David Dupack

Schools can be a loyal and lucrative niche for distributors By Janet R. Gross Unlike other customers of distributors, schools and universities generally donÍt go out of business and mergers are a rarity. Because of the turmoil in other industries, continuing and lifelong education is practically a necessity„making education a growthmarket for the savvy distributor. ñItÍs a good vertical market,î noted Kris Bilyeu, CFC, vice president of sales at Tabco Business Forms in Terre Haute, Ind. The $6 million distributorship deals with dozens of individual schools and at least eight universities and community colleges, providing everything from stock paper, letterhead, report cards and transcripts to promotional items,