Combining Lighting and Total Home Integration

Wolfers Lighting, System 7 and The Boston ShadeCompany Merge

Wolfers Lighting, System 7 and The Boston Shade Company recently announced a merger to create a full-service lighting and home integration company. The three companies have built successful businesses through their commitment to providing state-of-the-art solutions, innovative products and premier service to New England homeowners.

Gerard Lynch, of System 7 and The Boston Shade Company; as well as Jeff Seigal and Steve Brand of Wolfers Lighting, recently sat down with ALA to share some background on the merger and plans for the future

How did you develop the idea and relationship to form this merger?

Steve Brand: I was doing a project of my own that incorporated a combination of home technology and automated shades. Even though I have access to motorized shades, I decided to go to System 7 for their knowledge and selection. After we completed our sale, Gerard and I started discussing our businesses. From there, we decided we would work on some projects together. With all of the advances in technology and control systems, we felt adding motorized shades and other technology components within the lighting showroom was the next logical step.

Why do you feel this merger is important for your businesses and your customers?

Jeff Seigal: Like most showrooms we are about providing lighting solutions for our customers. The idea of having a one-stop design resource for our customers, where we can combine lighting, whole-house technology integration, lighting control systems and motorized shades, provides a natural symmetry. Our goal is to have motorized shades in our showrooms by around April 1 and to incorporate even more sophisticated control systems as the year goes on. This is going to be a big change for our businesses and a very positive change for our customers.

Gerard Lynch: There are natural coordination points between all of these products, which is where the value rests. For example, a general contractor customer recently came in for a lighting package. As we started working together we found there were all of these coordination challenges amongst three or four parties for this one customer. We got involved with the electrical contractor, the homeowner and the builder and coordinated everything for them. The hassle, headache and potential for future problems that this coordination eliminates is the driving force that will help us use this merger to grow our businesses.

Has there been a learning curve for the sales force in adding these products?

Gerard Lynch: We are just starting the training process; as you can imagine it is going to take a bit of time. Coming from the technology side, this was something I thought about before the merger quite a bit. How will the new sales group take to the new products? Will we need specialists in each area to divide and conquer, or can we really get the full sales force to understand all product areas?

Do you have any advice for other businesses considering similar mergers or partnerships?

Steve Brand: Like every other industry, there are various types of retailers and showrooms. I think each territory and metropolitan area has its own needs and requirements, so I don’t think there’s a simple answer. Wolfers has always done best with technical sales where we can add value to the customer’s experience, so in our case adding this technology was the most appropriate fit.

Gerard Lynch: Every situation is different, but the overriding thing is that technology in lighting, thanks to the LED revolution, isn’t going away. It is only going to grow. So I think the advice, whether it’s a merger or some other deal or partnership, is to embrace the technology because it is here to stay.