While inventory may site on your balance sheet as your most important financial investment, every distributor owner and manager knows that their people are their biggest asset and can also be their biggest liability. They are an asset as they are the #1 differentiator within your business. Without them, a distributor is a vending machine. People interact with customers, with … [Read more...] about Your Best People Are Retiring and Nobody Wrote Any of It Down
Distribution Strategy
The Next HVAC Battleground: Owning the Contractor Lifecycle
It’s already happening in Europe. Manufacturers owning contractors as part of their data center strategy. Recently I was “trolling” LinkedIn and ran across an article from Carl Fredrik Sverdrup, a Zurich-based partner in an investment firm. His LinkedIn article focused on Mitsubishi Electric’s recent announcement of the acquisition of two groups to strengthen its … [Read more...] about The Next HVAC Battleground: Owning the Contractor Lifecycle
Home Depot’s HVAC/R Strategy Is Getting Bigger
A few months ago, I wrote about Home Depot’s acquisition of Mingledorff’s and what it could mean for the future of HVAC/R distribution. Now we have another piece of the puzzle. This week, SRS Distribution announced its agreement to acquire Lohmiller & Co., a Denver-based HVAC/R distributor with four Colorado locations and approximately 220 employees. SRS, of course, … [Read more...] about Home Depot’s HVAC/R Strategy Is Getting Bigger
What Matters to HVAC Contractors and What Makes Them Loyal
I recently wrote this article for a sister publication of HVACRTrends, ElectricalTrends (and did you also know we publish Industrial Supply Trends and US Lighting Trends?) I’m sharing it because it is about contractors. And the reality is that contractor behavior across construction trades is very similar. The big difference for the HVAC industry, and it is similar in … [Read more...] about What Matters to HVAC Contractors and What Makes Them Loyal
Today’s HVAC/R Contractor Scorecard
Twenty years ago, a contractor's scorecard looked something like this: Equipment Brand Price Relationship Today, it looks very different: Availability Pricing Delivery Service and Support Ease of Doing Business Equipment Brand The HVAC/R industry has changed. The question is whether manufacturers and wholesalers have changed with … [Read more...] about Today’s HVAC/R Contractor Scorecard
Is CRM for Rep Agencies Still Optional?
CRM for rep agencies is a topic that has frustrated leadership teams for years, and the conversation rarely lands cleanly. Chris Atwell brings sharp, practical thinking to it, and the timing is good. I have been working on a research project focused specifically on how reps are using these tools today and what they actually want and need from them. Chris’s piece lines up with … [Read more...] about Is CRM for Rep Agencies Still Optional?
Ferguson HVAC Strategy and the Q1 2026 Channel Read
Ferguson Enterprises released Q1 2026 results this week, and the read for the HVACR channel is more interesting than the headline beat suggests. The Ferguson HVAC strategy is performing in a mixed environment. Residential demand is weak. Nonresidential is strong. Data centers continue to drive specialty growth. Pricing is firming up faster than the company's own guidance … [Read more...] about Ferguson HVAC Strategy and the Q1 2026 Channel Read
