JAMES E. STARMER SR. PASSES
APRIL 19, 1920 - APRIL 21, 2000
James Ernest Starmer Sr., 80, OF 51 Kinglet Circle died early Friday morning, April 21, 2000 at his home at 51 Kinglet Circle.
The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, April 24, 2000, at West Market Street Methodist Church. Entombment will be in Westminster Gardens.
A native of Greensboro, he was the retired chairman of the board of Dixie Sales Co., Inc. He was a member of West Market Street Methodist Church, where he was active for 74 years. He was a longtime member of the Greensboro Exchange Club and was a U.S. Army veteran, serving during World War II.
Survivors are his wife, Grace Starmer of the home; sons James E. Starmer Jr. of Greensboro and Richard L. Starmer of Summerfield; brother, Charles F. Starmer of Burlington; and grandson, David L. Starmer.
The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, April 23, 2000 at Forbis & Dick North Elm Street Funeral Home.
Memorials may be directed to West Market Street United Methodist Church, Ministry for Older Adults, 302 West Market St., Greensboro, NC 27401
2001 – SALE OF DIXIE SALES TO BARRETT MARKETING GROUP, WOODSTOCK, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA
I had been talking with Ernest Starmer for several years before he passed on April 21, 2000, about the future of the business. We had two successful branches, one in Arlington, TN and the other in Orlando, FL. Business was good, with MTD, FHP, Kawasaki engines and handheld equipment for the southeast, and TTI including Ryobi Power Tools dealer service support and consumer retail parts and service support for the eastern United States.
My vision for the future included more branches across the United States, primarily to improve logistics. We were spending a lot of time planning future locations with United Parcel Service and their logistics team out of Atlanta, GA. I knew technology requirements for the business to operate more efficiently would be continually increasing. And I had had a long-time vision of implementing vendor-managed inventory for our dealer base which now numbered in the thousands. What these visions required to be implemented was access to capital; capital sources that we didn’t see coming easy to Dixie Sales Company without offering investors ownership positions.
In 1998 and 1999 I had started listening to proposals from potential investors who had expressed an interest in Dixie Sales Company or who had let it be known to the industry that they were looking for investments and acquisitions.
The engine division of Kawasaki Motors held a Central Distributor Meeting in the Caribbean and they invited all the original equipment manufacturers (OEM’s) who at that time were using Kawasaki engines on their power equipment offerings to also attend the meeting. The idea was to have the Distributors and the OEM’s meet each other and discuss potential opportunities to work together and to resolve any outstanding issues, if any, with service and parts support for that manufacturer and their dealer sales and service network. It was a terrific meeting, both in planning and execution.
Part of the meeting consisted of presentations by each distributor about their companies and their capabilities, for the benefit of the attending OEM’s. The presentation for the distributor in eastern Canada was made by Peter Porteous on behalf of Barrett Marketing Group headquartered in Woodstock, New Brunswick. During Peter’s presentation, he mentioned that BMG was looking for acquisitions in the United States with parts distribution experience. BMG had always been focused on OPE and power sports equipment distribution, and more recently on Kawasaki engines and parts. They saw a perfect fit for a U.S.-based company to partner with BMG that would bring parts expertise to their equipment-focused company, and allow them to diversify into the U.S. marketplace. And their experience in equipment distribution would complement and enhance the capabilities of the parts and accessory-focused company they partnered with.
In August 2001, Jim and Richard Starmer sold the business to Barrett Corporation, a private family-owned and diversified business headquartered in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada. Barrett Corporation’s roots were in distribution, auto service centers, heavy equipment rental, and in satellite TV and satellite Internet solutions for Canadian consumers.
2006 REVERSE TAKEOVER WITH FREEPLAY ENERGY PLC
In a reverse takeover in 2006, Dixie Sales Company was merged with Freeplay Energy Plc., a public company listed on London’s AIM stock market. Freeplay Energy’s core technology revolved around the efficient conversion and storage of applied human energy and the delivery of this energy on demand as electricity to create self-powered electronic devices including radios, flashlights, and phone chargers. Dixie Sales Company became the North American marketing arm for Freeplay Energy, developing channel relationships with retailers like Target Corporation, REI and LL Bean.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2006 ARTICLE IN THE TRIAD BUSINESS JOURNAL, VOLUME 8 NUMBER 53, ENTITLED:
Dixie Sales Adds Global accounts, Grows Territory By Matt Evans
BROWNS SUMMIT – Fresh from its recently completed merger with U.K.-based Freeplay Energy, the product support and distribution company Dixie Sales is adding its largest international accounts to date with contracts that officials say will broaden the firm’s global reach.
