Lisa Veeck talks to dealers across the country about their successes selling janitorial and sanitation products
If you are an independent dealer in the office products industry and managed to keep your business afloat during the COVID pandemic, it’s highly probable you are selling at least some janitorial (jan/san) lines. Many dealers now face two critical questions: how much to invest in jan/san and whether its growth—despite strong competition—can reliably sustain their business going forward.
To help determine if heavy investment in jan/san is a good idea for your dealership, let’s hear how some dealers in various parts of the country have been faring.
An East Coast perspective
Guernsey, Inc., Dulles, Virginia, started selling convenience jan/san products, like Raid and Windex, before moving into the institutional space in 2012. According to COO Jake Mages, it was a natural fit: “Office products were declining, so we were looking to offset the loss. We already sold furniture and breakroom, so janitorial was another box we could check off for customers. We hired a jan/san specialist and started buying from jan/san wholesaler RJ Schinner. The category continued to grow, although it was feast or famine during the COVID pandemic in terms of getting product. But it has been stable since.”
Today, jan/san accounts for 12–15% of Guernsey’s annual sales of $80–85 million. The company’s largest customers in the category include educational facilities, car dealerships and building service contractors.
Some of the challenges Mages has encountered in jan/san include the large number of products available, the size of some competitors and Guernsey’s own reputation as an office products or breakroom supplier, which made it harder to break into this new category.
“Also, the ability to support customers nationally is tougher,” Mages acknowledges. “S.P. Richards isn’t as big in jan/san [as Essendant was] and the products tend to be big and/or heavy; jan/san paper is an odd shape and takes up a lot of space for the price, so freight is an issue. Hiring can also be problematic. It’s not a sexy industry and the workforce is aging. It’s hard to attract talent, including good sales reps.”
The Imperial Dade/Brady Plus merger has also shaken things up in Guernsey’s territory. “They are gobbling up dealers in all kinds of industries,” reports Mages. “They picked up Dacon, a large jan/san dealer, and made a lot of smaller dealer acquisitions that are all over our footprint.”
Yet Mages sees a silver lining: “This is an opportunity both for other independent dealers and for us. We are further along with our technology than many of the traditional jan/san dealers and we are still in the mid-market level. We are nimble and flexible. We have a high personal touch reputation with our customers. It’s what we do best, so it feels natural. It’s harder for the large corporations to have that.”
Mages believes this is what enables Guernsey and other independent dealers to compete with Amazon, especially in the jan/san field: “Amazon is ubiquitous and the single-source vendor is a thing of the past. But Amazon doesn’t do institutional well. We walk in and put the product where the customers want it. These little service touches are things Amazon can’t or won’t do.”
Essendant’s abrupt exit from the market caught Guernsey unawares. “We were blindsided by the 60-day notice,” admits Mages. “We formed a contingency plan that went smoother than it could have. But pair Essendant’s announcement with the fact that S.P. Richards’ business doubled in size overnight …. It’s getting better day by day, but it has been a challenge.”
Looking to the West
Ryan Puccinelli, CEO and co-owner of IQ Total Source, Scottsdale, Arizona, explains why the company took the plunge into jan/san in 2014: “My business partner and I were 24 years old with no industry background at all. At an S.P. Richards show, over 10 years ago, Rick Toppin got on stage and challenged dealers to take jan/san seriously. We took it to heart and that decision became a turning point for us.”
Today, jan/san accounts for 50% of IQ Total Source’s $23 million annual sales. While Puccinelli acknowledges there are challenges in the space, he thinks the pros far outweigh the cons: “Office products can be a very transaction-driven business. Jan/san, when it’s approached thoughtfully, tends to be more program-based, more profitable and often stickier over time. When you help a customer build a strong janitorial program, you’re no longer just supplying products; you’re contributing to outcomes and that trust can open the door to additional categories. In my view, the industry sometimes treats jan/san as an add-on when it can be a real centerpiece of a modern dealership.”
Puccinelli believes gaining this trust requires expertise and, for those looking to take it up a notch, certification. “Frank Hoard at ISG encouraged us to put our reps through the ISSA Clean Standards certification, and we decided to do it. Being Clean Audit Certified gives our sales team confidence in doing facility walks and being consultative. Training is an investment. It takes time and it isn’t cheap, which is exactly why it can be such a differentiator. For us, trust comes less from showing up with a catalog and more from showing up with real knowledge and the ability to guide customers to the right solution.”
Puccinelli also highlights the Brady/Dade merger but sees this as more a positive than a negative: “I actually think consolidation can create opportunities for independent dealers. Larger organizations can gain scale, but they can also become more standardized and slower to adapt. Independents often win by moving quickly, customizing programs and staying close to the customer. When manufacturers support that approach, whether through flexible pricing or program alignment, it can help independents stay very competitive. At the end of the day, responsiveness and execution still matter a lot.”
Similarly, Amazon doesn’t keep Puccinelli up at night—at least not in jan/san: “Amazon isn’t the primary competitive concern for us in jan/san. In many cases, pricing and availability in this category don’t line up well with how customers buy programs and some manufacturers are still cautious about broad marketplace distribution, even as that continues to evolve. Where dealers can really separate themselves is by building a consultative offering: audits, standardization, training and ongoing program support,” he explains.
Southern exposure
Tiffany Cooper, vice president of mergers, acquisitions and partnerships at A-Z Office Resource in Nashville, Tennessee, has a jan/san background that includes 15 years at S.P. Richards and a stint as a territory sales rep for Bunzl. In her three and a half years with A-Z, she has led the acquisition of 10 independent dealers. Most were traditional office products dealers that sold some jansan, while one had a strong jan/san base.
