Episode 25: The Emerging Creative Class

A very quiet, tectonic shift has been happening in the market, a surge toward fashion forward, retail trends, and it is being driven by millennial purchasing power and technology that evens the playing field for all participants.

Scrappy, smaller suppliers are commanding swaths of market segments. Small distributors are finding a ready-market for high-margin, creative projects. Large distributors are aligning nationally and internationally to leverage their spend and influence. Even large suppliers are disrupting their tried-and-true products and methodologies to adapt to this burgeoning market of new merchandising.

The changes are ushering in a new creative class of suppliers and distributors who are adopting new methods, breaching sacred boundaries, and carving unique identities by quickly responding to creative market demand.

In this episode Mark Graham and Bobby Lehew continue their look into the future of the industry and discuss the trends that are shaping this movement, highlighting just a few of the key players who are becoming dominant forces in the race to emerge as winners of the new creative class.