Once upon a time, there was an independent dealer with three daughters and a son. One day, the dealer and his wife decided it was time to retire. Having grown up in the business, the four siblings happily assumed the leadership and within weeks, the dealer and his wife were on a month-long cruise without a care in the world, leaving behind a thriving company. The end.
Sometimes, these fairytale endings become a reality. For many dealers, however, retirement and succession planning can be anything but smooth or pleasant. Take the scenario above: what if none of the siblings wants to go into the family business? What if they all want to be top dog and earn the largest paycheck? What if they all harmoniously enter the company in various roles but find they rarely agree on the best course of action or that they can’t work together? These differences can divide even the most close-knit families, opening wounds that never heal. And let’s not forget the dealers who have no children to inherit the legacy, who must decide whether to keep it going through employee investors, an acquisition or, if there are no takers, a sale to a big box or the closure of the business.
With this in mind, let’s consider the benefits and challenges of some of these options.
From first to fourth
Wist Business Supplies, Tempe, Arizona, is a third and fourth-generation independent dealer. The company was founded in 1955 by Martin Wist. His son, David, joined the company in the 1960s, taking over after his father’s death in 1970. David’s wife, Ileene, came on board in 1982. Her husband retired in 2000, handing the reins over to Ileene and their son, Ian—the current owner and president, who has worked in the company since 1987. This partnership continued until Ileene’s death in 2008. Ian’s son, Trevor, joined the firm part-time during college in 2016 and is now on staff full time.
According to Ian, the involvement of four generations of Wists has ensured continuity over the decades. “Mom loved the industry and was the leader of the organization until her death,” he explains. “Me, our CFO, operations and sales manager share her ideas. So, when she passed, it was a natural transition because we’d already been doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Her voice isn’t here anymore, but we know what she would have said. She made sure business wasn’t disrupted.”
But passing down a business through multiple generations is not without its challenges. “One of the biggest is understanding that everything doesn’t go in a straight line,” says Ian. “There are ups and downs, and it’s vital for each generation to keep its expectations in check. The company will experience good times and bad; it’s all part of the bargain. You can’t just walk in as family and assume everything will be fine. Running the business takes a lot of hard work and requires finding the right people who want to go on the journey with you—people who feel like it’s their family business, too.”
Ian flags staying current as another potential pitfall: “My father’s business was not the same as mine, and my son’s business will not be the same as mine has been. During my career, we moved from just office products to furniture and jan/san. The future may revolve around different things. Trevor will have to think about what needs to be done to grow the business. You can’t simply maintain the status quo; you must adapt to the market and reinvent the business periodically. And it’s perfect timing for us because, by the time my son takes over, we will be fully established in furniture and janitorial, and he can establish the company in new categories.”
Ian’s sage advice for those keen to build multi-generational business centers on smart recruitment and retention: “Find the right people who want to go on the journey with you and don’t micromanage—trust that they are good or they’d be gone. It’s their family business, too.”
The next generation
H.B. Macey worked for Perry in Temple, Texas, for 14 years before he and his wife, Lynnsay, bought the company from Macey’s parents, Harry and Debbie, in 2022. H.B.’s intimate familiarity with the business has proved invaluable over the years: “I grew up in the industry, which gave me a clear understanding of what it takes to make it work. Plus, Dad laid the groundwork by hiring the right people for key positions.”
Another benefit of having a family member waiting in the wings is the ability to start the ball rolling early and avoid any unwelcome surprises for company employees. “We began talking about buying my parents out around the end of 2020,” H.B. recalls. “Mid-2021, we let our key managers know; and at the end of 2021, we informed all our employees. We have a lot of long-term employees: our COO has been here for 18 years, our CIO for 23 and our furniture manager for 16 to 17. We took time to make sure they were comfortable with the transition and none of our management or employees left.”
And Perry’s customers have stayed the course too: “Perry turned 105 this year and the Macey name has been associated with it since the 1990s. We didn’t make a big deal of it to customers when my wife and I bought it; and having been working with the company so long, I knew what to do, so business continued running smoothly through the transition.”
The lessons H.B. learned from his father also proved an advantage: “Dad had rules and I always knew who was boss. We never raised our voices. We would discuss things; but if he said, ‘Do A,’ I didn’t do B—I did A. I knew who had the final decision.”
That said, on joining a family business, the next generation can quickly find themselves under the microscope. “Even before I came on board, Dad warned me I would have to work harder because, being the owner’s son, I would be under more scrutiny,” explains H.B. “Filling Dad’s shoes was also a challenge. My wife took over the HR duties and I was in operations, but we didn’t hire anyone to take over Mom and Dad’s duties. We’ve always run lean and my wife and I didn’t want to incur more costs, as we were still paying off the debt from buying out my parents. Ten months after taking over, we acquired another company. I had to balance my job with my parents’ responsibilities. At that time, I was managing sales, so I was in the field two to three days a week. It wasn’t easy.”
