Global Industrial expands digital strategy, Q1 sales decline

Global Industrial Co. is intensifying its focus on digital infrastructure and customer relationship management (CRM) to deepen strategic account penetration, improve pricing precision, and enhance its ecommerce-driven B2B customer experience.

CEO Anesa Chaibi, who joined the company in February, said Global Industrial is actively aligning digital marketing, sales, and account management teams around a refined growth strategy.

“We are developing an account-based marketing program and improving the alignment of marketing and sales to capture and nurture the customer relationships that we anticipate will drive growth,” she said on Global Industrial’s April 29 Q1 earnings call. “The implementation of our new CRM will enhance visibility into our customers across all functions and remains on track for completion this summer.”

The CRM rollout and expanded digital strategy are core to the company’s effort to increase wallet share in strategic accounts and group purchasing organizations (GPOs). Chaibi said Global Industrial intends to “broaden who we serve” beyond its historical focus on small and midsized businesses.

“Our customer-centric focus is enabling our ability to deliver a frictionless end-to-end experience, and we continue to enjoy high customer satisfaction scores,” she said, emphasizing that digital tools will also support ongoing pricing discipline and real-time visibility across the customer journey.

Global Industrial Q1 sales

In its fiscal Q1 ended March 31, 2025, Global Industrial net sales declined to $321.0 million. That’s down 0.7% from $323.4 million in Q1 2024.

Operating income increased 4.6%, rising to $18.2 million from $17.4 million. Meanwhile, net income from continuing operations grew 3.1% to $13.5 million, up from $13.1 million last year. Selling, distribution, and administrative expenses rose just 0.4% year over year to $93.9 million. That helped to support operating leverage despite flat revenue.

More than 60% of Global Industrial’s transactions occur online, according to previous company disclosures. And executives reiterated their belief that ecommerce remains central to the company’s go-to-market strategy. Chief financial officer Tex Clark said CRM and digital investments will also help sharpen pricing and margin management.

“Knowing your customer is the foundation of strategic pricing and margin management,” Clark said. “Our new CRM platform will provide better insight into account performance, pricing elasticity, and promotional impact across all channels.”

How ecommerce helps Global Industrial manage tariffs

Amid rising cost pressures from tariffs enacted in April, executives said digital capabilities are helping the company remain agile.

“We are all hands-on deck,” Chaibi said. “Our daily stand-ups and enhanced data visibility help us navigate a very fluid environment while ensuring customers get timely updates and product availability.”

Inventory levels rose in Q1 as the company moved early to secure seasonal goods and mitigate supply chain delays. Inventories grew 6.9% year over year to $178.6 million, from $167.1 million, while accounts receivable increased 12.9% to $142.8 million, up from $126.5 million in Q1 2024.

Clark said the company’s sourcing strategy has reduced its dependency on China to below 35% of cost of goods sold but acknowledged that exclusive brand manufacturing remains concentrated in Asia.

“We’ve diversified over the past five years, but exclusive brand products still rely on a number of key suppliers in China,” he said.

The company ended the quarter with $39.0 million in cash, down from $44.6 million at the year-end 2024, and maintained no debt. It also reported $120.5 million in available credit and declared a $0.26 quarterly dividend, a 4% increase year over year.

Analysts responded positively to the company’s margin improvement and focus on digital infrastructure.

“It’s encouraging to see a CRM initiative tied directly to revenue growth in strategic accounts,” said Michael Francis of William Blair.

Sidoti’s Anthony Lebiedzinski added that the company’s tight SD&A spending “gives you room to fund digital initiatives without impacting margins.”

Chaibi said the company’s digital evolution will also inform future acquisition strategy.

“We are actively evaluating opportunities,” she said. “If the right fit aligns with our digital and go-to-market priorities, we have the balance sheet to act.”

Click here to read about last quarter’s Global Industrial sales.

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