Page 32 - enLIGHTenment Magazine - May 2016

Steve Ricci

Ricci Sales Agency

visiting builders and construction sites, and have

delivered millions in jobs back to the showrooms.
When the Recession hit, the showroom business

contracted. Sta ng was reduced and the xture
hanging responsibilities fell to the reps. We had to

assume the associated costs and chose to di erenti-

ate ourselves with that responsibility.
For example, we just nished our h space in

one major showroom in NYC, which included an
illuminated wall of birch trees facing a city street. In-

stead of the old days – where it was me and a helper

foraweek–wehadateamof vepeopleinandout
in three days. To us, that means building out some

retail dynamism with visual merchandising to drive
How did you get involved in tHe ligHting industry?
the eye of the shopper to our brands.

I had a lifelong dream of building a company, not necessarily of becoming We try to do something special for each. Last year

a rep; I had no idea what a rep was. I had two successful previous sales we sourced vintage barn tin roo ng and 100-year- P
positions in corporate America, so a sales company seemed logical.
old oak factory ooring for a vintage motif.
E
R
My father consulted for a brand called Aladin, which made kerosene In another we found a local furniture fabricator to
lanterns that could also be electri ed. Mollie from Kla s in Connecticut make a display to our speci cation that helped this S
E
gave me a few minutes one day, and when I expressed the value of hav- vendor and retailer di erentiate themselves.
L
A
ing a lamp that also worked during a power outage, she bought $2,000 Among the challenges we’ve faced over the years
worth.
is seeing commissions drop. What a factory sees S

I quit my job January 1, 1987 and built county maps of every lighting as 1 point here and there ends up being 20 to 50 |
store from Cherry Hill (NJ) to the Hamptons (NY). My second line was percent of our topline revenue, 1 percent from them R
E
wooden duck lamps and ships in a bo le with a lamp and shade. The is 10 percent to us. Trying to run any business with D
A
ship one didn’t go over so well since Coastal was not the advantage these reductions is di cult. With signi cant payroll
I thought it would be. When a beloved rep with Murray Feiss passed costs in one of the most expensive markets in the E
L
on, 80 resumes were sent to Murray Feiss for consideration and Judy country, shrinking pro t margins are a painful reality.
Mason from Krell Lighting suggested that I send mine. I gave (sales The Internet has become another challenge as

manager) Michael Goldstein a call, and he pre y much said I didn’t have the market of lighting buyers is a zero sum gain. If

a shot. A er four months in the industry, I had visited 100 showrooms there are 10 people who want a lighting xture, they
and wrote a total of 5 orders — but one month later, Mike called and are in uenced by the showroom and the reps selling

suggested I send my resume. A couple of weeks and several interviews and merchandising e orts, but if four people buy
later, Mike o ered me Murray Feiss on an exclusive basis. That was online, we lose four sales. Why isn’t t a rep compen-

May 1987, which is when I feel I really entered the lighting business.
sated for shipments into their market? Look at your

UPS zip code shipments. Should reps stop brand-
wHat are some of tHe biggest cHanges you’ve seen?
ing our spaces? We can’t stop the Internet, but the

I was always aggressive and have a passion for business, but in 1987 it sales they garner come from a de ned market. As
was just myself in my agency. Any commissions or revenues I earned factory’s micro-manage goals and issue unrealistic

were reinvested into my business.
sales quotas, they also take our allocable dollars and

Today I manage a sta of 11 and have found allocating resources to be resources to help achieve them. Why not consider
key. Like every business, we apportion time and manpower in our im- paying a rep 2 to 3 points on every shipment into

mediate and strategic planning. We still take a long-term view and invest the territory so they can invest further for the show-
in building brands as we did 29 years ago, but on a larger scale today.
rooms and factories.

We nd ways to di erentiate our agency and we drive business to A rep has a 30-day notice on a signi cant

the showrooms we serve. We extensively cultivate sales in the design portion of their business. I have built several million-
community; it’s a team e ort with a dedicated sta , a quote desk, design dollar businesses in less than three years by being

and trade show a endance, plus spending thousands in direct email ef-
forts. We become lighting specialists and invest in busy design rms,
Continued on page 36

30 enLIGHTenment Magazine | May 2016
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