Take fire and burglar equipment distribution beyond the brown box – that’s the message from national alarm and low voltage systems distributor ADI. On the Tuesday before ISC West, ADI showcased a new model for its stores that pushes its distribution stores to be more in line with the look of consumer electronics retailers like CompUSA or Best Buy.
Spearheading the new shift in product presentation at its stores was ADI’s Corporate National Merchandiser, Herb Albinus, who is encouraging manufacturers to get away from the product number on a brown box and shift to a retail friendly packaging that can help today’s myriad of products stand out at distributor retail locations.
According to Albinus, the distributor has reshaped its stores to give manufacturers specific space in the stores, and is utilizing marketing-savvy end-caps to showcase hot product lines. Getting away from the warehouse-style approach of yesteryear, Albinus showcased the company’s Las Vegas location, which saw bright lighting, colorful product arrangements and new features like kiosks for ordering and 24-hour pick-up of confirmed orders at “will call†stations.
As Albinus notes, dealers and integrators are consumers, and they expect the same retail presentation of security products at ADI and other distributors as they would expect when shopping at a company like Home Depot for their own needs.
In summary, this isn’t your father’s security distribution model.
