City Electric Supply (CES) recently announced it has opened the doors to two new stores, located in McKinney, TX, and Lebanon, TN.
The Lebanon team spent 10 months building their new branch from the ground up in one of the most popular suburbs in middle Tennessee. Branch Manager Tim Tyler joined CES about a year ago and is new to Lebanon, although he is familiar with the area, having lived in the state his entire life.
"Lebanon has been a hot spot around here in Tennessee. With the affordable home prices, the good schools, and its proximity to Nashville, our new branch is opening up in the perfect area," Tyler said in the release. He adds that the conveniently situated location, which is near an active strip mall, bank, and apartments, should help them form a solid customer base.
Meanwhile, the CES team in McKinney, TX, spent four months preparing their new store. Branch Manager Zach Litchen described the city as a place that can't be tied down to one specific industry.
“Of course there’s a lot of industrial and commercial work here, but with how fast McKinney is growing, it’s almost like they can’t build homes fast enough. Residential is going to be big, but we’re looking forward to seeing how we can serve all three of those markets. We have a massive, 10,000-square-foot branch, so there’s almost nothing we can’t do here,” said Litchen in the release.
After deciding on the 10,000-sq-ft location in January, the large space had a lot of pipe, pallet and wire racks along with shelving that needed to be done by hand. One challenge the team faced was not having electricity for a couple of months. But now, Litchen believes the branch space is what's going to help separate them from other suppliers in the area.
“We have a ton of room for inventory in our warehouse and even a loading area so customers can just pull up, load up, and get to the next job,” said Litchen. “We can keep a lot of everyday items stocked, and once we get a feel for what customers and businesses in our area need, we’ll keep that on hand as well.”