Lighting One®, the industry-leading cooperative, lived up to its convention theme “Unite to Ignite, the Power of ONE” as its annual convention was the kick-off to Lightovation, and was evident by Lighting One members’ presence in the Dallas Market Center. The organization hosted its celebration gala on June 21 at the Marriott City Center in Dallas. The cooperative’s members, aligned suppliers, and industry leaders gathered to honor the accomplishments of the industry and came together to show the Power of Lighting One. More than 200 people across the entire industry attended the exciting event.
Honorees included industry veteran Michael Ber of Lighting Inc. in New Orleans, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award
, and The H Foundation as the recipient of Lighting One’s Humanitarian Award.
Lighting One also acknowledged its Supplier Partner of the Year – Innovations Lighting
and Lighting One Showroom Member of the Year – Connecticut Lighting Centers.
Please join us in congratulating the recipients.
Content-Packed Convention
With the input of the Lighting One Advisory Council, the day-and-a-half convention began on Monday, June 20, and featured valuable content that included the opportunity to share best business practices, participate in supplier speed-dating sessions, home improvement industry data, Lighting One program advantages and time to network with peers.
President Gregg Garofalo welcomed those members in attendance and thanked them for their continued commitment and support of their co-op and the industry. During his business review Garofalo commented, “While we have had many challenges over the past few years, and now facing new ones today, your Lighting One Cooperative remains strong and a leader in the industry because of your Unity and the strength and Power of One.”
Angie Prost, Director/Supplier & Product Management added, “During convention, Lighting One launched the second wave of our Exclusive product line in partnership with Savoy House. The 34 collections are on display in Savoy House’s newly expanded, private Lighting One showroom. These collections now encompass over 134 SKUs and are only accessible to Lighting One members. These products are supported by increased profitability, higher-than-industry IMAP control, and an exclusive catalog.” Furthermore, Prost reminded members, “These products will be featured throughout the year in Lighting One’s consumer marketing program as well as on members e-commerce platform.”
During Monday’s general session, the Senior VP of Lighting One’s marketing team Mike Behr, presented the ideal online marketing journey for showroom members. He discussed that now more than ever, customers want to shop when and how they want, and all channels need to work seamlessly together. Today’s lighting showrooms need to be able to deliver on this seamless online, in-showroom experience. Donna Potter, Director/Marketing discussed tangible steps showrooms can take to improve their marketing health score. The Lighting One marketing team helps cooperative members deliver on this expectation through their digital marketing and ecommerce enabled catalog programs.
Deb Weis, VP/Business Initiatives, provided a look on the digital commerce platform, updates and successes so far, with a focus on the roadmap for the future.
Industry Support
Prost announced during the Celebration Gala that, “With the input of the Advisory Council, this year’s convention was all about networking and relationship building. The June convention and market provides members with networking time not only with each other, but with the Lighting One-aligned supplier partners. Furthermore, Dallas is the home of the lighting industry and is a cost-effective destination convenient for our members and our supplier partners — the vast majority of which have their trading headquarters located at Dallas Market Center. We are proud to drive attendance to the June Market and believe it is important to support the showroom members to remain sustainable and profitable in this increasingly competitive industry.”
During the gala, Lighting One showed its support of The H Foundation in their 50/50 raffle which garnered $2,200 and was won by Ken Lebersfeld of Capitol Lighting [who donated his winnings back to the foundation]. Garofalo encouraged all members to support Goombay/The H Foundation on July 23 to raise funds for basic cancer research projects to help them compete for additional government or private funding. For more information on future Goombay Bash events, click here.
Interested in joining Lighting One?
Showrooms or suppliers interested in partnering with Lighting One should contact Angie Prost here.
