Trade Regrets: Gene Fresco

Gene Fresco, longtime and much beloved sales rep, passed away on May 26th.

Fresco’s innovative and practical sales methods helped establish the Sunn Company as a major player in the early 1970s and, over the next 30 years, he would take on over 20 lines and befriend many in the music products industry. He was also a longtime contributor to The Music & Sound Retailer, penning the magazine’s “Sales Guru” column through its retirement at the end of 2014.

As Dan Ferrisi, editor of The Retailer, noted on May 27th, “In a future edition of The Retailer, we’ll be publishing a remembrance, featuring quotes, anecdotes, photos and memories from Gene’s friends and colleagues. If you have material you’d like to submit for this special remembrance, please get in touch with me (dferrisi@testa.com) within the next week or two. The Retailer was privileged to host Gene as a columnist for several years. I am honored to have called him a friend. The Sales Guru’s wisdom—and his memory—live on.”

To view a clip of Gene Fresco’s NAMM Oral History interview, please click here: https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/gene-fresco.