Throwback Thursday: Brooklyn Strong
The Oct. 6, 1997 issue of National Home Center News, the forerunner of HBSDealer, chronicled the “Road to Success” of The Strober Organization, the high-powered, 11-yard, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based pro dealer.
The article quoted Frederick Marino, who had recently taken on the post of chairman and CEO. “Our goal is to be the dominant supplier of building materials to professional contractors in the Northeast U.S. And we’ll accomplish that through a series of start-ups and acquisitions.”
The company’s plan was to acquire independents. His pitch was described as if it were plucked out of today’s business press. “If independents become part of Strober, they will run as subsidiaries of a holding company,” the article stated. “They’ll be given incentives … and improved purchasing powers and a ‘toolbox marketing approach that they can use in their own markets.’”
Through this type of expansion, Strober became one of the biggest pro dealers in the country by 2005. Along with Lanoga, the Strober brand rolled into the ProBuild banner in a blockbuster merger of 2006. Then in 2015, ProBuild was acquired by Builders FirstSource.
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Did your career overlap the Strober-ProBuild deal? Let us know your impressions here.
HBSDealer’s Throwback Thursday is sponsored by Schaffer Associates, a national management consulting firm specializing in executive search and organizational strategies for the hardware, home improvement, building materials, and consumer products industries. As the premier management consulting firm serving the industry, we help build organizations and leadership teams that foster corporate growth and success well into the future. Contact us at SchafferAssociates.com.
The article quoted Frederick Marino, who had recently taken on the post of chairman and CEO. “Our goal is to be the dominant supplier of building materials to professional contractors in the Northeast U.S. And we’ll accomplish that through a series of start-ups and acquisitions.”
The company’s plan was to acquire independents. His pitch was described as if it were plucked out of today’s business press. “If independents become part of Strober, they will run as subsidiaries of a holding company,” the article stated. “They’ll be given incentives … and improved purchasing powers and a ‘toolbox marketing approach that they can use in their own markets.’”
Through this type of expansion, Strober became one of the biggest pro dealers in the country by 2005. Along with Lanoga, the Strober brand rolled into the ProBuild banner in a blockbuster merger of 2006. Then in 2015, ProBuild was acquired by Builders FirstSource.
# # #
Did your career overlap the Strober-ProBuild deal? Let us know your impressions here.
HBSDealer’s Throwback Thursday is sponsored by Schaffer Associates, a national management consulting firm specializing in executive search and organizational strategies for the hardware, home improvement, building materials, and consumer products industries. As the premier management consulting firm serving the industry, we help build organizations and leadership teams that foster corporate growth and success well into the future. Contact us at SchafferAssociates.com.