ce pro 2019 brand analysis special report · 2 ce pro: ce pro 2019 brand analysis ce p 2019 ba aay...

CE PRO 2019 BRAND ANALYSIS SPECIAL REPORT:

EXCLUSIVE RESEARCH

2019 CE PRO

2 CE Pro: CE Pro 2019 Brand Analysis www.cepro.com

CE PRO 2019 BRAND ANALYSIS SPECIAL REPORT: RESEARCH

FAMILIAR BRANDS DOMINATETHE MARKETA handful of go-to names stand out for CE Pro 100 companies as revealed by the annual Brand Analysis, but the 61 catego-ries tracked also shed light on the increasingly diversified product portfolio offered by today’s highly successful integra-tors. by Robert Archer

In most years the numbers and trends revealed in the CE Pro 100 Brand Analysis reflect the tenor of the U.S. and even the global economy, and the latest edition is no different.

In the U.S. unemployment is low, the stock market is doing well and there are hints that home sales could improve as remodeling expenditure also continues to flourish. Having learned some lessons from the global recession a decade ago, the custom installation industry has developed a diverse array of products that — maybe more importantly — appeal to mainstream consumers, who are



also increasingly smart-home aware thanks to the emergence of voice-control platforms, smart speakers, smart locks and other common devices.

The influx of mainstream products has created a learning and creativity curve for integrators who are implementing much different systems now than they did a decade ago, but still reliably meeting the needs of their clients. The Brand Analysis surveying the annual CE Pro 100 list of integration companies dem-onstrates a mix of traditional custom-channel products and more mainstream offerings.

SnapAV, Sony, Sonos and Control4 are just a few examples of brands that continue to have huge impact for CE Pro 100 companies and their custom-ers. SnapAV and its array of brands can be found throughout the list, whether it’s A/V, infrastructure, enhancements and more. Sonos continues to do well both in and outside of its core Wireless Speakers, ranking highly in Amplifiers, Floorstanding/Bookshelf Speakers and Subwoofers. Sony’s growth has reached a level of near total saturation in video through its domination of the TV, projec-tor and Ultra Blu-ray/Blu-ray disc categories. And Control4’s name maintained its top-five place in several areas.

Meanwhile, as in past years CE Pro is making special mention of several “Bul-let Brands” that made particularly strong gains last year (see sidebar, right). Keep in mind that the Brand Analysis data comes from integration firms that entered the CE Pro 100, which ranks the industry’s highest-revenue companies (providing a typically higher-income customer, but not accounting for thou-sands of other firms in the custom channel); because companies qualify and drop out year after year, this naturally can impact the Brand Analysis on top of whose manufacturers may have picked up or lost dealers during the past year.

Representing the industry’s diversity and providing insights into traction for new opportunities, this year’s Brand Analysis features 61 categories. New to this year’s analysis are Accounting Software, Automated Irrigation and Water Leak protection, while categories such as Cybersecurity, Vehicles and Fiber-Optic Cabling represent others that have only been tracked for two to three years.

In addition, it’s worth noting the uptick in numbers for the Remote Monitor-ing category, which bodes well for their long-term revenue possibilities. Remote monitoring — solutions like SnapAV’s OvrC and its compatible products, as well as Control4’s Ihiji have enjoyed widespread CE Pro 100 adoption — can help deliver recurring revenue to integrators’ coffers, while augmenting their cus-tomer service support capabilities.

SnapAV, Sony, Sonos and Control4 are just a few examples of brands that continue to have huge impact for CE Pro 100 companies and their customers.



