At the current rate at which our industry is changing, it is increasingly evident that our industry will soon become something that none of us, at this point, can even begin to comprehend. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t really understand what’s happening today. The old days of handshake agreements and loyalty between business people, it appears, is long gone.
Today, the prevailing attitude says that, in order to grow, you must expand into markets about which you know little. Look at what’s occurred in just the past couple of years. Manufacturers of carpet have made forays into retailing, commercial contracting and wholesale distribution. Manufacturers of installation products have begun to sidestep distributors by selling direct to big-box stores, commercial contractors, retail co-ops (buying groups), and others.