Anixter International’s acquisition of Tri-Ed could help to accelerate implementation of IP video and access control by small and mid-sized dealer/integrators. In announcing the $420 million acquisition, Anixter emphasized the opportunity to expand its IP business through the new Tri-Ed customer base that has previously been more focused on analog video as well as access control, intrusion detection and fire/life safety.
It’s just one of the opportunities for Anixter to leverage the value of the “milestone” acquisition, the largest in Anixter’s 57-year history. Tri-Ed sells 110,000 different products to 2,000 active dealers and integrators through 61 branches and two technical sales centers located throughout North America. Although Tri-Ed’s commercial integrator base tends to be smaller, they do have several large national accounts in their portfolio.
The opportunity to expand IP sales to mid- and small-sized integrators may have the most potential to provide a “multiplier effect” to Anixter’s security business, which is already on the upswing. The addition of Tri-Ed’s customer mix brings a new, different set of dealers that Anixter has not previously played to. The combined companies now cover everything from multi-national to small integrators, in effect covering 100 percent of the available market. (Tri-Ed also has a small presence in IP, in part resulting from its previous acquisition of Northern Video, but IP is less an emphasis than for Anixter, says Bob Eck, Anixter president and CEO.)
The trends toward IP video systems that are easier to integrate and install could be useful as Anixter looks to attract traditionally analog dealers to its IP products.
Another upside for Anixter is entry into the residential market. The market served by Tri-Ed’s 2,000 dealers is about 40 percent residential, which is a new sector for Anixter, whose focus has previously been on the commercial and enterprise markets. The entry into residential is coming at “an attractive time in the recovery cycle,” says Eck.
There may also be an opportunity for the Tri-Ed business to be “bolted onto” Anixter’s international footprint quickly to create additional upside by expanding the product mix available to overseas customers. Tri-Ed also has a small but growing e-commerce business (about 4 percent of sales), that can contribute to Anixter’s ongoing e-commerce initiatives. “They have experience in the multi-channel approach that we think is so important,” says Eck.
