Pittsburgh — The PowerHouse Alliance, a national consortium of 13 regional distributors serving the CE and IT specialty dealers and custom installers, recently held its second annual national sales meeting here.
More than 50 members and vendors attended the four-day summit, which kicked off with a keynote address by PNC Financial Service Group chief economist Stuart Hoffman. Hoffman described an improved housing market but also identified new opportunities beyond traditional residential solutions, such as commercial buildings and hospitality.
For others, like MRI president Robert Dean, “Security offers a wealth of opportunity for us. Adding key lines will help to further diversify our businesses,” he said.
Alliance members also cited networking, lighting and commercials lines as “hot targets to pursue,” the group noted, and stressed the importance of providing dealer education and training programs to support all new lines.
“We truly are a group of value-add distributors,” said Volutone VP Trevor Hansen. “By offering vital trainings, steadfast customer service and genuine industry knowledge, we’re making it easier for dealers to source and secure the products they need.”
The gathering also marked the official addition of the Alliance’s latest vendor partner Yamaha.
Powerhouse Alliance members include 21st Century, Autco, Audio America, CED, CTD, Dorrance Supply, ECD, EDI, Mountain West, MRI, Sierra Select, Ultimate Integration and Volutone. Together they generate more than $800 million in annual sales and operate 40 distribution centers with a combined 800,000 square feet of warehouse space that’s stocked with over 150 name-brand product lines within the residential and commercial A/V, home entertainment, security, IT and CE accessories markets.
Now in its fifth year, the organization said its national footprint creates cost efficiencies for manufacturers and buying power for customers, while providing local sales, training and support.
For more information visit PowerHouseAlliance.com.
