Page 54 - Lighting Magazine August 2018

Does Size Matter?
Consolidation has forced smaller, niche-targeted rep rms to compete against large sales agencies that cover multiple channels. How much of a di erence does manpower make?
BY MARY JO MARTIN
Sometimes, that whole “bigger is be er” idea is a no-brainer, like those gigantic cookies you occasionally treat yourself to at the mall. Then again, those li le blue Ti any & Co. boxes a rm the ad-
age “Good things come in small packages.”
So when it comes to manufacturers’ rep rms, does the size of the agency really ma er? The
answer is: Maybe...and maybe not.
A er speaking with various manufacturers’
reps nationwide whose agencies di er in size and scope, it seems that there is no de nitive answer. While acknowledging that there are challenges for a small one- or two-agent rm, reps also pointed
out the bene ts that these individual agents bring to the table. Meanwhile, larger rep rms have their own set of plusses and minuses.
The answer lies in the people themselves and the relationships they’ve built with their customers and manufacturers. New sources of competition (i.e. online shopping) have shu ered showrooms in nearly every market and manufacturers are looking for new opportunities to extend their reach and market share.
Right in the middle of all this are the indepen- dent manufacturers’ reps whose connections extend from the factories to showrooms, design- ers, architects, builders, remodelers, and more.
50 enLIGHTenment Magazine | august 2018
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