SPECIAL REPORT — After an uncharacteristically tumultuous 2013 in their sector, lumber and building materials buying groups are probing the competitive terrain for penetrable soft spots that are increasingly fewer and farther between.
“Let’s face it, there aren’t a lot of [unaffiliated] dealers left in the marketplace, and most people are pretty happy where they are,” says Bob Holmes, general manager for TORBSA, which last year hired its first outside salesperson, whose job “is to knock on doors and tell our story.”…