Think of all of the unfamiliar lighting manufacturer logos!
The lighting industry has dramatically changed over the past 5 years. Name brand companies, who have been and in most cases still are, have lost overall share to companies that are “unfamiliar” to many. Distributors now comment that their lighting business is up but that sales with “top tier” companies are down or flat. They don’t recognize the names of these “new” suppliers to them.
At times these companies compete on price. Some focus on product or customer segment niches. Some focus on the high end, others are repackagers / sourcers.
Name brand companies still dominate the new project market, but less expensive lines are making inroads. They may not be able to provide the entire package but lighting agents may substitute at their discretion (yes, PROFIT is a motivator!)
In the retrofit market, brand equity doesn’t necessarily translate into brand preference or brand support. Many contractors, albeit small to mid-sized, and for smaller projects have a mentality of “if it lasts a year …” And they can’t justify a 20-30% price differential vs the brand (and sometimes the difference is more.)
Contractors are more willing to buy direct from a manufacturer, buy through a catalog or online for smaller lighting projects (or when they are “moonlighting.”
When publicly traded lighting companies state “the small contractor / small project market” is slow, they are essentially saying “we’re not able to capture that business / we’re losing share there” as their distributors comment that their overall lighting business is up and they are buying from these unfamiliar companies.
If you’re a distributor, take a look at your lighting sales from 5 years ago, 3 years ago and today. Consider:
- What % of my business is lamps? (and then think about the loss of profitability, inclusive of rebates, dating, marketing funding)
- What % of my lighting business was / is, with my top X lines and what % is now with “unfamiliar” names?
- How many lighting companies did you buy from 5 years ago, 3 years ago and today? (and note that many of the companies you purchase from are either not in AD, IMARK or your company does not have a rebate program with…this means you need to educate your staff on retaining GP$ … not %)
So, out of curiosity, and because market / investment analysts have asked, we reached out to some distributors to compile a very partial list of lighting companies excluding Acuity, Eaton Lighting Solutions, Hubbell Lighting, Philips Lighting, Rab, Cree and GE (also known as Current by GE). Companies include:
- AlloyLED
- Amerlux
- Appleton
- ASD Lighting Corporation
- ATG Electronics
- Atlas Lighting
- Axis
- Barron lighting
- Baselite
- Beta Calco
- Bruck
- Crouse Hinds
- Deco Lighting
- Dialight
- DMF Lighting
- Duraguard
- EcoSense Lighting
- Edison Price
- Eiko
- Elite Lighting
- Energetic Lighting
- Eye Lighting
- FC Lighting
- Focal Point
- Forest Lighting
- GlobalTech LED
- GM Lighting
- Green Creative
- E. Williams
- Halco
- Hylite
- ILP Inc (Industrial Lighting Products)
- Insight Lighting
- Keystone Technologies
- Kichler
- Kobi Electric
- LA Lighting
- Lamar Lighting
- Ledvance
- Legrand – Finelite
- Legrand – OCL Architectural Lighting
- Legrand – Pinnacle Architectural Lighting
- Leviton – Birchwood Lighting
- Leviton – ConTech Lighting
- Leviton – Intense Lighting
- Light Efficient Design
- Lighting Science Group
- Liteline
- LSI
- LUCECO
- LUMAX
- Lumecon
- Lumenpulse
- Lunera
- Maxlite
- Mercury
- Metal Lumen
- Mobern lighting
- Neptune
- Nexxus Lighting
- Nicor
- Nora Lighting
- Nuvo Lighting
- Satco
- Sengled
- Simkar
- Solais
- SpecGrade LED Lighting
- START Lighting
- Systemalux
- TCP
- Tech Lighting
- Texas Fluorescents
- Topaz Lighting
- Universal Lighting Technologies
- US Pole
- Visionaire
- Visioneering
- WAC Lighting
- Westinghouse Lighting
Who would you add?
The world of lighting has changed. How do you need to manage your lighting business differently?
5 Comments
I would add Noribachi to that list. American manufacturing company that went from nothing to $20 million in yearly revenue in 6 years.
I read your article with some interest. Yes indeed there are many new entry level LED brands listed. But a majority of the lines are specification lines that have been around and transitioned to LED.
Some are off shoots of Color Kinetics. Lumenpulse, EcoSense etc.
But LED did bring in non conglomerate brands to the market due the big guys being slow to market. They found a niche and were below market pricing. I think many distributors left stock and flow and are in the job market now and end user market for retro fits. More players for sure and they have taken share from conglomerates. Cree, Rab, TCP, Atlas and many others. You snooze you lose. Cheaper to get in LED from scratch than convert all your legacy products to LED. But distributors are their own worst enemy. Lack of discipline and selling too many brands leads to confusion in the market with end users and contractors. By supporting cheap lines they drive their profits down and lower the market prices. Specifiers always gravitate to the innovative brands that offer solutions. The same Chinese manufacturers who make products for Conglomerates knock off their designs and then compete against them with cheaper product & Sell direct many times around distributors. Yikes!
Most of these fall into a category I would call “the-low-end-commodity”, price driven market. More “me-too” in this space than anything and not as much innovation. Amazing how many truly, “look-alike”.
David: I would add Shat-R-Shield to your list as well. Still ‘the name’ in coated lamps but for the past several years developing a differentiated line of corrosion proof and harsh location LED fixtures. Thanks!
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