last one earning the respect of my industry peers.”
Ask Feliciano what he likes best about his job and he’ll tell you he doesn’t sell speakers, he sells fun. Feliciano shares, “My gear may not be the reason people came to your party, but it definitely had something to do with why they left at 3 AM!”