July 29, 2025
Lutron and Thea to End 31-Year NYC Partnership
Above: Lutron SO-2BOI-WH-EGN 2-button wallstation. Image credit: Lutron Electronics
A rare move by the worldwide leader in North America’s largest lighting market
Every 31½ years. That’s the rhythm — steady, deliberate, almost uncanny. That’s how often Lutron appoints a new rep in the New York metro area.
In February 1994, Lutron announced Thea & Schoen as its new agent, replacing Warshaw Electric — its very first representative anywhere, and the company that had introduced solid-state dimming to New York metro's electrical channel. The timing was more than symbolic. That same year, Lutron was phasing out its analog slider Grafik Eye and preparing to launch its first digital version. A new digital era. A new direction. And a new rep.
Now, 31½ years later, another chapter is coming to a close.
Lutron has announced that it will part ways with the agency now known as Thea Enterprises at the end of August 2025, transitioning to a new, yet-to-be-named representative for electrical distribution, lighting showrooms, and commercial integrators in New York City, Long Island and North Jersey.
In a message to customers, the worldwide leader thanked Thea for its “commitment and dedication” and expressed “great respect” for the team — a tone that has been outwardly reflective of the genuine mutual regard between both parties. For Lutron, which rarely makes representation changes in major markets, the move is more evolution than disruption. Still, it signals a meaningful realignment in one of the most complex lighting markets in the world.
In a statement shared with Inside Lighting, Thea Enterprises reflected on its decades-long partnership with Lutron, highlighting its role in building Lutron’s residential shading business “from inception” and leading LED and advanced dimming adoption in the country’s largest market. The agency noted its efforts in delivering seamless commercial project execution, calling its tenure with Lutron a period of “exponential growth” across luxury residential, commercial, and wholesale sectors.
The Rise of Thea Enterprises
Thea’s appointment in 1994 was a market-shifting decision at the time. Warshaw’s Gary Dulanski had long been seen as the savant of dimming systems in the region — a walking spec library, a problem solver, a trusted adviser to engineers and lighting designers. There was skepticism about the change among some specifiers and pushback from certain distributors, including some vocal individuals at Cooper Electric Supply in New Jersey.
But Thea went to work.
They wrote volumes of Lutron orders from Central Jersey to the Hudson Valley; from Lake Mohawk to the furthest tips of Long Island. They built lighting controls expertise and credibility with contractors, distributors and specifiers. They became a reliable partner to electrical distributors who needed product on shelves and answers on the phone. And they grew.
By the 2000s, Thea Enterprises had become the largest Lutron rep in the country by volume — a distinction they reportedly held for years. Estimates vary, but Lutron sales in Thea’s territory reach well into the tens of millions annually.
For the last twenty-plus years, Thea Enterprises has been led by Mark and Doug Thea — cousins who carry forward a business built three generations deep. Their fathers, Joel and Michael, were leading the agency when Lutron came knocking in the 1990s. Their grandfather helped bring Raco, the stalwart electrical box and cover brand now owned by Hubbell, onto the line card decades ago. That relationship remains intact today, just one example of how Thea has combined institutional memory with adaptability.
Industry locals don’t expect the Lutron transition to destabilize Thea Enterprises. If anything, Thea is viewed as one of the rare reps with enough leadership and legacy to recalibrate without missing a beat.
A Market That Demands Everything
Representing Lutron in the Metro Area is unlike handling the line anywhere else in the country.
It’s not just the density or the dollar volume — it’s the range.
You’re supporting electrical supply houses that move mountains of wallbox dimmers, sensors, and screwless wallplates every month. That’s the floor of the business, the reliable stock-and-flow that Lutron and its agents rely on.
But layered on top is the spec game: complex control systems designed for demanding clients, often on fast-track schedules, for buildings with serious architectural ambition. Think Class A commercial towers with southern exposures that demand precision-tuned motorized shading. Hudson Yards. One Vanderbilt. The Condé Nast Building. Projects where the lighting system needs to interface with everything else in the building — and the people specifying it don’t want a sales pitch, they want expertise.
Then there’s the high-end residential market: full-home systems for hedge fund managers’ weekend houses in the Hamptons, townhouse automation for finance bros on Central Park West, and motorized shading solutions for Yankees outfielders in Alpine, New Jersey (Exit 165). These customers expect white-glove service, invisible installation, and flawless follow-through.
Yes, Lutron has its New York Spec Team and other factory staffers help support the market. But make no mistake: in this region, the agent is the operational backbone.
In short: representing Lutron in NYC market means you have to be everything to everyone. And not many agents are built for that.
Setting the Odds: Who’s Next?
Lutron hasn’t named a new representative yet. And if history is any guide, they won’t announce until every last detail is finalized. But based on conversations in the field, here’s how the mock DraftKings odds currently shake out:
ELA + Synergy (DraftKings: 1 to 7)
The clear frontrunner. After taking over from Penn Lighting in Lutron’s home territory of eastern Pennsylvania, Synergy has proven itself in Eastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and all three counties of Delaware. The 2024 merger with ELA in New York and North Jersey has only strengthened its New York metro footprint. They already represent Signify’s Genlyte brands across its entire footprint, some of which used to be on Thea’s line card. With strong ties to Lutron, solid electrical roots and growing spec capabilities, ELA + Synergy looks like the safe and capable bet.
SDA Lighting & Controls (32 to 1)
A dominant spec agency with deep relationships in the design community. SDA has a long history of working on complex architectural lighting projects and is a known quantity among lighting designers. However, they’re newer in New Jersey, and not known for driving the stock-and-flow business Lutron prioritizes. There have reportedly been informal conversations with Thea leadership in the past year or two, but nothing that moved into serious territory.
Because Lutron already fields a factory-direct spec team, what they need from an agent is distribution muscle — something SDA’s spec-heavy focus, despite its strength, wouldn’t fill on Day 1.
Brazill Brothers (49 to 1)
A traditional electrical rep with longstanding relationships, a strong regional presence, and a capable team. If this were a different Lutron moment, Brazill might be more seriously in the mix. But right now, because Synergy is so embedded with Lutron, Brazill appears to be a long shot.
Rest of Field (15 to 1)
With over 20 agents operating in the city, the wild card possibilities are real. A new startup. An unexpected merger. A surprising bid from a smaller player with the right team and the right timing. We’ve seen stranger moves.
What we do know is that Lutron doesn’t make a change like this unless there’s a leader in the clubhouse. But they won’t say who that is — until the deal is ready to announce.
For now, we’re riding out the harmonic distortion in the market— the signal’s noisy, but the shape is starting to emerge. Once the deal is signed, sealed, and delivered — we’ll deliver the news.
