Snap One is celebrating five years since the beginning of establishing a nationwide network of local stores catering specifically to the custom integration and security markets. Currently, Snap One has more physical store locations as well as training centers than any other CI distributor in the United States.
“When we began acquiring regional distributors and opening new stores organically in 2018 we knew our dealer partners would benefit from having same day availability and a streamlined process for acquiring all of their favorite brands in one location,” Bill Zidek, Snap One VP of Sales said. “With more than 40 locations and 38 training centers in North America, we provide our Partners across the country not only superior access to products but also improved educational resources and support. Our regularly scheduled trainings on the latest products and technology help Partners and their teams stay knowledgeable and up-to-date.”
Following the acquisitions of regional distributors Allnet, MRI, Volutone, Custom Plus, Staub Distributution in Canada, Electronic Lane, and HCA distribution, Snap One rebranded the existing physical locations and built a highly experienced local management team that spent the next several years launching 20 additional Local Partner Stores in new and underserved markets.
“One of the most important aspects of this endeavor has been extending our investment into previously unserved regions such as Cleveland or Boise, where demand was present, but a lack of distribution forced integrators to plan far in advance for deliveries and complicated job scheduling,” Zidek added. “We’ve changed the entire procurement process for our Partners across the country, making thousands of in-demand products available at a moment’s notice while providing product training and direct support to help integrators find the right products and land more jobs. Access to inventory over the last few years has been a major pain point for our Partners and we have worked hard to ensure adequate inventory levels and remain a reliable supplier of the industry’s favorite brands.”
The company’s dedication to Partner integrators was on display at its most recent training event, which focused on Luma security cameras and hosted more than 1,500 Partners across various locations over the course of 10 weeks. The broad reach and wide participation of these training programs highlights how a major integrator benefit can also be a boon for vendors due to Snap One’s scale, enabling rapid awareness and training when new products are released.
Snap One’s Local Partner Store initiative isn’t slowing down, either, with near-term plans including new brand acquisitions, multi-level training programs that tackle everything from CI basics to product-specific design and installation, and a major investment in technology to consolidate all the regional distributor websites and systems into a single, easily accessible web portal. This change will empower Snap One Partners across the country with simpler workflows and consolidated ordering and billing.
“We are deeply committed to helping our Partners deliver the most cutting-edge, in-demand technologies, and that includes training, purchasing, and even installation advice,” Zidek said. “Crucially, this means that we are always looking at what’s next and how we can help prepare Partners for prospective projects. For example, we are currently building out our commercial and security offerings, including adding enhanced security products from 2Gig and Digital Watchdog and hosting training sessions on collaborative meeting hardware and software.”
The company will continue to identify new markets ideal for Local Partner Store locations and expects to open several new stores and expand some existing stores, though specifics are not currently available.