With his theories of special and general relativity published in 1905 and 1915 respectively, the works of Albert Einstein replaced those of Sir Isaac Newton as the generally accepted explanation for our knowledge of the universe and its basic elements of space, time and gravity.
E=mc2
In a world before social media, you needed to do more than prove that time travel was possible if you wanted to go viral. While the German-born Einstein was well known amongst his peers the professor lived anonymously before winning the Nobel prize for physics in 1921, for his work with the photoelectric effect.
By the time of his emigration to the United States in 1933 Einstein was a celebrity, often inundated with telegrams, letters, phone calls and visitors.
With an eye towards managing the volume of responses his fame required, Einstein tasked his secretary to reply on his behalf, to requests for an explanation of his theory of relativity.
Einstein instructing his secretary to describe relativity as, “When a pretty girl sits on your lap for two-hours you think it’s only a minute. But when you sit on a hot stove for a minute, you think it’s two hours!”
That’s Relativity!
The independent retailers I speak with continue to share news of prosperous though frustrating times.
A persistent labor shortage continues to make hiring a challenging and expensive endeavor. Many dealers expressing their concerns for staffing the counters during the coming spring season.
And dealers continue to share news of product shortages. To keep the stress down, one dealer is considering turning off email notifications!
An email from a Ukrainian dealer explaining relativity better than Einstein’s secretary.
In THE News
In the news this week from Benjamin Moore was an announcement that the Montvale, New Jersey paint manufacturer has sold their Lenmar line of high-performance wood finishes to Gemini Coatings. Gemini is the employee-owned manufacturer of professional and OEM wood finishes with significant existing market share in the independent channel.
With demand for premium and professional coatings continuing to skyrocket for the independent channel's largest paint maker, the Lenmar line with its esters and solvents not found in architectural coatings, was likely more trouble than it was worth considering current supply chain complications.
The divestiture allowing #DanCalkins and his team to maintain their focus on keeping dealer shelves full of THE company’s Aura, Regal, Ben and Ultra Spec lines.
It's hard not to like this move by Benjamin Moore.
Gemini has been a solid vendor within the independent channel long enough that dealers can expect a smooth transition entailing little more than a new FOB location on the packing slip.
All while giving #Dan and his managers more time to focus on their fast-growing architectural businesses making this deal good for Gemini, Benjamin Moore and both company's dealers.
