SuperCat Client Segmentation v4.0

By How They Sell — Not By What They Charge

July 2, 2026 · 109 active orgs · Postgres-enriched
Null hypothesis: v3.2 4-segment model · Verdict: model holds, segments redefined by selling motion

The Framework

Since v3, we segment clients by how they run their businesses — not how they use eCat. Three questions define every account:

What do they sell? — product type and price point
How do they sell it? — specification, brand-building, multi-channel distribution, or volume
Who buys from them? — designers, dealers, retail chains, consumers, hospitality

v3.2 showed that price is a correlate, not a classifier. v4.0 acts on that finding: segments are now defined by selling motion. Price stays as a continuous dimension within each segment — not a boundary between them.

Two different "how"s: Selling motion is the business-model "how" — why the buyer chooses the product (specification vs. brand vs. distribution). Channel strategy is the logistical "how" — through which routes (trade-only, wholesale, mixed, B2B portal). Segment assignment is driven by selling motion. Channel is an independent context axis.

The Four Segments

Specification & Design

Typical $435–$2,200/unit · ~324K orders

Brand & Trade

$60–$1,070/unit · ~752K orders

Multi-Channel Distribution

$55–$449/unit · ~30K orders

Volume & Mass Market

$3–$33/unit · ~251K orders

Plus 6 Dormant / Unclassifiable orgs (<1% activity). 109 total.

Methodology

Data Sources

Source	What it provides
v3.2 CSV (109 orgs)	Company names, org shortnames, typical $/unit, catalog median, total orders, n_products
`organizations`	Org metadata, feature flags
`customers`	Customer counts, default_price_code distribution
`territories`	Territory counts per org
`orders` (is_submitted=true)	Total submitted orders, order value, most recent order date
`portal_invoices` / `portal_invoice_items`	Realized unit prices (39/109 orgs with invoice data)
`products`	Product counts, net_price for catalog $/unit
`org_users` / `user_types`	B2B portal user counts, online ordering group counts
`distribution_centers` / `price_levels`	DC counts, configured price level counts

Price Terminology

Catalog $/unit — median of products.net_price after 2σ outlier scrub per org. What they list, not necessarily what ships.

Realized $/unit — mean unit price from invoiced line items. Ground truth when invoice data exists (39 of 109 orgs).

Typical $/unit (the number in roster tables) — realized when available, else scrubbed catalog median. One number per org for comparison.

Three-Axis Classification

Each org is classified on three independent dimensions:

Axis	Values	Key signals
Selling motion (drives segment)	specification / brand-building / multi-channel / volume / dormant	Customer structure, territory complexity, online ordering groups, order patterns
Product category	furniture / lighting / outdoor / accessories / decor / rugs / specialty	Catalog structure, org name, category_code distributions
Channel & buyer type	trade-only / wholesale / mixed / contract / retail	Customer count, price code complexity, B2B portal users

Specification & Design

Segment 1

27Accounts

~324KLifetime Orders

~22KT12M Orders

$435–$2,200Typical $/Unit

What They Are

High-end furniture and lighting companies whose products are specified into projects by interior designers, architects, or trade professionals. The selling motion is relationship-driven: a designer says "I want this chandelier for this residence." Reps present in trade showrooms and design centers.

How They Sell

Relationship-driven field sales through rep networks
Showroom presentations (High Point, Dallas Market, private showrooms)
Custom/configured orders (COM fabrics, custom finishes, bespoke sizing)
Orders originate as specifications on design projects, not impulse purchases
17 of 27 orgs have zero online ordering groups — specification is predominantly rep-mediated

Who Buys

Interior designers specifying for residential projects
Architects specifying for commercial/hospitality builds
Showroom dealers (independently owned lighting/furniture showrooms)

Representative Accounts

Company	Org	$/Unit	Category	Channel	Orders
Alfonso Marina	am	$9,100	furniture	trade-only	123
Baker-McGuire	big	$2,070	furniture	trade-only	130
Theodore Alexander	ta	$1,187	furniture	wholesale	8,956
Palecek	pf	$1,144	furniture	wholesale	41,610
Gabby	gh	$593	furniture	wholesale	175,014
Visual Comfort Modern	tla	$285	lighting	trade-only	2,595
Visual Comfort Studio/Fans	fms	$115	lighting	mixed	17,065
Schonbek Lighting	sbl	$14	lighting	trade-only	412

Visual Comfort family: vcg, tla, fms, vce, cl, sbl, fal are all part of the Visual Comfort ecosystem — 33,572 orders, 31,280 customers. The specification motion applies across the family despite a $14–$999/unit range. Schonbek's $14/unit reflects individual crystal components, not full fixtures.