Peter Porteous, CEO of Freeplay Energy, said the Browns Summit-based Dixie Sales unit is taking over North American sales, distribution and support services for two international motorbike manufacturers, Husaberg from Sweden and Gas Gas of Spain. Dixie is also taking on the contract for the Canadian unit of consumer electronics manufacturer Philips Electronics, which will mark Dixie’s first expansion of its sales territory into Canada.
Those accounts had been handled by other companies under the umbrella of Dixie’s former owner, the Barrett Corp., prior to the $10.3 million July merger with Freeplay, which is known for its wind-up electronic devices such as flashlights, radios and generators. Porteous, who was Dixie’s CEO prior to the merger, said the Browns Summit company’s expanding product portfolio encouraged those clients to move to Dixie.
“The Freeplay transaction gave us all a reason to step back and re-evaluate , and the decision everybody made was that this team based in Greensboro can do a great job,” Porteous said.
Dixie was founded in 1914 in Greensboro as a tire and auto parts shop but does much of its business today supporting manufacturers of gasoline-powered equipment like go-carts and lawn mowers as well as a variety of other products. From its combined warehouse and call center near Bryan Park north of Greensboro, the company both takes and fulfills orders directly while also providing telephone-based technical support for retail customers, including Lowe’s Home Improvement.
Now, though, Porteous said that with Freeplay’s electronics catalog being a major parts of Dixie’s portfolio, the company is in a better position to make contacts with and on behalf of other electronics companies, including Philips.
Gerald Gauthier, consumer products channel manager for Philips Canada, said Dixie is good at servicing small retailers that manufacturers might otherwise miss, and uses technology to keep costs down. He expects that will give Dixie a strong entry into its new Canadian sales market.
Dixie “will improve our reach into the Canadian marketplace beyond our current capabilities,” Gauthier said.
The Philips, Gas Gas and Husaberg accounts will each be worth more than $1 million in revenue to Dixie , which had about $40 million in total sales in 2005. Porteous said Dixie will need to hire an undetermined number of people to handle the increased volume, but the company has recently re-engineered its Browns Summit warehouse to increase capacity by about 40 percent and intends to replicate that process for its facilities in Florida, Tennessee and Ontario.
“We have the capacity to absorb Husaberg, Philips and Gas Gas and see growth with Freeplay without having to physically expand the plant in order to accommodate it,” Porteous said.
2008 – FREEPLAY DIVISION OF FREEPLAY ENERGY PLC. SOLD TO THE NARANG GROUP IN INDIA
In 2008, the Freeplay division of Freeplay Energy Plc. was sold to the Narang Group, one of the oldest industrial houses in India. Freeplay Energy Plc. then changed its name to Fieldbury Plc., a holding company whose shares were also traded on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange.
2009 – FIELDBURY PLC. SELLS INVESTMENT IN DIXIE SALES COMPANY TO DSC SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND SEVERAL CANADIAN INDEPENDENT INVESTORS
In a transaction completed July 31, 2009, Fieldbury Plc. sold its investment in Dixie Sales Company to Dixie Sales’ senior management and several independent Canadian investors, removing any Barrett ownership or involvement. Once more Dixie Sales became a privately held company.
JANUARY 16, 2012 – ADDITION OF “SERVANTAGE” TO THE COMPANY NAME
The continued addition of comprehensive and innovative customer-support services as well as an expanding customer base and growing sales, led to an addition to the company name in January, 2012; the new name becoming Servantage® Dixie Sales. The addition of Servantage® better reflects the company’s unique position as a trusted partner and reliable resource for manufacturers and national multiple-store retailers. Each day Servantage® Dixie Sales provides their customers with responsive and dependable service, in reality, giving them a service advantage over their competition, thus Servantage® Dixie Sales. The company then leverages that service advantage to create a seamless overall brand experience for the broad range of customers we support across the continent.
MAY 2013 – ACQUISITION OF THE OUTDOOR DIVISION OF HENRY W. O’NEIL & ASSOCIATES IN VICTOR, NY
In May 2013, Servantage® Dixie Sales acquired the Outdoor Division of Henry W. O’Neill & Associates now operating in Victor, NY as Servantage® O’Neill Outdoor. The new division will serve 14 northeastern states, allowing us to further develop and expand the offerings provided by Servantage® Dixie Sales as well as taking advantage of new opportunities in the northeast.
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