05/23/05 The next challenge for Tracy King

As Tracy King can easily attest to, a lot has changed in the fruit industry in terms of domestic marketing and its approach over the last two years. KING: Marketing is a relatively new position in our industry and hasn't been engaged in much from the sales desk, only since the demise of the Apple Commission's domestic promotional program, so it's a relatively new field whose parameters are only now being defined. But if anyone has marketing experience, it is King, who until recently served as the Washington Apple Commission's Export Marketing Director. His new position is with Dovex as its Director of Marketing. KING: Dovex is one of the strongest companies in our industry in the export sphere and I intend to play a role there. But as Director of Marketing I'll also be responsible for the domestic side of our business. And though my background is on the export side, two-thirds of our industry's apples each year go into the domestic market and so that will be an interesting and a challenging part of my position also. Another challenge for King will be the export territory he covers. Much of his experience, and college education, has centered on Asia and its culture, and getting fruit into those markets. KING: Though Asia is my specialty, Dovex has a long history of great customer relationships in Europe and Latin America and in the Middle East, all of which I hope I can make a positive impact in.