City Electric Supply Dodges Hurricane and Opens New Branch in Charleston, SC, Market

City Electric Supply, Dallas, TX, had an interesting post on its Facebook page about a new branch opening that we would like to share with visitors to www.ewweb.com and www.electricalmarketing.com. Here it is:

When Branch Manager Scott Lawson evacuated to Florida in the wake of Hurricane Florence he wasn’t sure he would have a branch when he returned. “I was freaking out. We had just put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into renovating this branch,” Lawson said.  “Luckily, we didn’t really get hit that hard. We picked up right where we left off and got straight back to business.”

Charleston is growing rapidly with an estimated 28 people moving into the metropolitan area every day. The West Ashley branch location promises high traffic, with about 62,000 vehicles driving by the building every day.

According to Lawson, “Charleston is a beautiful area, and everyone wants to move here. We’ve got a smaller network here. We go after everyone including small and medium sized contractors — the two-men-and-a-truck types of customers. We love those guys.”

This branch will be one of the first CES branches to list all prices at the counter. This stems from an effort to be more competitive with other retail locations and online stores who have their prices listed. Many wholesalers do not list prices on their items, but Lawson is looking to change that.

“It’s about consistency, but it’s also about understanding our customers. If a person needs a screwdriver, but he can’t see the price, he doesn’t know if he has enough money in his pocket to pay for it. If he’s too embarrassed to ask, or can’t immediately find someone to ask, he will take his business elsewhere.”

Before opening the West Ashley branch, Lawson worked for over 12 years for CES in other capacities including starting the first projects department at CES. His father, a 39-year CES employee, introduced him to the business. “I’m 29 years old, and this is all I’ve ever known and wanted to do. I’ve got the opportunity to run my branch, my way and to prove it will work.”

City Electric Supply currently operates 456 locations in 29 states across the nation. The company was ranked #8 on Electrical Wholesaling’s 2018 Top 200 Electrical Distributors list.