Case Supply Inc.

Case Supply Inc. (Case) is a third generation family-owned and -operated supplier based in Syracuse, N.Y. Joe Cicci founded the business in 1958, after buying out a local supplier for residential contractors. Today, his grandson, also named Joe Cicci, runs the business as president. The younger Joe’s father, Alfred, is still actively involved with the family business, and the team continues to provide leading service and competitive prices for retailers, contractors and do-it-yourselfers in New York and northern Pennsylvania.

“In the ’70s we were more focused on pipe, valve and fitting items,” Joe notes. “Now we are still primarily a kitchen and bath supplier, but we do everything above the floor and outside the wall. Our headquarters is in Syracuse, where we have our distribution center and home office. We have a showroom here and in Auburn, and we are building another one in Rome, N.Y. We distribute all over the state and into Pennsylvania.” Case’s business is based mostly on wholesale, but Joe’s team also performs some installation work.

Unique Products and Services

Case has an enormous inventory, worth approximately $3 million. “We’re very unique,” Joe elaborates. “We sell both kitchen and bath products and we stock both. We have counter tops, tubs, toilets, faucets, sinks and anything else you’d want to install in a bathroom or kitchen.”

The team’s quality work has also landed Case some high profile clients. “We service 55 Home Depot stores,” Joe notes. “We’re about 35 percent retail and 65 percent wholesale. We offer quick turnaround and one-stop shopping. We have our own certified kitchen and bath designers on staff to help clients plan out a room and select products.”

The staff of 50 includes talented people from a range of backgrounds. Between sales, design and installation, Case caters to a broad customer base. Joe and his team have been involved in several major projects over the years, providing material for several Central New York landmarks, commercial, institutional and residential projects. The company’s products can be found in Syracuse University’s sports complex, the Carrier Dome, Syracuse’s largest mall, DestiNY USA (formerly Carousel Center), as well as Hancock International Airport, among other well-known structures.

More recently, Case supplied several hundred kitchens for a military residential project in Watertown, N.Y., on the Fort Drum Army Base. With a string of major urban revival projects, the team has been busy at home too. “Loft-style apartments are becoming more popular,” says Joe. “Another demographic is the over 55 community, which is growing in the multifamily sector. We are doing a 66-unit building and a 68-unit building, both in Syracuse, where we are performing all casings and installations.”

Keeping Up With Market Changes

The recession that hit the U.S. in 2008 made a devastating impact on the housing market. “We were doing a lot of single-family, new home construction projects,” Joe explains. “When lenders tightened up and people couldn’t get mortgages, we had to restructure and get competent in more areas. Our staff underwent retraining to service more multifamily projects. We pursued construction work aggressively. We teamed up with local governments to get products specified. We were fortunate to have the foresight to see the market changing and we retooled ourselves. A majority of our products now are dedicated to the rental market. We service several major property groups throughout the state.”

Through streamlining and maintaining important partnerships, Case was able to weather the storm and has returned to a period of growth in the industry. “We have longstanding relationships with Moen, General Electric Co., Delta and other suppliers,” Joe elaborates. “We stay ahead by keeping close tabs on our gross profit and gross margin return. We dipped a bit in the downturn, but we’ve kept profitability. When we look at our net income in 2012, we had a turnaround of 107 percent. A lot of this was due to some cost cutting and a reformatted information technology [IT] platform. We’ve just added three new territory managers to our staff.”

As for the future, Joe plans to stick with the current pattern. “We’re focused on increasing our satellite operations and promoting people from within our company and hiring new talent from outside of it,” he says. “The way to grow right now is to stick with multifamily home projects and with our residential showrooms. We can see the market improving, especially with our over 55 community business. It’s a struggle to hire qualified people with kitchen and bath experience, but we continue to look for the best.”

Case seeks to offer the best variety and the best service in the industry. With a solid staff and a network of partners, suppliers and loyal customers, the Case team will continue to grow throughout the recovery and beyond. Case Supply Inc. continues to provide a family-business approach to clients of all sizes and sectors in New York and surrounding states.

For more information about Case Supply Inc., please visit: www. casesupplyinc.com.