For years, one of the most common questions from readers and advertisers was if we had a listing of the industry’s top dealers by revenue. The reason our answer was no until we launched the inaugural LBM Journal 100 last year was because we weren’t going to do it just to do it. After all, other listings existed, and we weren’t going to create something until we knew we could do it differently and better.
Having talked with a number of dealers over the years who prefer not to share their top-line numbers, yet whose companies and revenues somehow appeared on listings of top dealers, it was clear what we could do differently. Instead of guesstimating a company’s revenues in order to include them on our list, we could honor their decision to not share their revenues—and make our list 100% voluntary. So that’s what we did.
When looking through this year’s LBM 100 listing, you may notice that some large, highly successful companies aren’t included. That’s not an oversight on our part; that was their decision, and we’re fine with it. (If you’re not included, and you’d like to make sure your company is considered next year, please drop me a note at Rick@LBMJournal.com, and I’ll make sure we reach out to you in 2023.)
We launched LBM Journal in 2003 because, even though our industry was already served by several fine publications, we believed we could do it differently—and hopefully better.
As Editor James Anderson notes in his editorial, we created the LBM Century Club in 2016 because it didn’t exist—and the 200-plus century-old companies who belong to the club are the foundation of our industry, and they deserve to be honored and celebrated.
We launched the LBM Strategies Conference because some existing events seemed to focus primarily on maximizing revenues by selling unlimited sponsorships. We flipped the script, limiting the number of sponsors, and focusing instead on building an event by and for LBM pros, to connect and learn, and to to share their stories and strategies for success.
I’m dangerously close to hitting my 30-year mark of involvement with this industry. And during that time, I went from an outsider with little-to-no knowledge of how the lumber business operates, to someone with a deep respect for the people and the companies who comprise it.
Since we’re 100% privately held and are fortunate to have strong support from the LBM community, we’re able to do what we want. As it happens, what we want is to help you and other members of the LBM community build your business, your sales, and your brand. That’s what’s “Behind the LBM 100,” and everything else we do.
As my friend Michael Beaudry, Executive VP of NADRA likes to say, “It’s about doing the right things for the right reasons, and having fun doing them.”
— Rick Schumacher
Executive Editor & Publisher
Source: LBM Journal. See original article published HERE
