A Sales Rep Firm Turns 90

Everyone in the gift and home decor industry knows that the state of the independent retailer is a major cause for concern. There are fewer of them, and those that remain face continuing competition from the big boxes, the Internet, changing demographics, and numerous other challenges.

But what to do is easier asked than answered. Part of the solution comes from Randy Newcomb, principal of Los Angeles-based rep firm The Newcombs, which is celebrating 90 years in business this year.

One problem with independents, says Newcomb, is that they are, well, independent. They're used to doing things on their own, rather than learning from each other, and adopting “best practices” of other retailers or adhering to industry standards.

To be able to do that, retailers need a national association of their own, or they need to be part of groups such as United Sales Association (USA), the organization of manufacturers and reps of which Newcomb is a big supporter. He sees a need for independent retailers to establish a national identity. A program whereby certain standards were created would help build brand recognition, and a logo representing qualified retailers coupled with an aggressive consumer-awareness campaign, for example, would give independent retailers a much higher profile in the minds of shoppers.

Until that sort of thing is done, independents will remain concerned only with their individual challenges: paying the rent, hiring staff, worrying about open-to-buy, etc.

“Every time a retailer faces an issue,” Newcomb says, “they have to solve the problem on their own. The industry is made up of manufacturers, reps, and retailers. None can live without the help of the others. If one dies, we all die.”

With 90 years of experience, The Newcombs knows whereof it speaks. In 1915, after 20 years in the East selling gifts for his brother George, 41-year-old Harry Newcomb (Randy's grandfather) set out for San Francisco to open his own rep firm. At a time before gift shows, when reps spent all their time visiting customers, George covered 11 western states.

In 1921, Harry Newcomb moved his business to Los Angeles, where it remains today as a tenant with a 13,000-square-foot showroom in the L.A. Mart. After the introduction of the gift show concept (where buyers came to the sales reps) in Chicago in 1926, The Newcombs took part in the first L.A. gift show, the California Smallwares Show, along with 12 other exhibitors in 1935.

From no gift shows in the early '20s to too many gift shows in the 21st century? Randy Newcomb thinks so. “It's not effective,” he says. “It's just the market working, of course, but the situation has gotten insane.” He thinks people would like to see one major show, which is why there's such interest in the Las Vegas show, which debuts this month.

After graduating from UCLA, Harry's son, Stan, joined the company, but then spent three years in the armed forces during World War II. He assumed full responsibility for the company when Harry passed away in 1946. Stan's wife, Gerri, was also a leading sales rep at The Newcombs. The firm's five-state area covered California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Hawaii, and it served hardware, furniture, drug, stationery, and gift stores.

The Newcombs sales leader from 1935 to 1982 was a line of American woodenware and accessories called Three Mountaineers.

Randy Newcomb and his sister, Barbara, grew up in the business, and remember hauling boxes into L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium for gift shows and playing under tables in room 2223 of the Biltmore hotel, where The Newcombs set up for trade shows. They also recall Brooks Hall and the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, market venues from before the Moscone center opened in the 1980s.

Gerri Newcomb passed away in 1995, and Stan in 2001. Randy became president of The Newcombs in 1980, and his wife, Aileen Haugh, has contributed her design and product skills to the company. While there are “no Newcombs on the horizon” to take the company to the fourth generation, according to Randy, the company does have 25 dedicated salespeople.

Under Randy's direction, The Newcombs has been involved in the Professional Representatives Organization (PRO) for nearly 20 years, and played an active role in the startup of USA. “Business people in groups have a distinct advantage over independents on their own. It's a simple but powerful concept that cooperation is a tool of competition,” says Randy.

And it's that concept that Randy wants to instill in independent retailers. He heads up a USA committee committed to helping independents, and works with a group of local retailers who meet quarterly to share ideas and successes. Randy Newcomb is fully aware that, “If one dies, we all die.”

Drop by The Newcombs at the L.A. Mart during the July market, and wish them happy anniversary and 90 more years of service to the industry.