Top 14 ElectricalTrends Postings in 2014 and 2015 Outlook Results

As we close the year, we would like to thank you for your support, your readership and your input. Our goal for ElectricalTrends is to provide some thought leadership, share opinions and comments about what’s going on in the electrical industry and provide a venue for you, our readership, to comment in a confidential environment (and, if by chance someone called and inquired about an issue we could help them with … that’s okay also!)

2014 was a year of growth for ElectricalTrends. We

• had 18,753 visitors to the site during the year
• who enjoyed 34,320 sessions and
• viewed 74,042 pages and
• we wrote 76 posts.

Additionally, we

• received sponsorship through advertising from ElectricSmarts, Second Phase, and SAP which enabled us to
• redesign and redeploy the site from Blogger to WordPress which enabled enhanced visuals and provided additional functionality (with more planned for 2015) and
• expanded our opt-in subscriber list.

The top 14 posts, in no particular order, for 2014 were: 

1. Hartmann to Leave Rexel Towards End of Year
2. Did WESCO Really Increase Sales by 14% (in 2013)?
3. Could the Future of the Big 3 Lamp Lines be on a Dimmer?
4. 2014 NAED South Central … Escaping Winter!
5. 14 Thoughts for 2014
6. Middlemen Make Moves
7. 2014 Industry Outlook – Decent for Distributors, Middling for Manufacturers
8. LEDs Become Mainstream; Graybar & Grainger Market
9. Sonepar Scores Big … And Other September Acquisitions
10. Eaton…a Formidable Platform?
11. Can Amazon Supply Offer Benefits to Electrical Distributors?
12. Comments & Insights Regarding LED Suppliers (with survey results)
13. 10 Issues That May Be Keeping You Up at Night
14. Direction of Traditional Electrical Acquirers

Periodically we conduct surveys on ElectricalTrends and we like to share the input with our readers.  Our recent 2015 projection survey shows that:

• distributors are projecting a 7.02% increase
• manufacturers are forecasting 6.47%
• and this averages out to a 6.79% increase

These results are not scientific and are based upon readership input, but are consistent with the upper end of a number of industry forecasts. Given that our readership is primarily independent distributors, it

• sets a high benchmark for national chains who claim to take share from independents (infrequently happens unless through acquisition)
• means that to grow it is important to further penetrate existing accounts, pursue new accounts and have a growth plan. Driving 7%+ growth for a company of significant size means new initiatives need to be deployed and existing strategies better executed … all while ensuring profitability given that margins are under pressure and operating costs continue to increase (taxes, wages, insurance, etc)

We thank you for a productive 2014 and we wish you a happy, healthy and productive (and profitable!) New Year!

David Gordon, Channel Marketing Group

Allen Ray, Allen Ray Associates