Q2 Pulse of Lighting Market Survey

Much has gone on in the lighting segment of the industry since our Q1 Pulse of Lighting Market Survey.  We’ve had:

• LightFair with its new product introductions, focus on controls and IoT and the continued entry of off-shore brands for white goods that act as a governor on pricing.
• Acuity, Eaton, OSRAM and others announce price increases for legacy products to recoup increased material cost and absorb some of their increased operating costs as the number of units decline.
• While there are so many manufacturers in the industry it’s difficult to discern the difference between many tier 3, 4, 5 and beyond suppliers, we’ve heard of a couple that have closed / are closing their doors or retracting their efforts.
  • Although, when we are asked about “Asian competition” a question then becomes “define Asian competition” given that many (perhaps most) manufacturers are sourcing some product in Asia, are using Asian contract-manufacturers or acquire components made in Asia. Companies that solely source and hence offer no differentiation are typically the ones who compete the most on price.
• And some “manufacturers” are having production, or perhaps should better say “inability, or delays, in procuring / producing” product which leads to back-orders
• Talk of tariffs and how that could affect the business

and then we’ve spoken to others regarding the construction market where there are strengths in the small to mid-sized market, some interest in “lower functional” controls and the market being labor constrained.

So, in conjunction with William Blair, we’re conducting our Q2 Pulse of Lighting Market Survey.  In this brief survey, open to distributors, manufacturers and manufacturer reps / lighting agents, we want your input to:

• Lighting performance for the quarter
• Lighting outlook for next quarter
• COGS erosion
• The role of “unfamiliars”
• What you see as market drivers that are affecting “you”
• The controls and IoT market
• and more.

We need your input by Friday, June 15th. Click here to take the Q2 Pulse of Lighting Market Survey.

It’s a short survey and, assuming we receive a critical mass, we’ll also segment marketing group performance.  By the end of the month a FREE copy of the report will be available for survey participants.

And if you want a copy of the Q1 report, click here.

What do you see going on in the lighting segment right now? What’s your outlook?  And do you think pricing can be “held” / improved?

Click here to take the Q2 Pulse of Lighting Market Survey