The comedienne Joan Rivers often began her routine with the question, “Can we talk?” She would then begin discussing more common place occurrences in life as it affected her. (Take a look at this interview where she explains where the
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At the NAED Eastern back in February I sat down with Karthik Chidambaram from DCKAP for a discussion about the industry. While a conversation, in reality Karthik was interviewing me (yes, unusual.) I’ve known Karthik and DCKAP for a number
For years the electrical industry viewed marketing as premiums (you know, T-shirts and hats), events (counter days and promotions) and flyers. Then it evolved to digital. But for leading companies, marketing has a seat at the table and strategic contributions
Rachel Slade, IDEA’s Director of Business Development, attended the recent NAED Women in Industry conference and shares her thoughts. The essence of her feedback mirrors those that Desiree Grace shared last week and their feedback, coupled with some calls I
Every conference has some session about AI. And every reception at every conference has someone asking about what you’re doing with AI. So, imagine being at a conference that is all about AI and where everyone is talking AI 24x7x3.
Last week NAED held the largest association conference of the season, its annual Women in Industry conference, which was held in Houston and reportedly attracted about 1100 people with about 50% being first time attendees. According to conversations I had
Research & Resources
The lighting industry continued to undergo much change in Q2. Aside from a number of small manufacturer acquisitions / mergers, lighting agents merging, and the final “implosion” of Cree Lighting, we also had LEDucation, Signify’s Capital Markets Day, Acuity’s earnings
Recently Chris Sokoll (from DISC) and I were talking about copper, which led to a discussing the wire / cable market. We all know some of the dynamics: Raw material cost fluctuations, which have resulted in an increase. Tariff dynamics
For 40+ years the electrical distribution industry has turned to DISC for an electrical distribution-specific market forecast. Leading manufacturers, distributors and reps turn to it as a common measurement of “the distribution market”, facilitating planning based upon a common language.
At the end of the year, Neil Ashe, CEO of Acuity, described the 4th quarter (their first quarter) lighting business as “tepid”, and our 2025 Q4 Pulse of Lighting report affirmed, and shared a 2026 Outlook If the definition of
For many we entered 2026 feeling as if we moved to the frozen tundra and, throughout the first couple of months the weather was “challenging” (and understatement) and a brake on the business. For others, the construction industry has been
Supplier News
The automation space is very specific, yet important. While the industrial segment (industrial MRO and OEM represents about 33% of total electrical distribution sales, according to DISC, automation products represent a significant percentage of this. Rexel’s acquisition last month got
Recognizing the challenges that many contractors are facing due to switchgear supply chain challenges, and that the switchgear market is changing, Electra Sales, a five location, multi-state independent electrical manufacturer rep, that is an ESOP, brought on a switchgear line
Progressive, growth-oriented manufacturers tell their key distributors, and their salesforce / reps that they believe in “innovation.” Some set new product introduction (NPI) goals. Some mention this to their investors / analysts as a way to explain value proposition, performance,
While Atkore is a valued supplier to many distributors, and extremely important to many manufacturer reps, even with their “multi-rep / territory” strategy, many have wondered about the company’s longer-term future. Atkore “Cleaning Up”? Over the past few years, the
ESG … sustainability. Many publicly-held companies believe in it and promote it. Some issue lengthy reports about their ESG initiatives. Rather than “just publish,” I frequently ask “what is the benefit of this to end-customers? to distributors?” And surprisingly, 99%
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