There is broad consensus, well beyond the building construction and design communities, that green initiatives will be a key element in economic recovery. Such is the premise of Thomas L. Friedman’s recent book, Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need A Green Revolution—And How It Can Renew America. Friedman believes that renewed focus on energy efficiency and sustainable initiatives will not only help re-establish the credibility of the U.S. on the world stage, but also create a new “green” economic sector that will result in business and job growth.
BUSINESS SECTORS For months, observers looked to a relatively strong commercial sector to offset declines in the residential markets. But the ABI’s recent numbers have shown the commercial sector to be weaker than many had hoped. “The commercial marketplace, unlike the residential markets, is not based on bad loan practices or inflated values. It is responding to the recession,” says Jimalee Daikin, vice president of sales and marketing at Milwaukee-based Visa Lighting. “When the economy turns, the commercial market should easily follow.”
Reduced lending is slowing the commercial market, and both lighting designers and manufacturers are concerned about what this will mean down the road for new projects. The challenge is figuring out when the gap will occur. For some lighting manufacturers with a smaller percentage of overall market share, this scenario presents opportunities. “There are still small market opportunities, areas where it just doesn’t make sense for the larger companies to invest,” Daikin says. “This is the way smaller lighting companies can maintain growth.” While the principal lighting conglomerates—Acuity, Cooper, Hubbell, and Philips—are looking for ways to reduce costs, such as pulling back on certain brands, other lighting manufacturers can start to expand into sectors where they once had only minor specifier access.
“The value of the independent lighting company remains strong,” says Litecontrol’s Golden. Many manufacturers agree that healthcare still appears to be a strong market sector, as does institutional work. Yet according to Mark Seiber, president of U.S. operations for Erco Lighting, the swiftness in the evaporation of speculative development has been overwhelming. Even emerging markets like China, Russia, and parts of the Middle East are not immune to the financial crisis and are starting to experience recessions of their own.
STAYING THE COURSE If 2008 showed us anything, it is that the reality of business is no longer “business as usual.” Nonetheless, many manufacturers agree that customer service and support cannot waiver in the current economic climate. All see it as a vital business practice. “If anything, we need to increase our responsiveness,” Daikin says. “As specifiers reduce their forces, the workload on the remaining members is heavier. It is our job to minimize their effort to obtain technical information and design support.” The strategy holds another lesson for manufacturers and designers alike: When the downturn ends, clients will remember who treated them well when the going wasn’t so good.