BRAND LEADER: AudioWireless Speakers: SonosIn-Wall/In-Ceiling Loudspeakers: SonanceAudio Amplifiers: SonosFloorstanding/Bookshelf Loudspeakers: SonosA/V Receivers: SonyHome Theater Preamplifiers/ Processors: Anthem, Integra, MarantzOutdoor Audio: SonanceSoundbars: SonosMedia Servers: SonosTurntables: McIntoshSubwoofers: SonosSpeaker Cables/Interconnects: SnapAV/Binary/WirepathHeadphones: SennheiserMultiroom A/V Systems: Control4, SonosAcoustical Treatments: SnapAV

BRAND LEADER: VideoFlat-Panel Televisions: SonyProjectors: SonyProjection Screens: Screen InnovationsHDMI Cables: SnapAV/Binary/WirepathBlu-ray/Ultra Blu-ray Disc Players: SonyOutdoor Video: SunBriteTVSatellite Television: DirecTVWhole-House Video Distribution: Control4

BRAND LEADER: Networking/ ConnectivityNetworking: SnapAV/Araknis/OvrCFiber-Optic Cable: Cleerline TechnologyNetwork Cable: SnapAV/BinaryStructured Cabling: SnapAV/WirepathCell-Phone Boosters: Wilson ElectronicsPhone Systems/Intercoms: PanasonicCybersecurity: SonicWall

BRAND LEADER: Control & AutomationAutomated Irrigation: RachioWhole-House Control & Automation: Control4Lighting Control: LutronUniversal Remote/Tablets: Control4Motorized Window Treatments: LutronHVAC Energy Smart Grid Management: Control4IR Distribution Systems: SnapAV/BinaryVoice Control: Amazon

BRAND LEADER:Home EnhancementsLighting Fixtures: KetraWater Leak Detection: Waterbug, WatercopRacks: Middle AtlanticRack Cooling Systems: Middle AtlanticRemote Monitored Services: SnapAV/ Araknis/OvrCPower Conditioners: SnapAV/WattboxFurniture: Salamander DesignsSeating: CinemaTechMounts: SnapAV/StrongLifts: Future AutomationCentral Vacuum: H-P Products/Dirt Devil/ Vacuflo

BRAND LEADER: SecuritySecurity & Fire Systems: Honeywell Home/ ResideoIP Security Cameras: SnapAV/Wirepath/ Luma/VisualintVideo Doorbells: RingAccess Control: Control4Smart Door Locks/Dead Bolt: Yale

BRAND LEADER: Dealer SupportGeneral Distribution: SnapAVDesign Proposal Software: D-ToolsBusiness Management Software: QuickBooksBuying Groups: ProSourceAccounting Software: QuickBooksTools & Testers: FlukeVehicles: Ford

MOVING UP THE RANKSEvery year certain companies com-

mand some attention for garnering a

significant bump in mentions from CE

Pro 100 dealers — whether it’s due to

turnover among the companies on the

list, or because they entered a new cat-

egory, became more channel friendly,

increased marketing spend, etc. Here’s

a glimpse at some of the companies:

James Loudspeaker went from be-

ing outside the top five in a few speaker

categories to become a serious player

among the CE Pro 100’s architectural/

freestanding, soundbar, outdoor audio

and subwoofer options.

Venerable audio brands McIntosh

and Klipsch had particularly solid

showings in turntables and floorstand-

ing/bookshelf speakers.

SnapAV’s brands are spread across

the 61 categories, but its Dragonfly

projection screen offering and its OvrC-

powered remote monitoring solutions

had big support.

Alarm.com continues to be a force

in security and automation sectors.

With strong gains in lifts and

mounts, Future Automation proves

clients will pay for premium quality.

H215924

Rectangle



Remaining relatively stagnant from the previous year’s numbers, the wireless speaker category features the same companies in the same order. Sonos’ count grew slightly, and it appears after showing up in the list for a few years that Denon has firmly established the HEOS name as a player in the category.

For five years running Sony has dominated the category. In the 2018 Brand Analysis CE Pro awarded the brand a Bullet Brand designation for its year-to-year growth from 2017, and it continues upward. Doing the same is Anthem, which leapfrogs Denon by adding more than 20 percent to its previous year’s totals, Anthem leapfrogs Denon.

