Looking for a list of companies search funds have previously purchased
February 19, 2020
by a searcher from University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in Fayetteville, AR, USA
I would like to look at past deals of successful search deals and begin my search there. I need a better idea of what trends/themes there are in the business. Also looking to see if anyone has any experience owning/operating in the wholesale space. I have done some research on plumbing and electrical supply houses in local towns would be a good model if one believed they wouldn't be distributed by e-commerce (due to immediate product needs vs multi day shipping).
from University of Virginia in New York, NY, USA
Where I see opportunity is that the majority of these locations will likely have aging owners (plumbing / electrical = not sexy). Reputation will be important as contractors likely stick to a few suppliers where they know will have everything in stock. Inventory scares the crap out of me but again could be an opportunity to put in a good ERP system.
Be careful of managing cash and inventory. I'll relate it to my local shop in NYC. The place is packed all hours of the work day but transactions are done through paper invoices and cash. This probably benefits both store and contractor (store may or may not report sale. contractor may or may not have store give an inflated invoice to give customer).
from Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, UT, USA