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1000Bulbs.com Spring 2010 $24.00 USD $25.28CAN
This lightbulb website has never seen a shortage- of options or clients. With a 65 percent repeat customer rate and the same low prices for wholesalers, retailers, and consumers, 1000bulbs.com is a bright place to shop.
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corporate | profile
Energy Leaders Today Winter 2009 3
corporate profile | electric
1000 Means To
A Bright Future As one of the fastest growing companies in the United States, 1000 Bulbs is transforming the lighting retail market
4 Energy Leaders Today Winter 2009 4 Energy Leaders Today Winter 2009
electric | corporate profile
By Jane Caffrey
From strings of colorful holiday lights to stage studio lamps to antique bulbs, one company offers an allencompassing selection of lighting products. 1000Bulbs.com, an online business founded by a dedicated entrepreneur in 1994, presents a myriad of options for brightening up any space. In addition to a diverse product line, the company brings clients lighting and electrical goods at the lowest rates. “We buy in such vast quantities that we’re able to buy at the lowest possible price and offer products to the client at a price below our competitors,” said Kim Pedersen, founder and CEO. “The goal was to offer anybody on the worldwide web the same prices that a large company would get. We sell everything, and clients are able to take a look at the specifics of the products.” Variety and great prices, teamed with the exceptional customer service that is at the core of company philosophy, makes 1000Bulbs.com one of the fastest growing companies in the nation. It is an innovative business that is changing the way the world buys light bulbs. When Pedersen first launched his small business in the early 1990s, he ran a one-man show from the back bedroom of his home in Mesquite, Tex. Equipped with a desk, fashioned from an old door supported by sawhorses and a typewriter to prepare invoices, Pedersen went door-to-door selling his light bulb products. “Basically I was selling light bulbs to the commercial industry,” he said. “Whoever used light bulbs out there, I sold light bulbs to.” It was in 1995 that Pedersen’s nephew suggested he take his small company online. A year later, 1000Bulbs.com was launched and began to grow exponentially. “We kept getting bigger and bigger,” Pedersen said. “We moved into an office, hired more people, and it
started going crazy. We were doubling in size every year. We maintained it all by investing in technology. And the primary goal was customer service; everything stemmed around taking care of the client.” Excellent customer service remains the primary objective at 1000Bulbs.com, and has accounted for the company’s current status as one of the fastest growing corporations in the country. Now with nearly 100 employees, the Texas-based business makes sales throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and periodically internationally. Carrying more than 6,700 unique SKU’s in stock, from simple household bulbs to cutting-edge, specialty lighting products, 1000Bulbs. com sees over $2.0 million in sales each month, and this number continues to grow. Rewarded for its superior customer service, the corporation was named one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 5,000 Private Companies in America and Top 100 Consumer Product Companies (200809). According to Pedersen, success comes from customer service that is second to none. “Everybody at our company knows that they work for the customer service department,” he said. “Myself, my staff…everybody is tied to customer service. Our client today expects excellent customer service, and that’s what we do.” Exceeding client expectations comes in the form of offering lighting and electrical products at the lowest prices. The buying power of the company allows wholesale, retail, and residential customers to purchase items at the same price as big box companies. The extensive inventory displayed on the website also provides clients with manifold options, allowing for
Energy Leaders Today Winter 2009 5 Energy Leaders Today Winter 2009 5
corporate | profile comparison between products and lines. With $2.5 million in inventory and one of the largest lighting databases in the United States, 1000Bulbs.com meets every lighting need: colored light bulbs, compact fluorescents, emergency exit lights, fluorescent tubes, fly control, full spectrum lighting, holiday lights, timers and switches, dimmers, light fixtures, batteries, black lights, ultraviolet germicidal, and rope lights, among other products. New products are added and updated monthly. Currently, new products include aquarium lamps, safety light sticks, battery-operated LED wireless lights, ceiling fan bulbs, PAR halogen bulbs, infrared (IR) bulbs with increased efficiency, and moodenhancing antique bulbs. Customers can easily find the bulbs that fit their specific needs using product brochures and specification sheets. 1000Bulbs.com’ already award-winning web site has been under redevelopment for two years. The company plans to unveil a new robust, state-of-the art website in early 2010. With this new resource, customers will be able to compare data and reports for all products, and save information along with records of past orders in a library database. The company also offers green light bulbs—and that’s not to say tinted with color. In an effort towards environmental sustainability, clients will be able to tag products online that are manufactured to save energy. An application on the web page will then allow customers to calculate how much the product will reduce their carbon footprint. “The client will have a whole litany of data that he is going to be able to access,” Pedersen said. “The website will give the customer service department and the salesperson a better prospect of how they can take care of each client.” Beyond advanced technology online, employees of 1000Bulbs.com round out exceptional customer service. “We’re looking for excellence, second-tonone people,” Pedersen said. “Then we bring them into a culture of working together as a team and we give them a sense of ownership in the company.” The 16-member sales staff is Lighting Certified (NCQLP) and LEED AP accredited. They handle 1,800 calls per day, while other employees process more than 700 orders and ship out 1,300 line items daily. Due to employee 6 Energy Leaders Today Winter 2009
electriccorporate | corporate | profile profile devotion and attention, the company maintains a 99.92% order accuracy rate. This effort has been recognized by a wide array of clients. 1000Bulbs.com serves businesses around the world, and has sold products to Apple, British Airways, The Coca-Cola Company, Estee Lauder, Holiday Inn, Google, Hilton, MGM Grand, VISA, Amazon, The Walt Disney Company, and Microsoft, among many other corporations. 1000Bulbs.com maintains a 65 percent repeat business rate in addition to over 500 new clients daily. “We sell to every kind of client under the sun,” Pedersen said. With such rapid growth, 1000Bulbs. com flows on currents of change and remains on the cutting edge of the lighting and electrical industry. With both repeat and new clients in the
residential and commercial sectors, company growth is expected to remain expeditious in upcoming years. As far as making improvements to the company, Pedersen says, “We’re doing that right now.” With stable business, a
dedicated staff, innovative technology, and an exceptional assortment of products, 1000Bulbs.com is continually revolutionizing the way that consumers meet their lighting needs. ELT
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