Sonance continues to maintain a comfortable advantage in the In-Wall/In-Ceiling category. Origin has made gains among the CE Pro 100 with its architectural products, while Klipsch and Bowers & Wilkins maintain their respective rankings. James Loudspeaker is new to the top five.

The home theater preamplifier/processor category has always been competitive, but 2019’s numbers redefine that. Landing in a three-way tie for first place, Anthem, Integra and Marantz each have 30 dealers respectively using their products. Following closely behind is McIn-tosh, and surprisingly Control4. Control4 has never shown up in this category before, and this year’s appearance could be the result of its popularity in the whole-house audio market.

Sonos has overtaken Control4, which could signify that its $599 Amp whole-house audio amplifier is gaining traction in the custom market. Other companies likely benefitting from serving whole-house audio are Sonance, SnapAV and Crown. Crown is likely capitalizing on outdoor audio popularity. Just two years ago only 34 dealers mentioned Sonos.

Sonance and SnapAV’s Episode brand are the top two brands in the Outdoor Audio category. James Loudspeaker added nine dealers from its 2018 Brand Analysis’ total to move past Origin. Klipsch also picked up a few dealers to maintain its status as a top-five brand.

For the second year in a row Sonos leads the Floorstanding/Bookshelf category. Perennial top five brands Klipsch (adding seven dealers), Bowers & Wilkins and Sonance round out the four most used brands in the category. For the first time James Loudspeaker enters the top five.

Overall the category’s numbers have increased. Interestingly, the growth seems to be spread around through brand diversification. Sonos and Leon have each taken respective steps back in terms of the numbers, while other companies have increased their numbers from previous years.

Wireless Speakers A/V Receivers

In-Wall/In-Ceiling Loudspeakers Home Theater Preamps/Processors

Audio AmplifiersOutdoor Audio

Floorstanding/Bookshelf Loudspeakers Soundbars

88% 78%

61% 30%

55%

20% 40%

36% 30%

40%

35%48%

16% 34%

31% 30%

33%

30%31%

13% 31%

30% 27%

31%

29%27%

12% 25%

28% 23%

27%

28%23%

Sonos Sony

Sonance Anthem

Sonance

SonosSonos

Sonos Control4 Sonance SnapAV/Episode

Crown Sony

Control4 Integra

Origin Acoustics

Integra

SnapAV/Episode

KlipschLeon

Bose Marantz

Klipsch Marantz

James Loudspeaker

Denon Anthem

James Loudspeaker

McIntosh

Origin Acoustics

James Loudspeaker

James Loudspeaker

Apple Denon

Bowers & Wilkins

Control4

Klipsch

SonanceSnapAV/EpisodeBowers &

Wilkins

Sonance

65% 59% 51% 41% 37% 37%

44%70%

BULLET BRAND

BULLET BRAND

BULLET BRAND

BULLET BRAND

AUDIO



AUDIO | VIDEO

Every manufacturer in the top five made gains except for Kaleides-cape. The result is that Kaleidescape falls into second place behind Sonos, whose ranking at the top could be due to the increased sales of Sonos amplifier products as well as custom market companies such as CasaTunes smartly integrating Sonos into its platform.

For the most part the Headphones category remains unchanged. Sennheiser maintains its status as the most mentioned manufacturer followed closely by Sony and B&W. Bose also kept the same dealer levels and market position, and Klipsch jumped into the top five.

Turntables is a sneaky popular category with overall numbers increas-ing the past several years as vinyl continues to show staying power. Many dealers appear to be providing higher-end solutions, helping the vaunted McIntosh brand move to the top. Thorens, however, lost a third of its numbers from the previous year but still remained in the top five.

Control4 and Sonos are deadlocked at the top for the second year in a row. Crestron, SnapAV’s Binary brand and Savant also remain as the next-most used vendors. Since there are two tied for the top spot, we’re including Atlona here as the strong sixth choice, which could be in part a result of the company’s recent distribution agreement with SnapAV.

