Over the past five years, roughly 140 independent electrical distributors have been acquired, representing $12-13 billion in industry revenue at the time of sale. One number jumps out every time I dig into the “why”: 98% happened because the owner
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Rexel opened the second half of 2026 with a clear message: North America—especially the U.S.—is the company’s growth engine, even as tariffs, commodity inflation, and macro uncertainty pressure margins and demand across the broader distribution landscape. Some key highlights from their
On Wednesday the US announced increased tariffs, up to 50% on a variety of goods from Canada and the lighting industry was impacted. The tariffs are expected to be effective August 20th. Linda Longo, editor of ElectricalTrends’ sister publication US
The NAED Marketing Summit is around the corner … only 10 days away before the electrical industry’s marketing leaders will, in Indyesque, “start their engines. So far over 200 electrical distributors, independent manufacturer reps, and manufacturers have registered for the
Last month Lantern, an AI-powered, inventory forecasting system, joined NAED. The association announced their membership a couple of weeks ago. Having met Conor Leen almost two years ago, I reached out to him for an update and to offer him
Parspec, best known as a vital lighting quotation system used by many lighting agents / manufacturer reps and distributors has been developing its Sales Management platform to support lighting agents / reps. The company received input from 16 lighting agents
Research & Resources
For years we’ve heard about the need for grid modernization and once of the concerns regarding the growth of data centers is power generation. Industrial factories also play into this. Power generation construction, and subsequent maintenance, is, and will, represent
Recently I saw two news stories that got me wondering. The first was New York State’s moratorium on data center construction. The second was a county here in North Carolina that also implemented a moratorium, and the newscast went on
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
As manufacturers and distributors seek areas for growth as well as beginning their 2027 planning (yes, there are manufacturers looking this far ahead), Chris Sokoll from DISC shares an idea called “economic clustering” and highlights how this complementary market approach
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
Supplier News
Legrand, the French conglomerate known for wiring devices, lighting controls, Wiremold and its lighting lines in the electrical distribution segment, who has also built a robust data center offering, announced 1H 2026 earnings on July 29. Legrand’s record first‑half 2026
Last month NAED announced Savoy House as a new manufacturer member. While I know none of us can know every manufacturer that serves the industry, this one piqued my interest. Merrimack Group, an M&A firm specializing in the lighting space,
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,
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