D&H Distributing has experienced growth in key categories during 2019, including year-over-year gains in areas such as TV and accessories at 37 percent and PC gaming at 15 percent. That’s in addition to strong showings in categories such as commercial computing, ProAV/collaboration, streaming media entertainment devices, and home office networking.
D&H has experienced increases in its customer base, its sales revenues, its services, and its associate (ESOP “co-owner”) headcount due in part to expanded offerings in high-performing areas. Emerging protocols such as Wi-Fi 6 are predicted to be a significant driver in 2020, since this new standard will allow smart home devices to perform at speeds similar to what users have become accustomed to in workplace environments.
To continue to enhance its focus in its growing retail categories, D&H has added a new senior retail marketing manager, Susan Bakalarczyk, formerly a marketing director with L’Oréal products. Bakalarczyk will spearhead D&H’s growth strategies among its retail accounts, including addressing an emerging trend wherein small businesses are sourcing commercial computing from large brick-and-mortar retailers or online eCommerce sites. D&H is a leading supplier for this growing “ProSumer” phenomenon, working with manufacturers such as Cisco and HP to help these companies introduce versions of their enterprise solutions that are scaled for use in small office environments.
Consumer/retail focuses will include:
PC Gaming: Gaming continues to show significant growth, expanding to include specialized gaming PCs and high-performance systems, gaming-oriented accessories, VR-based products, and high-end audio devices. These solutions satisfy the unique needs of the online gaming sector, which is exploding in the marketplace, including through trends such as collegiate Esports.
Wi-Fi 6/Smart Home: The connected home category will gain critical momentum from the new Wi-Fi 6 protocol, which accommodates wireless Gigabit bandwidth to devices in the home. This standard will support home-based PCs, laptops and networking technologies, including routers and switches from companies such as NETGEAR and Lenovo. Smart home devices will function more seamlessly at speeds reminiscent of the typical workplace, addressing the more sophisticated expectations of today’s tech-savvy consumer.
Custom Install: D&H is expanding its focus on the custom install market, which similarly will be propelled by industry leading technology advancements, like Wi-Fi 6-enabled home devices. This will include items such as large-scale displays or video walls that can now be better accommodated in residential and business environments, utilizing new protocols including AV-over-IP.
This fall, D&H Distributing moved more than 700 of its associates (called ESOP “co-owners”) to an expanded, two-building headquarters in Harrisburg, PA. This new campus boasts a professional-class Multimedia Production Studio, Innovation Center, and Technology Hub training theater, where subject matter experts from D&H’s manufacturer partners will deliver customized education. In addition, the distributor will produce “D&H TV,” a series of live streaming presentations, increasing the schedule of webcasts through its newly-expanded Solutions Lab capabilities. These efforts will result in a range of original content made available to partners on www.dandh.com.
For more information, visit www.dandh.com.