After a couple of years Sonos has firmly entrenched itself as the top subwoofer vender. Like some of the other speaker categories James has pushed its way into the top five. Adding more than 50 percent to its total from the previous year James now resides as the second most used subwoofer manufacturer. The rest of the top five features the same manufacturers from previous years.

Continuing a growth period that extends over several years, the Acoustical Treatments category shows another year of gains. It’s hard to determine the exact reasons for the category’s uptick other than per-haps more dealers are doing commercial work including boardrooms, restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

Proving it is still capable of growing its brands even after the num-bers suggest it has plateaued in many categories, SnapAV through its Binary and Wirepath brands seizes the top spot in the category. AudioQuest, Liberty and Planet Waves remain popular among CE Pro 100 companies. ICE Cable makes the top five for the first time.

Sony and Samsung have owned the top two spots here for quite some time, and Sony added three dealers from its previous year’s totals for a more comfortable advantage this year. Shooting up into the flat-panel category, outdoor TV brands SunBriteTV and Seura entersthe top five with 59 dealers and 41 dealers respectively.

Media Servers Headphones

Turntables Multiroom A/V Systems

Subwoofers Acoustical Treatments

Speaker Cables/Interconnects Flat-Panel Televisions

53% 35%

25%

54%

49% 31%

21%

31%

32% 88%

45% 23%

14%

31%

32% 63%

42% 17%

14%

28%

16% 59%

34% 13%

14%

25%

14% 41%

Sonos Sennheiser

McIntosh

Sonos

Kaleid-escape

Sony

Pro-Ject

James Loudspeaker

AudioQuest Samsung

Apple Bowers & Wilkins

Marantz

Sunfire

Autonomic Bose

Sony

Klipsch

Planet Waves

LG

Roku Klipsch

Thorens

SnapAV/Episode

ICE Cable SnapAV/SunBriteTV

Liberty Seura

74% 95%

SnapAV/Binary/

Wirepath

Control4

SnapAV

Sonos

Dynamat

Crestron

Cinema-Tech

SnapAV/Binary

Acoustic Innova-

tions

Savant

Kinetics Noise

Control

Atlona

Acoustic Smart

63%

27%

63%

23%

37%

22%

35%

18%

33%

18%

24%

13%

Sony

BULLET BRAND

BULLET BRAND



VIDEO | NETWORKING/CONNECTIVITY

Sony sits atop the Projector category, adding to its 2018 Top 100 fig-ures. Epson also enjoys support from a majority of CE Pro 100 dealers, while perennial top brands Digital Projection, JVC and Barco rounding out the top five. After that the numbers vary greatly, perhaps suggest-ing dealers are addressing commercial installations with much variety.

SunBriteTV and Seura have paced the Outdoor Video category for sev-eral years. Adding to its previous year’s tally SunBriteTV now has four of every five CE Pro 100 dealers using its product line. Demonstrating that dealers are utilizing indoor TVs for outside installations, Sony and Samsung rank as the third most widely used brands, with GoVision, Peerless-AV, LG and Planar rounding out the leaders.

Building on the momentum it had started a couple of years ago, Screen Innovations pads its category-leading numbers. The jockeying for sec-ond position has gotten closer, as SnapAV’s Dragonfly brand picked up 11 more dealers’ mention from its 2018 figures to tighten the gap behind Stewart Filmscreen.

Continuing a trend that started a few years ago, Dish had another strong year-over-year showing within the CE Pro 100. The satellite ser-vice provider, which recently joined buying group ProSource’s ranks, gained a few dealers and in conjunction with DirecTV’s slow erosion of dealers is closing the gap between the two companies.

At a time in which fiber and A/V over IP are providing more choices to help integrators distribute A/V signals, SnapAV and its brands increase their market share. New to the top five brands is Vanco, which in some respects resembles SnapAV with the varied product selection it offers the integration channel to meet the vast needs of residential and com-mercial customers.

For the most part the Whole-House Video Distribution category’s numbers are very similar to the previous year’s figures. Generally, the convenience of purchasing through vendors that offer multiple solu-tions drives this category’s numbers with three control and automation manufacturers and two brands from SnapAV — Binary and Atlona — dominating the field.

