Page 26 - Lighting Magazine May 2018
P. 26

2018 LeGends / Leaders / LumInarIes
LEGEND
JACOB SPERLING Maxim MANUFACTURER
HOW DID YOU ENTER THE LIGHTING INDUSTRY?
As an engineering student, I took a job working for a residential lighting manufacturer. It was a small company, so I had the opportunity to explore and learn many aspects of the business. More importantly, I discovered I had a passion and skill for de- sign. I le  the company to start my own. I founded my  rst two collections in the basement of my duplex. I experimented a lot with acrylic; I would use my kitchen oven to bend the material, testing temperatures, and cooling speeds. I would drive up the California coast to sell my  xtures, and at night I would work on ful lling orders.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES YOU’VE SEEN?
The  rst change was the movement of manufacturing abroad:  rst Mexico, then Korea and Taiwan, and  nally China. In America, my specialty was bound glass, but when we moved [our manufacturing] to China I had the opportunity to expand with di erent materials, styles, and technologies as each manu- facturer we worked with sought to create an area of expertise for themselves. The second largest change in the industry has been the transition to LED technology. It’s allowed for  exibility of design as the space requirement is much smaller. Seeing its potential, we invested heavily in learning this technology early on. The third biggest change is taking place now. A new market for lighting has opened as e-commerce has become another viable avenue of selling. Understanding the consumer from this perspective makes a considerable impact on the market.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS?
Persistence, a love of the business, as well as a personal understanding of manufacturing. The la er has allowed me to work with di erent businesses and  nd people I trust.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW NOW THAT YOU WISH YOU KNEW STARTING OUT?
Candidly, it’s great I didn’t know much. It forced me to work hard.
WHAT DO YOU ENVISION THE LIGHTING SALES AGENCY OF THE FUTURE TO BE LIKE?
The lighting sales agency is still an integral part of selling and will continue to be. They need, however, to evolve too. There is greater access to information; data mining, statistics, and data analytics that are emerging about styles, price points, competi- tors, and so on. They need to utilize this information to be er assist the showrooms, electrical distributors, and others they work with to place the appropriate product in a timely fashion. They need to look at competing manufacturers and competi- tors of their showrooms to see when they have a promotion and how they go to market. We see that some  rms are already pursuing these initiatives, and they will likely survive the transition.
22 enLIGHTenment Magazine | May 2018
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