Recently Graybar has opened a few locations and has announced that more are on the way. Crescent opened its 8th in Montana (I know, surprised you too that Montana had 8 electrical distribution outlets!) and others are opening new locations (think Mayer in Houston) and we’re hearing of Cleveland-based distributors expanding south to be more active in the Utica Shale area. So while there are still opportunities for small acquisitions, sometimes start-ups are preferred. The key is “where”.
A recent study by U-Haul identified the top 30 cities people are moving to (indicating marketplace growth). The top 10 on this report are:
- Pittsburgh
- Henderson, NV
- Austin, TX
- Reno, NV
- San Francisco
- Jersey City, NJ (across the river from New York City)
- Raleigh
- Nashville, TN
- Columbus, OH
- Tacoma, WA
Another study just released is the MarketWatch’s Top Cities for Business Growth which lists 100 cities. Their top 10 cities for business growth are:
- Austin, TX
- Boston
- Houston
- San Jose, CA
- Portland, OR
- Washington, DC
- San Francisco
- Bridgeport, CT
- Salt Lake City
- Raleigh
From a manufacturer viewpoint, greater sales performance should be expected from these markets. The key is developing targeted sales and marketing strategies and aligning with key distributors who can help “make the market” versus solely “serve the market”.
Where do you see growth?
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