Marketing has given way to cost cutting as the key to success for PHC wholesalers.
I've been hanging out on the other side of the tracks the last couple of years, in the warehouse district. Although still involved with PM in an advisory capacity, the bulk of my time gets spent covering the wholesaler segment of the industry since being appointed editor of Supply House Times magazine in 2001.
I started my industry career with Supply House Times way back in 1977, and served on that staff until named the editor of this magazine when it was founded in 1984. Both publications were started by the greatest wordsmith ever to grace the plumbing industry, Charlie Horton. He died in 1989, and his family sold PM and Supply House Times to different companies in 1991. PM's parent, Business News Publishing Co., reacquired Supply House Times two years ago.