Wholesale consolidators need to understand today's HVACR market to survive in it.
I actually saw this coming a couple of years ago. This huge conglomerate had bought out a couple of local supply-house chains and, although each was allowed to keep its own name, customers knew who they were really dealing with. And the fact is, with three companies in the market all owned by the same group, HVACR contractors didn't have a lot of choices when it came to buying parts or equipment. So, the guys who are in trouble today became -- and started acting like -- a monopoly in our market.