WINNER’S CIRCLE
Rowan McIntyre
rowan@idealercentral.com rowan
EDITORIAL As I have said many times before in this column, there’s never a dull moment in this job! We were just putting the finishing touches to this issue, and I had started writing this column about how wonderful it was to see so many people at the Industry Week show in Orlando and the fantastic atmosphere of camaraderie that pervaded the entire event. (See page 12) I was also going to mention the numerous conversations I had with people (such as Dave Guernsey, pictured to the right of this column) about what the future of the industry is going to look like in post-pandemic America. Of course, no one really knows. But suggestions were made about how best to serve a hybrid workforce, potential categories that might take off, new verticals to be explored and, of course, the importance of pushing the “Buy Local” message. But underpinning all those ideas was the need to work together as a channel, to help each other succeed in the face of the big box bullies, internet giants and a shifting customer base. Then I receive an email from the very same Mr Guernsey, this time in his role as a spokesperson for the Supply Chain Investment Group (SCIG) (See Breaking Story page 5 for more details). Now, when SCIG formed in May this year, there was plenty of speculation as to its intentions; but the group’s first initiative (and I’m reliably informed there will be more) seems to fit what I was just talking about: the need to work together. It is a group of independent dealers who have decided to join forces to solve a particular, pressing problem and use their own capital to try to do something about it—to potentially benefit the entire IDC. If that is how it works out, it is an initiative that should surely be applauded.
NOVEMBER 2021
Virginia dealer celebrates 50 years
In 1971, Dave Guernsey set up shop as a one-man operation selling typewriters in Arlington, Virginia. This year Guernsey, Inc. celebrates its 50th anniversary as one of the largest independent dealers in the country with over 200 staff serving the entire mid-Atlantic area. The company started out selling typewriters and, as technology improved, so did the sophistication of the products Guernsey sold— until the time came to make a decision. “The electronic typewriter market dried up and we had to pivot,” recalls Dave. “Either we were going to deal in what effectively would be computer equipment or we were going to have to find some other path. We did a little bit of both for a while and then decided we needed to invest our balance sheet primarily in office products and consumables.” Although the term itself has only recently been added to the business lexicon, the idea of the pivot has been central to the Guernsey philosophy over the years. By the end of the 1990s, the
INDEPENDENT DEALER
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