Page 59 - Lighting Magazine February 2018

The largest lighting retailer in Australia – Beacon Lighting – also has a lighting & ceiling fan manufacturing arm under the name Beacon International, which has entered the U.S. market. EnLIGHTenment Magazine’s Linda Longo chats with Glen Robinson about the family-run business his father founded.
LINDA LONGO: Your father, Ian, started his career in the lighting industry when working in one of Beacon Lighting’s stores back in 1969. How did the company evolve into a multi-store business and manufacturer?
Glen Robinson: Yes, that is correct. He worked in a single store in Melbourne that was very much a small retail operation focused on buying from wholesalers and manufacturers in the market and reselling to the end-user. Back then it was mostly a ve-day-a-week business [plus was open] on Saturday morning.
In 1975, Ian purchased that single store and started to build the business through a combina- tion of company-owned and franchise-owned stores. Over many years the business developed a very strong position in product innovation and development. Originally most of the development was done from European countries, then [produc- tion was moved] to Taiwan and nally to China.
Product development has come a long way over the years, with a very strong team based in China of 40+ people. This has allowed us to bring some very exciting ceiling fans and lighting to market
with much be er quality control and design. We now design and develop over 500 new products each year. About 10 years ago, we [decided] to sell all of these new products to other markets, and that’s when we started Beacon International.
Beacon International’s executive chairman Ian Robinson (center) is anked by his sons Glen and Sco .
under the radar
FeBruarY 2018 | enLIGHTenment Magazine 55