Over the past six months we’ve seen a number of distributors upgrade their websites – either the “look and feel”, evolve to a webstore or upgrade both. Why the investments? Because these distributors recognize that “table stakes” for at least […]
Next week represents the coming together of over 2000 people who are responsible for selling electrical material through the channel … the 2019 NEMRA Annual Meeting. Widely regarded as one of the best meetings of the year, manufacturers will recognize […]
Recently I participated in a networking group that included a number of MRO buyers. The subject was trends in the MRO space. Granted many of the attendees were larger MRO buyers, but the feedback indicated a change in buyer purchasing […]
Last week we shared thoughts on 10 channel dynamics that are impacting, and will have a greater influence in 2019. To reiterate, these dynamics are: Whose brand is valuable? Size matters Manufacturers support channels, but you? Products or Customers? What […]
Just before the holidays we launched our Q4 Pulse of Lighting survey to gain industry insights about market performance during Q4. We had over 200 distributor, manufacturer and sales agents respond. And as most know, the market was “eventful” in […]
As we turn the page into 2019, welcome to new opportunities, new challenges, new initiatives and perhaps some new ways of doing business / serving your customers to ensure a record 2019 … whatever your goals may be. While we […]
Every year there is much talk about M&A (mergers and acquisitions). Some companies forecast it into their budget. For some it is part of their culture to always be seeking opportunities. Some it is a new growth venture. But each […]
As we come to the end of the year, the lighting market, from an activity standpoint, continues to remain strong in most markets. Perhaps due to concern about future tariff-driven price increases, perhaps from benefits due to tax inducements, perhaps […]
The last couple of years have seen a plethora of lighting innovations in a quest to “control” the ceiling and eventually a building, a network of buildings and then cities. This is the vision of smart cities … interconnected devices […]
Continuing our 2018 Q3 earnings report coverage, last week we covered a number of industrial distributors to get a sense of the industrial market as well as highlight competitors to electrical distributors and potential electrical sales leakage sources. Now let’s […]