While Macey is still too young to consider his own succession plan, his leadership of Perry has given him some key insights for owners looking to retire: “If you have family that might be interested, start the conversation early. If they aren’t interested or you don’t have family, try to identify someone who is aggressive and in the same town. Reach out to groups like ISG and Afflink. Talk to manufacturers and their reps. Let them know you are looking to sell.”
It’s a similar story for dealers keen to acquire a business from someone looking to sell, he suggests: “Get the word out. Let people know. If you hear of an independent dealer wondering, ‘What next?’, start the conversation. Meet with the owners and let them know that if they are not ready now, to contact you first when they are. Most independent dealers hate the idea of selling to Staples or Office Depot and prefer to sell to an independent dealer with good customer service and the same mindset.”
Employee benefits
Eakes Office Solutions, located in Grand Island, Nebraska, has established a perpetual succession plan by making the company employee owned. The idea was conceived by second generation owners Ron and Dan Eakes in the 1990s. They had five children between them and had seen families torn apart by arguments over things like titles and who is paid what.
Neither did they want to sell to the big players. So, they devised a plan to divest a portion of the company to six top managers while retaining a controlling share. Today, there are 38 key managers, including eight voting shareholders, while approximately 25 percent of Eakes’ 300 employees are nonvoting shareholders.
CFO and COO Paul McKinney outlines the benefits of the plan: “It’s self-sustaining. People retire and want to cash out and there’s a list of preapproved buyers, so there’s always a market for the stock. The ability to buy stock and the amount purchased are based on employee performance and position. There are limits on the amount of stock that can be bought, and the stock must be sold when the employee retires or is no longer active.
“Most employees don’t have the money sitting around to buy the stock, so they take out a loan, which is paid back through their share of the company’s earnings. Once the loan is paid off, the stock continues to pay dividends and share values increase. Employees love it as a nice addition to their pay and benefits—especially as most companies don’t offer employees a chance to have a piece of the action.”
The move has been a win-win. “It’s an excellent financial investment because we are a profitable company and the employees appreciate being able to invest,” McKinney explains. “It’s a huge advantage for Eakes because, as group owners, the employees are invested and more interested in seeing the company succeed. They look out for the bottom line instead of having a ‘not my money’ mentality.”
According to McKinney, the success of such arrangements hinges on the plan itself: “This plan took years to perfect. We had to put together a board of directors and an executive board, and there can be a lot of paperwork.”
For dealers considering the employee shareholder succession route, McKinney advises: “Engage an excellent attorney and accountant. Go slow but start early, because it doesn’t happen overnight. Starting 10 years ahead of when you want to retire isn’t out of the question.”
Acquisition as an off-ramp
At the other end of the spectrum, IQ Total Source, Phoenix, Arizona, helps dealers who are looking for an exit route.
“We’ve completed five acquisitions recently, three of which involved businesses that were either retiring or preparing to close,” says chief culture officer Ryan Puccinelli. “These companies ranged from $2 million to $8 million in annual sales, and each presented a unique opportunity to expand our footprint and capabilities.”
Puccinelli emphasizes the importance of a thoughtful, low-profile approach to integration. “We prefer a soft transition. For the first 90 days, the acquired company continues operating under its existing name, with a “powered by IQ Total Source” tagline. During that time, we update the website and have our sales team proactively reassure customers that their pricing and service will remain consistent. We also retain most of the existing staff to maintain continuity. We’ve found that when we don’t make a big deal out of the change, customers don’t either.”
He points to strategic advantages that acquisitions offer over organic growth. “Expanding through acquisition allows us to reach new markets and customer segments much faster,” he adds. “For example, while all office product dealers sell similar core items, our business is 50 percent janitorial. If we acquire a company that’s 50 percent furniture, we can cross-sell janitorial products to their customers and furniture to ours. That kind of synergy is hard to replicate organically.”
However, Puccinelli is candid about the challenges: “People and culture integration is always a priority—and a potential hurdle. Inventory is another issue. Some dealers we acquire have slowed down operations as they prepare to exit, which means their product offerings may be outdated or incomplete. We focus on customers with annual spend upwards of $25,000, so we work quickly to bring the acquisition up to speed. So far, every company we’ve brought on has seen double-digit growth within the first 18 months.”
System integration is also a critical piece of the puzzle. “It has to happen fast. Running two systems from one warehouse creates immediate operational and accounting challenges. These issues are invisible to customers, but internally, it’s like the old saying: ducks look calm on the surface, but underneath, they’re paddling like crazy.”
Puccinelli offers advice for others considering acquisitions: “Don’t announce anything until the contract is signed—deals can fall through at the last minute. Work closely with your executive team to ensure your messaging is clear, and have a solid plan for integrating people, products, and systems. And if you’re a dealer thinking about selling, I’m always open to a conversation and happy to share what we’ve learned.”
For more on succession planning, see the columns by specialist industry consultants Christy Maxfield and Dr Donna Marino in the Sept/Oct 2025 issue of Independent Dealer.