Chad Evans, Jarred Roy talk state of the industry
By Alan Wolf, YSN
AVB Merchandising VP Chad Evans and BrandSource Vice President Jarred Roy were on the short list of merchants, manufacturers and analysts who shared their business insights with TWICE Magazine for its annual “State of the Industry” report.
The consensus among the industry executives — which also included senior management from LG, Samsung, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and International Data Corp. (IDC) — is that business is still feeling the whipsaw aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but is bound to rebound next year.
Lingering headwinds include high interest rates, inflation, recessionary fears and inventory imbalances, they noted, although as AVB’s Roy pointed out, “The state of the industry continues to be fair compared to pre-pandemic results.” Although retail is slowing and revenue is mixed compared to last year’s post-lockdown frenzy, “Margins are relative, mix has increased, average units per transaction have nearly doubled, and wholesale seems to be mostly recovered,” he said.
Bob Cole, CEO and founder of Philadelphia’s World Wide Stereo and a member of AVB tech affiliate ProSource, concurred. “The industry is OK. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible,” he told the publication. “In this environment, it’s very difficult to predict how business will go, and business needs to be predictable. And even the super giants could find themselves having to dance a bit.”
AVB’s Evans was similarly cautious in his near-term outlook. “As we look at the industry for the second half, there is an expectation that sales will fare better than we have seen in the first half,” he said. “I do not believe that anybody is predicting growth, but being close to flat seems to be the goal.”
The complete report can be accessed here.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
