America II: From Independent to Blended to Global Distributor

Over the past two years, America II has evolved into what it calls a “blended distribution” model, combining the strategies of both franchised and independent distribution. The St. Petersburg, Fla.- based company started out 25 years ago as an independent distributor focusing on component shortages and now has more than 50 franchises as it works…

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Smith & Associates: Independent but Quality Obsessed

Many high-tech companies — and rock bands — are famous for being started in garages.  The $586 million distributor N.F. Smith & Associates had a similar beginning, except it was out of a living room. “Whenever I think about our start-up today, I remember for an eight-year period we had huge challenges: we were undercapitalized,…

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