Reflecting their respective category exits, Samsung’s and Oppo’s num-bers are down from past years, helping Sony increase its stranglehold on this category. It is worth noting these numbers do not differentiate between Blu-ray and Ultra Blu-ray players, the latter of which accord-ing to various research groups is enjoying growth.

SnapAV and its brands Araknis and OvrC have overtaken Control4’s Pakedge brand. Signifying the size of jobs some CE Pro 100 dealers do, it’s worth noting Access Networks is back in the top five with more than one-third of dealers implementing its enterprise-grade systems.

Projectors Outdoor Video

Projection Screens Satellite Television

HDMI Cables Whole-House Video Distribution

Disc Players (Blu-ray/Ultra Blu-ray)Networking

89%

67%

52%

53%

34%42%

49%

22%

48%

21%39%

46%

17%

28%

17%36%

39%

14%

15%

11%32%

32%

Sony

Screen Innovations

Epson

Stewart Filmscreen

SamsungControl4/Pakedge

Atlona

Digital Projection

SnapAV/Dragonfly

JVC

Da-Lite

McIntoshLuxul

SnapAV/Binary

Barco

Draper

OppoAccess

Networks

Crestron

Kaleide-scape Ruckus

Savant

83%61%

52%

Sony

DirecTV Dish

Seura

Audio-Quest

Sam-sung

Go-Vision

Liberty

Sony LG

Metra

Peerless-AV

Tribu-taries/Clarus

Planar

Vanco

37%

80%

72%

28%

50%

38%

10%

14%

10%

14%

4% 4% 3% 3%

12% 8%

SnapAV/Araknis/

OvrC

Control4SnapAV/Binary/

Wirepath

SnapAV/Sun-

BriteTV

BULLET BRAND

BULLET BRAND



NETWORKING/CONNECTIVITY | CONTROL & AUTOMATION

Fiber-Optic is now a three-year-old category for CE Pro, and Cleerline is the unquestioned leader. Celerity is firmly entrenched as the second most used brand in the category followed by Tributaries, Corning and Metra. An interesting footnote to this category is the mix of HDMI and network product manufacturers that are now using fiber because of its wide bandwidth capabilities.

After years of shifting system preferences from phones to intercoms, the category may be stabilizing. One thing that’s apparent is inter-coms including entrance door/gate stations, have become favored by integrators and homeowners. The move from landlines to cell phones could be facilitating these numbers. Over the next few years it will be worth observing if Panasonic’s numbers continue to drop.

After a few flat years the Network Cable category is surging again. SnapAV’s Binary brand, as well as Liberty and AudioQuest have all increased the number of dealers to their respective totals. New to the top five are ICE Cable and the distributor ADI.

Cybersecurity is still a developing category for the Brand Analysis, as evident by year-to-year shifting of the relatively small numbers. In the 2018 Brand Analysis SonicWall had mentions from approximately 10 percent of the Top 100. This year’s numbers reveal no dominant company and dealers using a variety of providers.

Given demand for network connectivity it’s no surprise the Structured Cabling category is expanding, paced by SnapAV’s Wirepath brand. Le-grand, Leviton and Middle Atlantic are also showing gains to contribute to the category’s growth.

Automated Irrigation is a new CE Pro Top 100 category. Not many deal-ers are offering these products and services, but already the clear choice among those that do such systems is Rachio.

At one time Wilson Electronics dominated the Cell-Phone Booster category. The past few years the company’s margin over SureCall had begun to slip, but in this year’s list Wilson has stabilized its standings to comfortably remain the go-to manufacturer.

Control4 is now firmly the most used Control & Automation brand at the top of the leaders, while Alarm.com continues to garner more numbers in rounding out the top five. Both Crestron and Savant shed a few dealers, but resulting in a tightening between second and third most used manufacturers in the category.

