48 years ago, Pete Seeger wrote a song that is making a comeback in the electrical industry. While he called his song “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?”, in the electrical industry we might call this “Where Have All The […]
Consider these comments from senior managers. Do they sound familiar or are reminiscent of your market? “efforts to use limited discounts to lure customers to full-priced items don’t work” “aggressively marketed price reductions help keep sales momentum” “shoppers have been […]
No, we’re not being sexist! This was a term that a client used recently to describe today’s sales environment: PanicModeSelling Throughout their marketplace they are seeing distributors quoting projects at minimal margins and manufacturers providing pricing that is below what […]
A comedic thought for today. Recently we wrote an article for Electrical Wholesaling categorizing distributors as smart growth companies, cash flow companies or reactor companies (and yes, some may be toxic!). The article will appear in the June issue. (if […]
No, we’re not talking bankruptcy (although GM did file today), but dealer management.Over the past month, Chrysler and GM have essentially reduced their dealer networks by about 1900 dealerships, (about 800 out of 3200 for Chrysler and 1100 out of […]
The recent NAED Electrical Leadership Summit (aka NAED Annual or National) was one of the quietest conferences we’ve been to in a while. While attendance was 50-60% below recent annual meetings, and was more like a regional meeting (the number […]
Over the past month we’ve talked to a number of distributors and manufacturers who are sensing a change. While business for many has been “challenging”, for some the steep decline has been mitigated. A number of these companies are transitioning […]
A recent Washington Post article focused on the declining inventory levels throughout the economy. And while this can be good for each company as everyone wants to reduce inventories to ensure that they carry what they are selling, it can […]
Much has occurred over the past couple of months and many manufacturers and distributors have cut to the bone in an effort to preserve profitability. These cuts have focused on people, programs (in the case of manufacturers) and products (in […]
Recently we’ve spoken and met with some manufacturers about their methods of going to market, and specifically through distribution, and more specifically about how distribution may be constraining their growth.As you can suspect, the views are wide ranging.One company, which […]
