AD is reporting total 2021 member sales were $58.5 billion, a 30% increase from 2020, with purchases by member companies from AD supplier partners up 39% to $16.6 billion. Additionally, AD achieved a 49% increase in net distributions to its members, surpassing the $1 Billion milestone for the first time in the group’s 40-year history. 

AD announced its member-owners elected two directors to its 2022 board of directors. AD’s newly elected director is Karla Neupert Hockley, president of Consolidated Supply Co. Tim Horsman, president & CEO of E.B. Horsman & Son was reelected by AD’s member-owners.

Digital presence can be somewhat of a buzzword in the PHCP-PVF industry as it continues to adapt and evolve in an accelerating digital age. Each company may have a different definition of what digital transformation means to them. For Fargo, North Dakota-based PHCP distributor Dakota Supply Group, it’s simply about delivering the best online solutions to its customers.

Launched in 2018, Decorative Brands is a relatively new division to the AD community but has been among AD’s fastest growing. Director Linda Hoff shared that in just four years, the division grew from eight members to 50 and now includes 75 supplier partners. Earnings have risen significantly each year, with member rebates more than quadrupling since 2018. 

A highlight of its recent North American Meeting, the 2021 AD PHCP Business Unit Spirit of Independence Awards ceremony celebrated members and supplier partners in all three divisions who excelled in sales performance, marketing excellence, employee engagement, leadership and giving back. 

AD is reporting member sales in the first nine months of 2021 were $44 billion, an increase of 34% across its 13 divisions and three countries. Same-store sales were up 19%. Member companies’ purchases from AD supplier partners grew 31%. Net distributions to its members were up 41%.