Grainger President and COO Jim Ryan told analysts this week that the competitive landscape has shifted thanks to growing consolidation. Small regional and local distributors still command the overwhelming share of this market — more than 75%,” he said. “But they’re under attack from larger regional and national players. The billion-dollar plus players are growing at a disproportionate rate to the market and to their smaller competitors.
“…There is going to be a need for specialist distributors, and there is absolutely a place for large-scale distributors. The ones who will find it more difficult are the generalists in the middle.”
When asked about the potential impact of a possible HD Supply spinoff by Home Depot, Ryan said HD Supply’s position would not change. …
