Page 109 - Lighting Magazine January 2019
P. 109
retaIl spotlight
blAzing A new cAreer
The owner sold the showroom two years later, but Willoughby didn’t leave lighting. Instead he was asked to join the now-defunct Putzel’s Lighting in Macon, Ga., and its sister showrooms Augusta Lighting and Lights Plus, where he worked alongside owner Bob Pentecost.
It was there that Willoughby focused on a way to display xtures di erently. This was the era when chandeliers were typically hung at the same height. Having worked in the past for a merchandiser of health and beauty aids, Willoughby was sensitive to visual aesthetics. “I staged things so you didn’t have this sea of xtures going across the space. I was one of the rst in the industry to group products together and have varying heights,” he states.
A er working with Pentecost for a number of years, Willoughby was asked to help manufacturer Acclaim Lighting get on its feet in Acworth, Geor- gia. Later, the new owner of the rst showroom he opened needed help organizing the operation and Willoughby computerized a system for her.
When someone who was looking to build a
Once customers pull open the front doors, this is their view of the showroom.
January 2019 | enLIGHTenment MagazIne 95
