Earlier this month the headline that many were commenting on was “U.S. Hiring Slowed Dramatically in May; Jobless Rate Falls to 4.7%“. The story emphasized that non-farm payroll was up only 38,000 jobs and that March and April data were revised […]
An issue we’re starting to hear more and more about is Joint Business Planning (JBP). We started hearing rumblings just before the NAED National from some larger distributors and manufacturers that the planning process was taking too long (not getting […]
LightFair, the pre-eminent lighting tradeshow, was held back in April with large crowds in San Diego. Prior to the show we reached out to some distributors and asked them if they would be willing to share their observations as, given […]
Continuing with our quarterly reviews, let’s look at Hubbell and Pentair, the parent to Hoffman and ERICO. Hubbell “Solid results. In line with expectations.” Sales up, company-wide, 3% Organic growth of 2% (but foreign currency exchange of -2%!) Completed 2 […]
We’re a month past the first quarter and publicly held companies are starting to report their quarterly reports. Here we review ABB and Schneider Electric. (comments are in italics) ABB Within the channel we think of ABB as ABB products and […]
Last week both Acuity and Cree shared calendar Q1 lighting success (defined as sales performance). So, let’s look at what they said and what it could mean. Acuity quarterly report (their Q2 fiscal year) Overall “outstanding results” Net sales increased […]
Equitable compensation is a topic that is near and dear to every manufacturer, distributor, manufacturer rep and salesperson. After all, why “sell” a product if you are not compensated for it? This is one of the key issues facing electrical […]
Last week Houston Wire & Cable held it’s Q4 / 2015 annual earnings call. As many in the industry know, Houston Wire and Cable, while categorized as a manufacturer, is, in reality, more of a master distributor given that they […]
The lighting market continues to represent some of the greatest opportunities for distributors. At the recent NAED South-Central, every lighting manufacturer reported minimum 2015 sales increases of 20%. Goals for 2016 are the same, if not higher. The market is […]
Stan and I attended the NAED South-Central, held in Las Vegas, last week. Reportedly 630 or so people were registered, albeit the “feel” of the meeting left one wondering “where are the people” as the general session seemed lightly attended […]