Fiber-Optic Cable Phone Systems/Intercoms

Network Cable Cybersecurity

Structured Cabling Automated Irrigation

Cell-Phone BoostersWhole-House Control & Automation

35%

60%4%

8%

30%

33%2%

1%

27%

28%

45%

14%

22%2%

1%

11%

15%

42%

10%

18%2%

1%

7%

10%

23%

8%

17%

4%

9%

22%

Panasonic

SnapAV/Binary

SonicWall

Rachio

Wilson Electronics

SnapAV/Wirepath

Control4

Control4

LibertySnapAV/Araknis

IRO

SureCall

Legrand

Crestron

Holovision

ICE CableCisco

Skydrop

Savant

AudioQuestUbiquiti

Watercop

Z-Boost

Channel-Vision

Savant

Legrand

ADI

AT&T

Middle Atlantic

LutronVerizon

Leviton

Alarm.com

48%

63%

68%

Celerity Tributaries Corning Metra SnapAV/Binary

37% 19%9% 7% 7% 4%

Cleerline Technology

BULLET BRAND



CONTROL & AUTOMATION | HOME ENHANCEMENTS

Lutron remains the powerhouse leader in the category followed by Control4. Other popular lighting companies Crestron and Savant are well represented, and Alarm.com’s overall increased presence in the control categories helped it to bump out Vantage in this one.

The IR Distribution System category may be contracting slightly, as a look at the brands shows numbers are now likely shaped by dealers streamlining their buying processes. Falling from the top five possibly as a result of this trend is URC, with Savant taking its place.

The Universal Remote/Tablet category might be starting to see the impact of voice control in the market, though as complete system pro-viders Control4, URC, Savant and Crestron are likely more immune than Apple’s iOS devices when it comes to usage as a system’s sole home control interface.

Voice control is becoming more commonplace as an interface option, with Amazon’s Alexa clearly the preferred platform. Google’s Assistant and Apple’s Siri are also popular mainstream options. Joining Savant as a channel-specific solution is Josh, which rocketed into the top five surpassing voice options from big companies such as Comcast.

The Motorized Window Treatment category mirrors the Lighting Control category in that after several years of growth it may be settling into set market levels. Lutron did increase its share of CE Pro 100 dealers, and Hunter Douglas is seeing numbers rise as well. Qmotion, Crestron and Somfy remain consistent from previous years’ totals.

Lighting Fixtures is one of the new categories this year for the Brand Analysis. Newly acquired by Lutron, Ketra leads this category followed by DMF Lighting, American Lighting, Lucifer, Lutron and WAC Lighting.

HVAC Energy Smart Grid Management is one of the most competitive categories, though its sheer numbers have slowed after a brief period of major gains. The one company that continues to surge through this period of stagnation is Nest, which in a few years is single digits from becoming the top brand in the category.

Here’s another new category added this year. No real leader has emerged, and from both the bigger picture retail perspective and channel-oriented perspective, Water Leak Detection is an up-and- coming category that has seen new entrants to the smart home market and shows like CEDIA Expo.

Lighting Control IR Distribution Systems

Universal Remote/TabletsVoice Control

Motorized Window TreatmentsLighting Fixtures

HVAC Energy Smart Grid Management Water Leak Detection

77% 41%

61%

76%

61% 35%

60%

39%

47%

29%

31% 25%

48%

26%

33%

25%

17% 18%

35%

24%

32%

17%

15% 15%

34%

12%

31%

16%

Lutron SnapAV/Binary

Control4

Lutron

Control4 Control4

Apple iPad

Qmotion

Nest

Google

Crestron Xantech

URC

Crestron

Savant Crestron

Savant

Somfy

Crestron

Apple

Alarm.com Savant

Crestron

Hunter Douglas

Savant

Savant

Lutron

Josh.ai

53%

88%

Control4

Amazon

DMF Lighting

American Lighting

Lucifer Lutron WAC Lighting

7% 4% 3% 3% 3% 3%

Ketra

3% 3% 2% 2%

Waterbug Watercop Control4 Dam-It

BULLET BRAND

BULLET BRAND



HOME ENHANCEMENTS

SnapAV’s Strong brand may be picking up dealers at the expense of Middle Atlantic and Sanus. After shooting up into the top five in 2018, Salamander affirms its position by ranking in the top five once again.

