Super Bowl Sunday begins the super bowl of industry conferences. NEMRA holds its Annual Conference next week with over 2000 people expected in Orlando. This is the industry’s largest single collection of individuals from the channel under one roof. Did
Channel friction inevitably occurs when money is involved. While the flow of money is always good, administering and reporting on it is where the friction comes about. This gets to the issue of “is the information accurate.” Achieving accuracy requires
We jokingly say that there was a demarcation of business in 2020. There is BC and AC. Before Covid and After Covid. This Black Swan event changed many things. In the case of the electrical industry, it was the harbinger
NEMRA has always been a very member-responsive association and actively involves both its independent manufacturer representative members and its manufacturers in committees and its board to not only gather input, but to assist in key leadership decisions. With its annual
Customer service is one of the services that differentiate distributors. In fact, it is the most critical one as it is the essence of what is delivered to customers … and delivered by your people. Your branch managers are at
The new year brings the opportunity to communicate change and new initiatives. Once company doing this is Electrical Sales Associates, a leading manufacturer representative based in Nashville, TN. Three Announcements from ESA According to their press release, ESA had three
We’ve shared that lighting is a significant segment in the electrical distribution industry. Typically, it is 15% of a distributor’s business. More so if they are in the commercial construction segment and in a metropolitan area (and yes, the percentage
As the calendar turned, many in the lighting industry said “good riddance” to 2025. It was a rocky road given the impact of tariffs on the project market and product pricing. At the end of the day for most it
In the electrical distribution industry, we often talk about “backside dollars”, or rebates, as a necessary part of the business. But are they a strategic asset or just a “tax” on doing business? Last year we (Channel Marketing Group) conducted
While the electrical market is the poster-child for the phrase “every market is a local market”, it helps to have a macro frame of reference to guide you in what to look for. In the housing industry, there are two
Can you go through a day without hearing the word “datacenter” or “new industrial opportunity / facility?” And then, shortly thereafter you hear about future power needs. A few years ago, we heard how EV’s were going to drive electrification
Acuity shared their FY 2026 Q1 (really, 2025 CY Q4) results and their lighting business’ (ABL – Acuity Brands Lighting) performance was in line with our Q4 2025 Pulse of Lighting report findings … and we have no idea if
The 2025 Q4 Pulse of Lighting report revealed that many lighting manufacturers, lighting agents / manufacturer reps, and electrical distributors feel that lighting controls will be an important driver to helping them achieve their 2026 lighting goals. Lighting Controls Key
Many have talked about the need for some consolidation in the lighting industry, and there have been some small companies acquired but few that have good brand awareness. Yesterday Halco changed this. Halco announced that it acquired Topaz’ lighting business
An interesting product ranking came across my desk this week. Usually, I don’t pay much attention to these because it is a publisher’s pick but Building Design + Construction’s Top 75 Building Products for 2025 was selected by a jury
ABB and RB Sales, a division of Electris360, made a significant move in the Upper Midwest with ABB announcing RB as its newest manufacturer representative. RB Sales to Represent ABB Installation Products According to a press release from RB Sales,
