Global Industrial Co. is off to a strong start this year, finishing its first quarter with record quarterly revenue and profits.

Barry Litwin, CEO, Global Industrial Co.

Net sales increased 15% to $288.6 million for the first quarter ended March 31. Gross profit rose 39% to $107.8 million in the third consecutive quarter of record gross margins, the company says. Net income increased 45% to $22 million.

Executives attributed the financial performance to the company’s ongoing efforts to improve customer experience through digital commerce and other customer-focused strategies. They also cited improvements in freight operations and costs, increased sales of higher-margin private label products, and few inventory adjustments compared to a year ago, when the company had excess pandemic-related safety products.

In an interview, CEO Barry Litwin said Global Industrial’s supply chain and inventory has “gradually improved” from the disruption caused by the pandemic and that the company’s personnel have gained knowledge about “each step of the process” to better manage the inbound flow of goods. The company sells more than 1.7 million products across more than 20 commercial and industrial categories, including Global Industrial-branded industrial-grade floor scrubbers that sell for thousands of dollars.

“Our focus on the customer continues to guide everything we do,” CEO Barry Litwin said on an earnings call yesterday with investment analysts, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. “From sales and marketing to digital technology, procurement and distribution, we are enhancing the service we provide.”

“In the second quarter,” he added, “we expect to launch a new digital ecommerce platform on both desktop and mobile that will redefine how we engage and interact with customers across all digital channels.”

In the fall, Global Industrial plans to open in Toronto a new distribution center dedicated to its sales operations in Canada, where it currently operates two small distribution centers supplied by the company’s U.S. distribution network. The company operates five distribution centers in the U.S.

For the first quarter ended March 31, Global Industrial reported:

• Net sales increased 14.9% year over year to $288.6 million;
• Gross profit increased 39.4% to $107.8 million, resulting in a gross margin of 37.4%, up from 30.8%;
• Net income rose 44.7% to $22.0 million.

Litwin — in a keynote fireside chat June 9 at EnvisionB2B in Chicago — will discuss how Global Industrial is building out its customer-centric strategy through personalized commerce and enriched content tailored to the needs of individual customers. Klaus Werner, chief marketing officer, will give a presentation at EnvisionB2B on Global Industrial’s NASCAR marketing program.

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