Interline Brands Inc.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Interline Brands, Inc. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Public (NASDAQ: IBI) |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Jacksonville, Florida, USA |
| Key people | Michael J. Grebe, Chairman & CEO Thomas J. Tossavainen, CFO William E. (Bill) Sanford, President & COO |
| Industry | Distribution/Retail |
| Products | plumbing, electrical, hardware, security, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), janitorial and sanitary, and other MRO products |
| Revenue | $1.07 billion (2006) |
| Website | www.interlinebrands.com |
Interline Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBI) is the nation's largest full-line distributor and direct marketer of maintenance, repair & operations (MRO) products. Corporate headquarters are in Jacksonville, Florida but the company operates 75 regional distribution centers and nearly 40 showrooms serving professional contractors throughout North America. The Company stocks over 80,000 plumbing, electrical, hardware, security, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), janitorial and sanitary, as well as other MRO products. [1] Its products are primarily used for the repair, maintenance, remodeling and refurbishment of properties and non-industrial facilities. Its customer base includes
- facilities maintenance customers servicing multi-family housing facilities, educational institutions, lodging and healthcare facilities, government properties and building service contractors
- professional contractors who repair, remodel and build residential and non-industrial facilities
- specialty distributors, including plumbing and hardware retailers.
[edit] History
Wilmar Industries was founded in 1978 as a corner hardware store in Camden, New Jersey. In order to grow its business, Wilmar began selling its products to apartment buildings in the area, and eventually transformed itself into an MRO distributor focused exclusively on the multi-family housing market. Wilmar acquired Sexauer in 1999. In May 2000, an investor group led by Wilmar management acquired Wilmar Industries and took the company private to expedite Wilmar’s acquisition strategy as a private company. Wilmar purchased Barnett in September 2000 and named the resulting company Interline Brands. Interline's business model integrates the back end of purchasing, warehousing, accounting and other administrative tasks that customers don’t care about, and leaves intact the front end where customer interaction takes place. Interline took pains to preserve brand equity of the acquired companies, and retain the sales and marketing relationships built up over years. [2] The original entities share a common administration, but each has a different marketing plan based on distinct customer segments. Each retains the characteristics that made them successful. They do not target industrial business or new construction where the profit margin is smaller. Over the next few years, the company's performance was excellent, and the company went public in late 2004.