After taking over the Furniture category in 2018 Salamander proves in 2019 that it is not a one-year wonder. The rest of the category includes other familiar names to look relatively similar to the past few years.

There has been some movement within the Rack Cooling System category with SnapAV’s Strong brand and Cool Components making gains. For the most part perennial leaders Middle Atlantic and Active Thermal Management (ATM) maintained their respective dealer totals. OmniMount is new to the top five.

Seating is the most unstable category in the entire Brand Analysis. After contracting from a larger pool of brands, the category settled to its current levels, but preferences year-to-year still fluctuate more than any other among CE Pro 100 companies.

After experiencing a few years of growth, the Lifts category has leveled off. Nexus21 appeared to be in good position to pace the category, but after being named a “Bullet Brand” in 2018 it had 13 fewer dealer men-tions and fell behind Future Automation.

Making huge headway to respectively separate themselves from what is becoming a really competitive field are SnapAV’s Araknis and OvrC brands, and Control4 through its acquisitions of Pakedge and Ihiji. Ac-cess Networks overtakes Crestron to enter the top five.

Through the power of its OvrC remote monitoring platform SnapAV continues to grow its Wattbox brand of power products. Another company moving up in the category is SurgeX, which grew by approxi-mately 50 percent from its 2018 totals. Furman and APC kept similar dealer totals from past years.

The Mounts category enjoyed a bit of a bump. Mounts has turned into an arm’s race between SnapAV’s Strong brand and Chief. Chief had emerged over several solid competitors as the category leader for the past couple of years, but this year SnapAV’s Strong brand grabs the top position, and Sanus is not too far behind.

Racks Furniture

Rack Cooling Systems Seating

Lifts

Remote Monitored Services

Power Conditioners

Mounts

79% 67%

34%

68%63%

20%

30%

51%23%

16%

24%

39%19%

9%

23%

22%17%

Middle Atlantic

SnapAV/Wattbox

SnapAV/Strong

SnapAV/Strong

Panamax/BlueBolt

ChiefControl4/Pakedge/

Ihiji

Sanus OmniMount

APC

Peerless-AVAccess Networks

Salamander

Furman

Future AutomationBlueBolt

SurgeX

SanusAlarm.com

73%

71%91%

Active Thermal Manage-

ment

Sala-mander

Nexus21

Cinema-Tech

SnapAV/Strong

Fortress

Chief

BDi

Cool Compo-nents

Acoustic Inno-

vations

Auton

Sanus

Omni-Mount

Cineak

Inca

Fortress

Sanus United Leather

Media-Director

Acoustic Inno-

vations

Cineak

52% 27%

58%

56%

39% 25%

37%

24%

43% 24%

20%

22%

31% 14%

16%

22%

8% 14%

9%

18%

8% 10%

9%

8% 8%

Middle Atlantic

Cinema-Tech

Future Automation

Salam-ander

SnapAV/Araknis/

OvrC

BULLET BRAND

BULLET BRAND

BULLET BRAND

BULLET BRAND



The Access Control category continues to trend positively. Control4 remains as the top brand, showing a small amount of growth. The rest of the category has become increasingly competitive. Holovision just missed the top grouping, along with several other manufacturers.

After years of relative stability there is some movement within the Security & Fire System category. Honeywell Home/Resideo more than doubles its leadership position ahead of Interlogix. The remaining brands all saw fewer CE Pro 100 representation, and Qolsys moved past Leviton to make its top five debut.

Yale has seized control of the category, which like many other security categories, is experiencing prosperity. While Yale, Kwikset and Schlage added dealers, August’s CE Pro 100 numbers take a small step back.

