Kornis Electric Supply is a family-owned and operated business that has served the electrical supply needs of the greater Kansas City area for 46 years.
George Kornis got his start in the electric supply industry after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After returning from military service, he worked in the Continental Electric Supply warehouse sweeping floors. After WESCO bought Continental, he opened his own business—Raytown Electric Supply—in the basement of an auto parts store in Raytown, Missouri. His son, Greg Kornis, who was 17 years old at the time, was his first employee. His second son, Mike Kornis, soon joined the family business, working part-time at age 13. His wife, Anastasia, was involved with running the office operations.
George Kornis, who is now 94 years old, is happily retired but he advises the later generations of his family that have taken over the business. His son, Greg Kornis, serves as chief financial officer and his other son, Mike Kornis, serves as president. Of the current 25-member team, seven are members of the family.
Jeff Kornis, a member of the third generation of the Kornis family to be involved in the business, said, “I started working here at a young age to make some money and transitioned to a full-time position with no initial intentions of working in the industry. I admired the work ethic and the fun and friendly atmosphere at Kornis and the industry provides new challenges every day that keep you busy and engaged.”
Throughout the years, Kornis Electric Supply grew by adding and acquiring locations in hot spots for new construction in the suburbs of Kansas City to service small- to medium-sized residential and commercial electrical contractors. Before all being branded under the Kornis Electric Supply name, each branch’s name matched its location: Raytown Electric, Lee’s Summit Electric, Independence Electric, Blue Springs Electric and Harrisonville Electric.
“We have had customers coming in for more than 30 years who see the same Kornis employees,” said Jeff Kornis, who oversees purchasing and operations.
He added, “With all of the major chains gobbling up many of the independently owned distributors in the area, we are one of the few left and that makes us unique. We can make quick decisions and be dynamic with our inventory and what we stock for customers.” Kornis Electric Supply, which serves customers at four current locations that include a main warehouse and three smaller sales counters and warehouses in the Kansas City area, prides itself on product knowledge. One of the tools Kornis Electric Supply uses for education is IMARK U.
“We train everyone to know the products and know the applications,” said Jeff Kornis. “This aids in accurate material handling and gives employees the opportunity to move up within the company as well.” When the business started in the early 1970s, its main customers were residential clients. Even though the business has become a mix of residential and commercial throughout the years, homeowners still come in to buy parts to maintain their houses. “Residential has always been our big driver,” said Jeff Kornis. “It’s something that a lot of the larger supply houses don’t want or don’t handle as well, so we have capitalized on it.”
A residential building boom in Kansas City area continues to drive the company’s growth. “It’s gotten back to, or even exceeded the levels, that were there pre-recession,” said Jeff Kornis. “Year-over-year there has been 25 to 50 percent growth in the residential construction market over the last few years.”
The Kansas City Business Journal reported last year that multi-family home construction increased 37 percent and single-family home construction rose 29 percent from midyear 2015 to midyear 2016.
Sales at Kornis Electric Supply have grown 100 percent over the past five years, with double-digit numbers each year, exceeding benchmarks pre-recession and the housing bubble burst. The largest catalyst for growth has been energy rebates for lighting retrofits.
During the recession, Kornis Electric Supply was able to reduce expenses and capitalize on the then-new “green” lighting to keep its staff, which gave it a leg up on servicing the post-recession growth in the market. “We didn’t have any major layoffs during the recession, we’ve tried to adapt and make things work through those times,” said Jeff Kornis. “It was a big plus for all of our employees and now that business has ticked up, we’re able to pick up right where we left off and move on.” As the lighting industry continues to grow, it continues to evolve with new technology.
“One hundred percent of all lighting projects are LED now, we sell very, very little traditional lighting anymore,” said Jeff Kornis. “We made that change years ago, and tried to be on the forefront of it. LED lighting ties in with the lighting rebates from the energy companies that are helping drive our business.”
Home automation is also driving sales. “With Google Home and Amazon Alexa taking off, we do sell products that do tie in with them,” said Jeff Kornis. “It is a growing trend we have seen in the past year.”
One of the biggest challenges Kornis Electric Supply and many others in the supply industry are working through is shifting some sales to the internet. “Applying changes in technology, such as online ordering, mobile applications and web presence to customer service, is a challenge,” said Jeff Kornis. “There’s a lot to it, and that is where the industry is trending, but it’s also a matter of figuring out if these large investments in technology are worth it and bring value to the customer.”
Jeff Kornis is looking into developing a webstore and exploring all options to provide customers with the best possible experience.
Another current challenge Kornis Electric Supply finds itself dealing with is competing with the mindset of instant gratification. “Everyone is in a hurry now and wants everything immediately,” Jeff Kornis said. “Lead times aren’t acceptable, even when lead times are given, the customer always wants the stuff faster than what’s promised. It’s kind of like the Amazon Prime mentality, you get your free two-day shipping and it’s what everybody expects.”
Kornis Electric Supply keeps a large amount of inventory to serve customers as quickly as possible. “Good relationships with suppliers and local representatives are the best tools we have to combat this,” said Jeff Kornis.
Helping customers plan their electrical needs is a hallmark of Kornis Electric Supply. The company’s expert staff will perform lighting and energy evaluations and propose plans to help customers save money on electric bills today and into the future. An on-staff lighting and control specialist assists with the lighting while state-of-the-art software plans out unique electrical systems for each project. In addition to the educational opportunities it offers, IMARK has helped Kornis Electric Supply grow with the benefits from its GainShare and Gateway to Growth programs. The networking opportunities with non-competitive distributors fostered by IMARK have also been key to helping Kornis Electric Supply work through industry evolutions.