Platt Electric Supply has 1,000 employees at 111 branches in seven states and posted 2011 sales of €310 million in (US$394 million). The company was ranked #132 on Electrical Wholesaling’s 2011 Top 200 listing. Platt has for years been a powerhouse in the Pacific Northwest and over the past few year has expanded into the Mountain States, including Idaho, Nevada Montana and Utah. It has 31 locations in Oregon; 36 branches in Washington; 21 branches in California; and recently opened a regional distribution center in Salt Lake City, Utah. According to information on its website, Rexel had two branches in Oregon, one in Washington, and 23 in California, before the acquisition.

A Rexel press release announcing the acquisition said Jeff Baker, president of Platt Electric Supply, will become president and CEO of Platt Electric Supply and will become V.P. of Rexel Inc. He will assume an enhanced leadership role on several key initiatives for the broader Rexel business in the U.S. The transaction, subject to customary conditions, should close in early July and Platt Electric Supply’s operations should be consolidated from July, 2012. Details

“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees the grid, has begun to look into possible new rules. Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said the four-member commission might require upgrades if it found ‘the threat was high and the cost was low.’ Regulators could require the industry to install blocking devices on transformers, for example, or raise the construction standards for high-voltage gear. Or they might take less intrusive action, like ordering more monitoring devices and additional threat assessment. An April 30 conference organized by the commission saw vigorous debate on how quickly the grid needs upgrading.”

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A recent posting on www.seekingalpha.com about Grainger’s growth in recent years prompted me to do some research on the company’s ecommerce operations, which last year provided $2.2 billion in sales (yes, that’s “billion” with a “b”).
In its 2012 Factbook, Grainger had this to say about its ecommerce operations:
“eCommerce is a powerful element of Grainger’s multichannel strategy, growing at twice the rate of other U.S. channels. It is the most profitable arm of the business, creating a huge opportunity for sales and earnings growth. Grainger has been a pioneer in business-to-business eCommerce, launching the Grainger.com website in 1995. Today, more than 27 percent of the company’s annual revenue is generated through electronic channels, representing $2.2 billion in sales in 2011. Based on Internet sales revenue, Grainger ranked 15th in the U.S. and Canada on the Top100 e-retailers of 2011.”
Now that’s some serious sales.

“The sales and marketing team at Fromm, along with their local representation from Brazill Bros., continually finds new and energetic ways to secure new business and support customer growth.”, said Scott Bausch, Legrand’s VP-Sales-East Region. Activities such as joint end user sales calls, counter displays, promotions and new product demonstrations combined with successful sales growth are important criteria for this Marketeer award.