April 17, 2024 - Toronto, Canada - For the second consecutive year, the 2024 CMA EXPO brought together over 100 leading mobile electronics brands, retailers, and industry experts for a weekend of skill-building, product showcases, and networking. The Toronto Congress Center played host to an amazing turnout of more than 550 attendees, including more than 300 staff, management, and owners from the top mobile enhancement retailers from across the country.
CMA Networks Director of Operations, Frank Spezzano, and Content Director/Webcast Host Ben Woo noted that the continued success of the CMA EXPO can be directly attributed to the commitment from Canadian retailers and the supporting event sponsors.
The event was marked by three significant highlights. The first was the specialty Skills Training seminars, a testament to the importance of continuous learning in this dynamic industry. These sessions, led by industry experts, were so popular that many were standing room only, demonstrating the thirst for knowledge among attendees.
The Workshops featured several industry leading speakers, Ken Ward, Kris Bulla, Rob Haynes, Dean Beyett, Jon Kowanetz, Jody Culbertson and special guest Bryan Schmitt of Mobile Solutions.
Second, exhibiting distributors and manufacturers shared six training rooms to provide an impressive 72 product-specific training sessions for retailers. Understanding the features, specifications, and capabilities of the products offered to consumers is fundamental to delivering upgrades that offer the best balance of value, performance, and reliability.
The third element of the event was the exhibit hall. With almost 30,000 square feet of space, exhibitors put on a trade show like no other in the country. Distributors like Automobility, Gemsen, Importel, Trends,DIX Performance, Gentec International (featuring Sony & Alpine), and Erikson Consumer had demo vehicles and interactive product displays set up for retailers to experience. Manufacturer booths included SiriusXM, JVCKenwood, Pioneer, Metra, Stinger, and Fortin.
Along the back wall, Trends had a Tesla Model 3, a Focal-equipped Lexus, and a Chevy Silverado all the way from B.C. Three Harley touring bikes represented Cicada Audio, Focal, and Aquatic AV motorcycle audio upgrade solutions. A stunning surf-theme Chevy Wagon with KICKER audio equipment, a slammed Jeep Gladiator with JL Audio equipment, and a cool Harley-Davidson with Precision Power gear met attendees in the Gemsen Booth. Importel hosted four amazing vehicles, including the Audiofrog Volvo, the amazing ARC Audio Jetta, the Ground Zero Ford Maverick, and a no-holds-barred Jeep Gladiator chock full of DB Drive audio equipment and cool lighting.
The impressive Automobility booth was broken into brand-specific sections with Rockford Fosgate leading the way with four vehicles, including a custom Harley, a cool Campagna T-Rex, a Polaris Ranger, and a Jeep Wrangler. We’d be remiss in overlooking the tattoo studio run by Luna Ink to brand attendees with their choice of Rockford Fosgate ink. The other end of the booth had a lifted RAM 3500 with Hertz gear and a Tesla Model 3 with Audison equipment. A tastefully restored Ford Bronco in the Memphis booth attracted much attention.
Sony displayed a pair of Toyotas to highlight the Mobile ES and GS-Series products. Alpine showcased their famous Tesla Model S with an outrageous F#1 Status sound system. In keeping with their ongoing theme of standing out from the crowd, JVCKenwood upgraded a go-kart with speakers and an amplifier with built-in Bluetooth. They also had a super-clean Ford F-150 on display. The SiriusXM booth featured a cool Land Rover Defender.
Every aspect of the car audio industry was covered with solutions for cars, trucks, motorcycles, powersports, and marine applications. Remote car starter and security systems, audio integration solutions, smartphone connectivity upgrades, lighting, telematics, satellite radio, radar detectors, wiring, fabrication tools, and much more were available to experience, and manufacturer specialists could answer all the questions retailers could imagine.
Another highlight from this year’s event was the SiriusXM Networking Lounge in the main lobby giving industry professionals a spot to connect, meet and discuss business.
Finally, all the Expo attendees were invited to celebrate at the inaugural CMA Expo Industry Party presented by SiriusXM and held at the Delta Hotels Toronto Airport. CMA Expo guests who attended the event were treated to live music by Blue Silver, Radio Sonics, and DJ Splinter.
For more in-depth event coverage of the 2024 CMA EXPO, please visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thecmanetworks
As the industry continues to evolve, CMA NETWORKS remains committed to providing invaluable opportunities for networking, education, and innovation. Stay tuned for updates on the next installment of this groundbreaking event by visiting www.cmaexpo.ca
