Page 54 - Lighting-Magazine-August-2014

Rep RepoRt

Room to Grow

The days of the solitary lighting rep may be numbered as many are

opting to add associates to create agencies that can beter serve

modern distributors’ needs.

he answer seems obvious, but it can and customers, plus negotiate with manufacturers
be hard for the most diehard Type A on their behalf for programs/promotions that en-
lighting reps to realize that they can no tice consumers to look away from the computer
longer do it all. Age isn’t the reason; it’s screen, put down their smart phone’s shopping
Tthe changing business environment that app, drive past the home centers, and come on in.
lighting showrooms and manufacturers’ represen- Reps are being pulled in many diferent direc-
tatives fnd themselves in. tions that simply did not exist before when the
With competition for consumer dollars at an all- retail business was a whole lot simpler. As a result,
time high, manufacturers and their retail customers the days of operating as a lone lighting rep seem
are counting on reps to do exactly the same thing: to be waning. In today’s struggle of handling all of
diferentiate their respective brands in a way that the various roles a rep is called upon to do, many
stands out from all of the competing distractions. once-solitary reps are looking for reinforcements.
Every manufacturer wants reps who ensure that
their brand gets prime treatment at each account The Crowded MarkeT
for maximum consumer appeal; and retailers are The retail landscape has vastly changed since many
relying on reps to provide display and merchandis- lighting reps entered the business — even if that
ing help, hold product education sessions for staf was only 10 years ago! Lighting showrooms need

52 enLIGHTenment Magazine | august 2014 www.enlightenmentmag.com