Page 43 - Lighting Magazine November 2019

What I like about the industry: The Lighting in- dustry offers several things I thoroughly enjoy. First, the people. I’ve met some incredible indi- viduals and complete characters. To get to know people from a plethora of diverse backgrounds is great. In my personal life, I enjoy traveling and getting a local’s perspective or insight on places I want to go has always been something I love to chat about as well as learning from others and sharing experiences about the industry. Second, I love the day-to-day travel and scenery change. I’m fortunate it doesn’t allow much monotony in my days. I don’t know if I could have a normal desk job at this rate. Lastly, I like how there is change taking place every year, so there are always new things to do and learn — from new technology being in- troduced, trends being brought into the market, and new ways to go about last year’s business. The lighting industry stays stimulating, challenging, and rewarding.
What I wish were different about the industry:
I believe the lighting industry would benefit from the implementation of a common consensus on warranties of new technology being introduced to the market. More of our products do not offer a plug-and-play open box experience. They consist of complex systems and moving parts. An imple- mentation of a standard three- to five-year factory warranty would strengthen and reaffirm the confi- dence in said product to an end-user. There should also be a standard length of warranty established on all our products so that end-users find going to a lighting showroom a more viable alternative than a big box store.
Another common concern I receive feedback on is IMAP holidays. Hopefully, I can formulate all the conversations I’ve had into the next few lines. IMAP holidays are here to stay. So how can we, as a diverse industry, work with the internet to rein- force the brick-and-mortar portion of our supply chain? A conservative approach would be to have less IMAP holidays, as well as a higher IMAP for product. This would go a long way in helping show- rooms work with – and be competitive against – the internet. I believe this would correlate to es- tablishing a higher inherent value to lighting rather than the continual race to the bottom.
Further, establishing these ways in which the brick-and-mortar showroom could be more com- petitive against the home center and internet would then help the faces of our industry, or more so the frontline of our marketing efforts, survive and prosper when traditional retail has suffered. Being from the land of malls (Paramus, N.J.), it baffles me how I can drive on Route 17 and see retail space empty right next to the Garden State Plaza [one of the largest destination malls in the tri-state area], a mall more heavily attended than Disney World! Moreover, I believe strengthening our retail portion of the supply chain is what will keep our industry healthy and competitive.
Where I hope my lighting career will take me over the next 20 years: For the immediate future, I will continue growing the business I am in and support- ing the industry at large. Being in a smaller business allows me to wear many hats on any given day and, like my career goals, I would like to be a part of as many aspects of the industry as possible. This may come in the form of working as the principal of an agency or president of a company. Whether it be design, marketing, or sales, I enjoy it all.
At the LIGHTOVATION market on the fourth floor of the Dallas Market Center’s Trade Mart, there is a glass case depicting the photos of those industry members who have been inducted into the American Lighting Association (ALA) Lighting Hall of Fame. I’ve always wanted to get my photo in there one day. I know I have a long way to go, so I’ll continue to grow and work on the qualities that got those men and women there. Thank you.
“So how can we, as a diverse industry, work with the internet to reinforce the brick-and-mortar portion of our supply chain?”
november 2019 | enLIGHTenment magazine 41