That's the trouble with large companies, they employ a lot of people and have huge overheads. They absolutely MUST always find ways to increase revenue. They also MUST show a profit, they usually have shareholders.
It does not surprise me one bit that Larson Juhl is slipping into retail. They are going to also have to start looking for the larger accounts of ours to take over. This exact same thing happened in the office supply business.
The only way we are going to be able to compete, eventually is through better buying and competitive pricing. The days of offering better service are heading into La La Land. People seem to only be interested in price anymore.
Most people will insist that they like to support the little guy, and they like the convenience and service we offer, however, it's the price they really care about. If they can have all that we offer at Michaels prices, we are going to do just great.
Right now, I am still leaning on quality and service, but we are starting to offer select framing at bargain prices.
I honestly don't know what direction we, as an industry, are headed. I do know this though, expect to see more suppliers working their way into retail. It's happening all over the place already. We have one very large distributer in the San Diego area who will sell to anyone who drives to their warehouse, if that ain't retail, I don't know what is.
John