SnapAV and its various brands address a number of price and feature set points within the IP Security Cameras category. IC Realtime remains a popular manufacturer within the category. As it showed in several security and automation categories, Alarm.com gained traction among CE Pro 100 companies.

Through its growing list of manufacturer partners that includes Nest, Lu-tron, URC, BenQ and Pioneer, plus its own brands, SnapAV is turning into a one-stop shopping solution for integrators. Following behind SnapAV are the traditional distributors ADI and WAVE/AVAD.

Video Doorbells is a rapidly maturing category. Last year’s analysis saw Doorbird soar into the top five on the heels of category leader Ring. This year both Ring and Doorbird collected a few more CE Pro 100 mentions to pad their commanding market share.

D-Tools once again is the most used Design Proposal Software pro-vider. Over the past few years the competition between manufactur-ers in this category has increased and this year’s list reflects just how competitive the category has become.

Central Vacuum Access Control

Security & Fire Systems Smart Door Locks/Dead Bolt

IP Security Cameras General Distribution

Video Doorbells Design Proposal Software

34% 25%

55% 34%

63%

20%

20% 33%

69%

18%

9% 17%

44%

10%

4% 16%

39%

HoneywellHome/Resideo

Interlogix

Doorbird Microsoft Visio

ADI

DSC 2GIG

Savant AutoCAD

Wave/AVAD

Qolsys

Control4 iPoint

TechData

Skybell QuickBooks

Ingram-Micro

62% 36%

90%

Ring

IC Realtime

Kwikset

Alarm.com

Schlage

Axis

August

Hikvision

Baldwin

Lilin

Crestron

64%

67%

34%

61%

24%

36%

24%

8%

22%

2%

13%

2%

D-Tools

SnapAVSnapAV/

Wirepath/Luma/

Visualint

Yale

For the past several years the central vac category has shown modest, but steady gains. With an overall jump of about 15 percent in total dealer numbers over the previous year, more CE Pro 100 companies are profiting in this high-margin category from vendors such as H-P Products and Beam.

12% 8% 7% 5%

Beam Hide-A-Hose NuTone Honeywell

18%

H-P Products/Dirt Devil/Vacuflo

24%33% 32% 30%

KwiksetSavantYaleCrestron

54%

Control4

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The use of business management software is increasing. Products such as QuickBooks, D-Tools and Microsoft Excel remain popular options for integrators. More dealers are employing Google’s array of online business products to support their back-office operations. Shooting into the top five is iPoint, which made gains in the Design Proposal Software category too.

Tools & Testers is an unpredictable and highly competitive category. Platinum Tools and Klein Tools have experienced plateauing, while Fluke edges past both in this year’s tally.

This is the second year CE Pro has tracked buying group participation, and for the second year in a row ProSource is the category leader with approximately one-third of the CE Pro 100. HTSA, Azione and AIN follow in the same order as the previous year with roughly the same number of dealer members as last year.

Just in its second year of being tracked, the order of manufacturers is similar to last year’s Vehicles list, but Ford’s margin has shrunk. CE Pro 100 dealers rely on a mix of typical contracting vans, and other vehicles that include trucks and hybrid cars. One dealer indicated the use of ride-sharing services.

Accounting Software is a new category for 2019. QuickBooks is the overwhelming choice, while dealers noted various versions of Sage’s software too.

Business Management Software Tools & Testers

Buying Groups

Vehicles

Accounting Software

59% 32% 28% 22% 19%

QuickBooks D-Tools Microsoft Excel

Google Drive

iPoint

Nissan

Platinum Tools

Dodge

Klein Tools

Chevrolet GMC

Labor Saving Devices

Mercedes

DeWalt

21%

37%

13%

36%

7%

36%

4% 2%

28%

2%

25%

Ford

Fluke

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32%

41%

12%

4%

9%

2%

3%

ProSource

QuickBooks

HTSA

Sage

Azione

ConnectWise

AIN

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ce pro 2019 brand analysis special report · 2 ce pro: ce pro 2019 brand analysis ce p 2019 ba aay...

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