Electrical Industry Roundtable 2014 - 25

not the selection of the product. Amazon and Home Depot may off er
product to every customer but that does not mean every customer
will buy from them.
KERR: I want to get back to the electrical economy. We had a tough
fi rst quarter and I don't think anyone will shy away from that
statement. But I would love everyone's opinion of what they think the
balance of 2014 is looking like and what they think 2015 will look
like.
BERCIER: I'm looking at growth with the addition of new lines
coming in from newer markets.
SYER: One thing I hear is that the economy was expected to be tough
in the fi rst quarter because the weather was exceptionally tough.
KERR: I've also heard that there is an expectation of a window shiſt
from the fi rst quarter to the second quarter and this shiſt will not
make up for what everybody thought they were going to make for the
year. I think we will have a fl at year. What I would
love to ask, and maybe there is a quick answer
to this, but I'd like to know what is keeping you
awake at night?
SENCICH: I think one of the biggest issues we
face is having qualifi ed people in our business.
It's getting tough to attract people. Graduating
students don't necessarily think fi rst of a career
in electrical wholesaling, manufacturing or as an
agent rep. Most gravitate to what they perceive
as the sexier occupations - " I've graduated from
university and I want to work for a consulting
engineer. " Th e big manufacturers do attract talent; however the rest of
our industry struggles. I think the whole personnel resource issue is
the one area that as an industry we need to proactively address.
KERR: So if you take a look at your new parent company, ABB,
one of the things ABB is strong in is training and apprenticeship in
Europe. Th ey do a lot of technical engineering, get them to work in
a specialty niche market be it forestry, pulp and paper, newsprint or
bring them into the product side. Th at's something you can see evolve
back into North America.
" Home Depot was
the big threat and
I don't think they
took much of the
market share in the
end. Amazon could
be a similar type
situation. "
Steve Branscombe.
Canadian Electrical Wholesaler JUNE 2014
25
Electrical Industry Roundtable 2014

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