Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Following the market theme of “Aiming for Success,” the Wallace Distribution Fall 2024 Dealer Market highlighted the services and opportunities the hardware distributor provides to help its dealers succeed in a competitive industry.
“In an industry where success is measured by product, pricing and availability, Wallace Distribution is working hard every day to make sure our customers have what they need to succeed,” says Doyle Wallace, Wallace Distribution president.
The Oct. 2-3 event, held at the Sevierville Convention Center in Sevierville, Tennessee, kicked off with breakfast, a presentation by the company’s leaders and Breakfast Buys, special deals for dealers that include discounted pricing on select items. Wallace shared that 2024 has been a season of growth, change and new opportunities for the company and announced that the company has new technological advancements planned for the near future.
“The new operating systems will improve the ease of doing business with Wallace,” says Ed McKinney, vice president of purchasing. “It will also help our dealers to do the same for their customers.”
John Wallace, vice president of operations, took a moment to address the flooding and devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and its impacts on the dealer market. Wallace Distribution’s service area reaches across 12 states, and several of its dealers were among those impacted by Hurricane Helene. Attendance was down around 10%, and a few of the factories were unable to get to the show in time to set up their booths.
“The storm did affect show attendance because many of our core dealers were located in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and northwestern South Carolina,” McKinney says. “Wallace is currently working hard to get the needed supplies to these customers to assist with their recovery efforts.”
Wallace Distribution also provided the opportunity for vendors and customers who attended the dealer market to donate to the Nolichucky Disaster Relief Fund to support clean-up efforts in the areas throughout the southeast that were impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Wallace Distribution also recognized sales leaders and introduced some new faces at its fall dealer market, including Tom Anderson, the new vice president of sales, and David Troop, the new territory manager handling sales to the Caribbean Basin islands. Anderson now oversees Wallace Distribution’s sales team of four regional managers and 30 salesmen, and Troop represents the company’s newly expanded territory and new opportunities for international business.
“Our attendance was slightly down, however, our show selling period was extended two weeks to help give the dealers more time to take advantage of the special deals that were offered at the show,” McKinney says. “Preliminary sales figures are very promising, and we expect to have an excellent show.”
