CE Pro January 2023 - 35

Buying Groups, CEDIA Offer 2023 Forecasts
There are no better entities
to gauge the coming year
than the group that gathered
on the Smart Stage at
CEDIA Expo 2022 in Dallas
to discuss what lies ahead.
The State of the Industry
panel consisted of:
Jon Robbins,
executive director,
Home Technology
Specialists of America
(HTSA)
Jim Pearse, president,
ProSource
Hank Alexander,
director, HTSN
Nationwide Marketing
Group
Richard Glikes,
president, Azione
Unlimited
Daryl Friedman, global
president & CEO,
CEDIA
During the fast-paced
40-minute discussion, the
group covered a range of
topics from macroeconomic
conditions to hot
product categories. The
consensus outlook for
2023 was positive.
" We've begun to do projections
with our members
for the next 120 to 150
days in the pipeline, " says
Robbins. " We anticipated
that we would see some
headwinds, but we have
been very shocked by the
fact that we are not seeing
any falloff. Our members
have full pipelines. About
80% of our members are
saying they are anticipating
growth month-to-month
versus the prior year over
the next 150 days. "
Friedman admits he is
generally a pessimist due
cepro.com
to his background coming
from the cutthroat
music business, but he
is extremely optimistic
about where the market is
heading.
" No business is recession-proof,
but there are
reasons why this industry
can be recession-resistant.
I am hearing nothing but
optimism from our members.
There are nothing but
positive signs ahead for
this channel, " he says.
Glikes admits that
monthly and quarterly
growth compared to the
previous year is going to be
difficult to beat because
the market was on fire.
He noted that June 2021
was 50% better in terms
of total sales volume by
Azione Unlimited members
than any month the buying
group had ever had in its
history. He added that
the months following that
were also strong.
" So now we are up
against those big numbers, "
he says. " The good news is
that we are up 7% in 2022
compared to 2021. I would
have been thrilled just to
be comparable to the previous
year's numbers, but
we are surpassing them. "
Alexander repeated
much of the same, noting
that HTSN (Home
Technology Specialists
Nationwide) members are
reporting pipelines filled
into the first half of 2023.
" We are expecting
good business into the
first half of the year, " he
notes. Alexander says he is
most optimistic about the
ROBBINS
PEARSE
GLIKES
ALEXANDER
FRIEDMAN
high-end luxury side of the
business.
Pearse says that ProSource
members have seen
their pipelines shrink by
about one to two weeks
from what it has been over
the past year-plus.
" As the supply chain
continues to strengthen,
the business continues to
gain momentum, " he says.
Pearse says much of the
optimism is being driven
by the new categories of
equipment, such as lighting
fixtures and motorized
shades, that ProSource
members have worked very
hard to break into.
" Lighting and shades can
add 15% to 20% to an existing
job. So that investment
will pay off and deliver
dividends as we move into
2023. What we are talking
about with our members
is gaining market share, "
he notes. " The strong are
going to get stronger, and
the businesses that are
struggling are going to have
a difficult time. "
Pearse believes if that
scenario plays out as he
suspects, there will be more
technicians available on the
market to be hired by the
remaining companies.
" If we take care of our
people and maintain this
optimism, I think 2023 will
be a good year, " he adds.
All the panelists decried
that the tight labor market
is really what is holding
back the industry from
even more growth.
" I am kind of glad we
had supply shortages,
because I am not sure we
could have installed everything, "
says Glikes, putting
a positive spin on the supply
chain fiasco of the past
18 months. He noted that
many of those projects
that could not be installed
due to lack of product
are still in the pipelines
for dealers today, which is
helping keep the positive
momentum going.
January 2023 CE Pro | 35
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CE Pro January 2023

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