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6 FEDA News & Views Industry Insights continued on page 44 Musings from 40,000 Feet on The Way Home From the U.K. Gary N. Licht President – EQUIPEX LLC and Co-founder of ENSE LTD garyl@equipex.com M any believe our American food- service equipment and supplies marketplace is so unique that no other marketplace deals with the same issues. But having just participated in a buying group meeting in the United Kingdom, I can unequivocally confirm that most of the issues facing U.S. dealers and suppliers are not revolutionary or significantly different. The meeting was hosted by ENSE (European Network of Supplies and Equipment). Headed by Bob Adams, for- merly of Globe Manufacturing from the U.S., ENSE is one of two buying groups existing in the U.K. Only two years old, it has approximately 50 dealers and 50 suppliers. Keep in mind that the U.K.'s economy is expanding again, just a little behind the progress of what is occurring in the U.S. So what are ENSE members talking about? This list should sound familiar: ➤ An overall lack of trust between the dealers and the suppliers, ➤ Declining or deficient dealer profit margins, ➤ Who owns the customer—the man- ufacturer or the dealer, ➤ Lack of dealer commitment to the manufacturers, ➤ Increasing rebates (of course, that from the dealer side; manufacturers want to know why they have to pay them at all), ➤ Impact of the Internet and Internet pricing on the overall foodservice marketplace, ➤ Food distribution companies enter- ing the equipment and supplies business, further eroding margins, ➤ Lack of dealer training opportuni- ties, and too many products to learn, ➤ Struggles hiring experienced per- sonnel, ➤ Succession plans—or lack thereof— at the dealer level, ➤ And on and on. Interestingly, the trends toward some consolidation at the dealer level in the U.S. are not apparent yet in the U.K. Andrew Seymour of Catering Insight Magazine postulates that if he was asked to pick one word to best describe the catering equipment distributor (dealer) landscape, it would probably be "frag- mented." The U.S. market could be simi- larly described. He further proposes, "…there really hasn't been the sort of fervent consolidation associated with other industries where fragmentation is symbolic of the sales channel." Are we seeing the first signs of this trend in the U.S.? Lastly, Seymour surmises that "out of a fragmented market often comes oppor- tunity for those willing to seize the moment." Have we already seen the start of this movement in the U.S.? So, while there are definite similarities in both developments and trends between the markets, we can conclude that the pace of change might be different. That factor, of course, means that we can learn from each other. In a recent News & Views editorial, FEDA President Brad Pierce raised the perennial issue of manufacturers nego- tiating pricing directly with multiunit operators. As many of you know, my roots in this industry stem from 30 plus years as a principal in a family-owned dealership, a company that was sold sev- eral years ago. When we started Equipex as a manufacturing business some 16 years ago in partnership with a leading French manufacturer, SODIR (Rollergrill International), we committed to fully and categorically partnering with the dealer community. I thoroughly under- stood the value that the dealer brings If a manufacturer is confident in their approach to the market and their products, why can't that manufacturer bring the dealer to the table when approached directly by a multiunit end user?