2020 was supposed to have been a year of solid growth for electronics distributors. Instead, it was the year of COVID-19 that forced distributors, their global supply chain partners and customers to alter plans on the fly and radically restructure operations. This article recaps the year’s tortuous path and expectations for 2021 based on interviews with leading distributors.
Jan. 7, 2020 was the first day of the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. CES sets the tone for the year, where companies unveil their latest innovative products and technologies. “There were a lot of meetings at CES, and everybody was optimistic,” recalled Phil Gallagher, CEO of Avnet. “2019 was behind us, and the economy was beginning to rebound.”
Gallagher wasn’t the only one who expected 2020 was going to be a good year. “The year started very strong,” said Jim Ricciardelli, executive vice president of digital business at Digi-Key. “Initially, it looked like it would be a replay of 2018.”
