January 30, 2024
On to Cincinnati: Lightspec Acquires its Third Ohio Agent
With acquisition of BR Lighting & Controls, Lightspec expands Signify partnership across Ohio
BATAVIA, OHIO – Lightspec, a lighting agency based in Upstate New York, has announced a definitive asset purchase agreement with BR Lighting & Controls, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based lighting agency.
This strategic move is poised to expand Lightspec's operational footprint, particularly enhancing its partnership with Genlyte Solutions, a collection of Signify brands, across Ohio. The transaction is slated for completion by March 31, 2024.
With an existing presence in Cincinnati, Lightspec's acquisition of BR Lighting & Controls is set to solidify its representation of Genlyte Solutions throughout Ohio's four major markets: Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo. This development underscores Lightspec's continued commitment to territorial expansion in the Midwest.
BR Lighting & Controls, with a legacy extending over six decades in the Cincinnati-Dayton market, emerged from the late-2010’s merger of Brooks Associates and Lighting Concepts & Controls, Inc. (LCCI), led by the Brooks family and Dave Robinson, respectively. The current leadership team, comprising Rob Radil and Cliff Brooks, is expected to continue under the new Lightspec-owned entity, ensuring continuity.
According to Lightspec, "This is the first time a conglomerate has aligned with a single agent across all four major markets in Ohio in modern history." Despite a thorough investigation, the Inside Lighting I-Team could not find any instances of statewide lighting conglomerate representation in ancient history either, although some Ohio rep firms more focused on electrical commodity products have represented electrical brands and a smattering of independent lighting brands statewide for many years.
Historical Expansion Efforts
Lightspec's acquisition of BR Lighting & Controls is part of a broader expansion strategy that has seen the agency extend its longtime Upstate New York presence both domestically and internationally. Notable milestones include:
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In early 2020, Lightspec ventured into the Greater Toronto Area, marking its first foray outside the United States, later expanding to cover southwest Ontario.
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November 2021 saw Lightspec's entry into the Columbus, Ohio market through the acquisition of Lighting Unlimited's assets.
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June 2022 witnessed further expansion within Ohio, with the acquisition of Bright Focus Sales' assets, bolstering Lightspec's presence in Columbus and enabling expansion into Cleveland and Toledo.
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The same year, Lightspec began representing independent lighting brands in the Cincinnati-Dayton-Northern Kentucky territory.
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By December 2023, Lightspec had become the designated lighting agent for Genlyte Solutions in Louisville and most parts of Kentucky.
With Lightspec's Genlyte Solutions partnership now established across all its U.S. territories, we are closely monitoring the recent developments in the Pittsburgh and West Virginia markets that are expected to soon cause Genlyte Solutions to align with a new agent partner in the territories. These two regions are missing puzzle pieces in Lightspec's current territory map. Inside Lighting's mock DraftKings odds suggest 4:1 odds that Genlyte Solutions will soon choose Lightspec as the new agent for these territories.
