Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/143040
Industry Insights Changes Come & Go, But We Continue to Persevere s I reflect on my early years at our space. Sam's Club, Costco, and othTriMark's predecessor, United ers were now selling foodservice equipRestaurant Equipment Co., I am ment and supplies in their retail stores, surprised how very similar the industry and the prices in some instances were is 32 years later. Granted, the names below our cost. We heard that Home have changed but the challenges con- Depot would be next, perhaps with a fronting us today, and how we choose freestanding concept. Once again, the to confront them, are amazingly alike. sky was falling.Was this the way that our industry, like others before us, would Here are some examples: end up? Similar to what I can remember standing happened in the indein front of the outside sales Granted, the names force at United and telling have changed but the pendent office supply industry,would this be our them that the rumors we challenges Staples? had been hearing for Once again, we reacted. months were true—Sysco confronting had made a decision to us today, and how we Some dealers chose to open their own "Super enter, as they were calling choose to Stores." Many of us it, the "non-food business." approached our vendor They would immediately confront them, are partners and began a diabegin selling china, glass, amazingly alike. logue concerning the flatware and smallwares. Equipment would follow in a few value that our channel offered and quesmonths. Some in our industry predicted tioned whether it was really in their best this would be the end of the traditional interest to further fragment the existing dealer as we knew it. Surely, with their distribution channel. Most agreed with size,resources,and purchasing strength, our arguments and, just as before, we we would no longer be competitive. survived. Then came the Internet. Would this They were a more important partner to the end user than we were—and when new distribution channel finally force the other wholesale grocers realized the traditional dealer out of business? how much more profitable supplies Would customers be content purchaswere than food, they would quickly fol- ing all but the largest contract projects with the click of a mouse? This story is low suit. And follow they did. Some prominent nowhere near finished, but as with names disappeared. Morris Gordon and other threats, we reacted. It is not in our Sons, Brodie/Dohrman, and a few oth- DNA to just roll over. We copied other ers joined forces with Rykoff, then industries that had confronted this chalRykoff-Sexton. PYA Monarch purchased lenge and with the help of our manua well-respected dealer called Gill. But it facturers established MAP policies. was not the end of our world.We adapt- Some took a step further and began ed. Formed new, innovative buying enforcing MRP standards. We re-examgroups. Focused on what we did best. ined the value that we represent to the Embraced new technology—and perse- end user, capitalized on those strengths, and, for the most part, are all still here. vered. Today the coming threat is either The next distribution crisis was the emergence of the big-box retailers into continued on page 44 A Jerry Hyman, President and CEO TriMark USA jhyman@trimarkusa.com 6 FEDA News & Views