Today, jan/san accounts for 12% of A-Z’s annual sales—an impressive chunk of the company’s $54 million year-end total. Its largest jan/san customers are in education, local and municipal government, churches and industry.
Like other independent dealers, A-Z’s early forays into the sector were not without their challenges. “The biggest issue was with our sales reps,” Cooper reveals. “It was a combination of fear of the unknown and the fact that there were different buyers than the reps were used to selling to. These buyers are usually not the office manager, but rather the facility or warehouse managers or janitors, so some reps had trouble reaching the right people. Initially, reps were uncomfortable selling new product categories, like chemicals, because they were worried about not knowing what to recommend or giving customers the wrong product. Selling jan/san is not difficult, but this is why training is so important. So too is internal and external support—which our reps have between me and our category manager and buyer.”
While this may seem intimidating at first, Cooper suggests the payoff is more than worth it. She sees this as a definite growth category—and one that is Amazon resistant: “Amazon’s presence in jan/san is very small, primarily because it can’t compete with how products are shipped and the need to ship chemicals. Our biggest competitors are Imperial Dade[/Brady Plus], which acquired American Paper and Twine, a longstanding family dealership, a few years ago, and operates several locations in our region; as well as local dealers that are good at what they do.”
Making a Midwest mark
Mark Ortmeyer, managing member of Office Emporium in Labadie, Missouri, estimates that one-third of the company’s annual sales—which range from $1–2 million—are of janitorial supplies. The company began dipping its toe into the market in 2018, well before COVID, but it wasn’t until the pandemic hit that jan/san orders really began rolling in. Like most independent dealers, Office Emporium struggled to keep up with demand due to supply chain shortages; but it got a boost in the category when it acquired a small jan/san distributor.
“The dealer had been after me for a while to buy him out, but I kept saying no,” explains Ortmeyer. “Then in 2022, he told me I had to buy him; that he was done. So, we did. Now it’s a major part of our business. In fact, it’s the fastest-growing category and we are poised to have our best year ever thanks to it.”
Ortmeyer credits S.P. Richards—and specifically S.P. rep Cameron Statler—with persuading the company to look further into jan/san: “Cameron gave us the most assistance and opened our eyes on what we needed to do, telling us who we needed to talk to and what inventory we needed to carry. Before we were stocking about $40,000 of product. Now it’s more like $200,000.”
Yet this model can prove a challenge. “If you can only buy 5,000 pounds of a product, it’s not a full truck,” explains Ortmeyer. “There’s a huge price difference between companies that can buy a full truckload and us. I get it; the manufacturers have to make it worthwhile. But especially on the chemical side, it’s harder to compete when you are buying from wholesalers and the bigger companies can buy direct. S.P. is getting more aggressive with its chemical pricing, but we aren’t seeing that with other wholesalers. When customers have been using the same floor finish for 15 years and getting a good price, it’s hard to take the business away from the current supplier, especially if your pricing isn’t competitive. We’ve found the best way to break in is with specialty items where there are fewer comparables.”
So, who are the main competitors in Office Emporium’s neck of the woods? “The Brady/Dade merger hasn’t really affected us much,” reveals Ortmeyer. “The company is definitely more aggressive going into schools, but we are still experiencing an increase in market share with our K-12 customers.”
Similarly, “I don’t really see Amazon as a player,” he continues. “Amazon tried to get more into the category a few years ago—mostly with paper and food service. But the orders are so large; they take up a lot of room in its vans and are too big to ship. It also involves shipping chemicals. In jan/san, our biggest competitors are companies like Hillyard and Grainger.”
A round of advice
Our interviewees have some invaluable insights for dealers keen to succeed in the jan/san space. “If you are going to sell janitorial supplies, you must carry inventory—and more than a few weeks’ worth,” cautions Ortmeyer. “Wholesalers are often inconsistent in what they stock and when customers run out of something they need, they don’t take too kindly if you can’t get it fairly quickly. Also, go see your customers at least twice a year. Ask if there are any problems or concerns, or items they haven’t been able to get from their other vendors. I have won more business from that question and it helps build loyalty. It’s a simple approach that can remove customer headaches. They usually mention a product they use a lot, so even if you don’t carry it, it’s worth looking into. We sold four truckloads of bubble wrap because we asked that question and the customer didn’t realize we could get it for them.”
Cooper advises: “First, utilize buying groups; ISG has people with a jan/san background and is adding new manufacturers almost daily. It gives independent dealers options to buy direct without the big investment. Second, if you can partner with a manufacturer of towels, tissues or whatever is your strong suit, make the investment if you can, because stocking is so important. Next-day delivery is antiquated compared to just a few years ago, so leverage the cost of goods and significant savings by buying a full truckload when you can. Also, leverage drop shipping as the right partner can offer favorable pricing. And take advantage of special pricing from manufacturers based on customer relations. For example, if you have a customer with 15 locations, get a manufacturer to install its dispensers and most will give you soap at a lower cost than you can get buying direct or from a wholesaler.”
Mages suggests that insider expertise is crucial: “You need a champion, a specialist, to help set up your program and convince your sales team. If you reach critical mass and can afford it, hire a repair technician to take things to the next level. It’s a real value-added service and not many dealers offer one. The technicians are also the first to know when new equipment is needed.”
And Puccinelli concludes by highlighting the importance of training: “Invest in education. Start transactionally if you need to, but be intentional. Learn dispensers, learn a few core chemicals and build from there. Dealers with a strong grasp of the category are more likely to succeed as market trends evolve. This statement is meant as an observation, not a caution.”