Full roster — 27 companies

Company	Org	Category	Channel	$/Unit	Orders	Customers
Alfonso Marina	am	furniture	trade-only	9,100	123	92
Theodore Alexander Manhasset	tam	furniture	trade-only	3,466	353	244
Interlude Furniture	ihw	furniture	wholesale	2,195	13,532	6,098
Baker-McGuire	big	furniture	trade-only	2,070	130	301
Somerset Bay/Modern History	sbmh	furniture	mixed	2,012	30,652	6,537
Jonathan Charles Designs	jcusa	furniture	wholesale	1,419	2,297	5,106
Hancock & Moore / Jessica Charles	hmjc	furniture	trade-only	1,330	2	1,689
Theodore Alexander	ta	furniture	wholesale	1,187	8,956	7,299
Interlude Home	ih	furniture	wholesale	1,183	13,705	20,149
Palecek	pf	furniture	wholesale	1,144	41,610	17,377
Visual Comfort Europe	vce	lighting	trade-only	999	126	1,748
Oly Studio	ol	furniture	trade-only	830	79	13,364
Corbett Lighting	cl	lighting	trade-only	758	283	2,272
Bliss Studio	blh	decor	trade-only	744	3,506	8,527
Jonathan Charles Fine Furniture	jc	furniture	trade-only	733	138	34
Yutzy Woodworking	yw	furniture	trade-only	642	180	227
Gabby	gh	furniture	wholesale	593	175,014	12,001
Accord Lighting	all	lighting	trade-only	461	94	673
Visual Comfort Signature	vcg	lighting	wholesale	435	9,496	5,170
Visual Comfort Modern	tla	lighting	trade-only	285	2,595	4,418
Visual Comfort Studio/Fans	fms	lighting	mixed	115	17,065	5,299
Schonbek Lighting	sbl	lighting	trade-only	14	412	1,323
Fine Art Handcrafted Lighting	fal	lighting	wholesale	—	3,495	6,846
Century Furniture	cf	furniture	trade-only	—	0	3,337
Highland House	hh	furniture	trade-only	—	0	1,570
Kindel Karges Furniture	kkc	furniture	trade-only	—	41	368
Gabriella White	??	outdoor	trade-only	—	—	—

Key Commercial Truth

These companies' orders don't always consummate in eCat. A designer specs a product → rep enters the project in eCat → order goes to HQ for configuration and ERP entry → ships weeks later. eCat is the presentation and project-capture tool, not the transaction system.

$/unit range note: The full range ($14–$9,100) is driven by outliers. Schonbek's $14 reflects individual crystal components (not finished fixtures). Alfonso Marina's $9,100 is bespoke one-of-a-kind furniture. The typical range for this segment is $435–$2,200/unit.

What v4 corrects: Removes 7 orgs that were placed here by price but sell through brand/dealer models (see Segment 2 reclassifications).

Brand & Trade

Segment 2

39Accounts

~752KLifetime Orders

~102KT12M Orders

$60–$1,070$/Unit Range

What They Are

Mid-to-upper-market brands where brand awareness drives demand through authorized dealer/retailer networks. Reps manage territory coverage and dealer relationships. The brand is the pull; the dealer is the fulfillment layer. This is SuperCat's largest segment because authorized-dealer brand distribution is the core market.

How They Sell

Brand reputation drives dealer demand — dealers carry the line because customers ask for it
Organized territory structures with rep-managed dealer relationships
16 of 39 orgs have online ordering groups — B2B portal self-service alongside rep-mediated sales
Multi-tier pricing with trade programs and dealer discounts
Some presence on curated marketplaces (Lumens, Perigold) but not mass marketplace

Who Buys

Authorized dealers and retail showroom partners
Interior designers (still a primary channel for many)
Hospitality/contract specifiers (Summer Classics Contract)
Direct consumers via brand websites (growing but secondary)

Reclassifications into Brand & Trade

These 8 orgs moved into Brand & Trade in v4.0. Their prices looked like Specification, but their operations look like brand distribution:

Company	Org	From	Key signal
Currey & Company	cci	Specification	39,039 customers — massive dealer network, not spec-driven
Hooker Furnishings	hf	Specification	12,536 customers, 7 price codes — heritage wholesale brand
Rowe Furniture	rf	Specification	4,803 customers — custom upholstery through dealer network
Sarreid, Ltd.	sarreid	Specification	4,773 customers, 100 territories — broad dealer distribution
Charleston Forge	cfg	Specification	7 online ordering groups — mixed trade + B2B portal
Four Seasons Furniture	fsf	Specification	3 online ordering groups — dealer self-service active
Alden Home	ap	Specification	3 online ordering groups, 4,763 customers
Magnussen Home	mh	Multi-Channel	42 territories — dealer-territory brand model

Sub-Clusters

Outdoor brands (5): sc, sccon, ril, ah, abol — Summer Classics is the largest single client ecosystem
Lighting brands (14): cci, hfg, kal, vl, el, clm, tl, hvl, arl, luc, kll, mlg, mlc, da, bp, wac
Furniture brands (10): rf, hf, fsf, cfg, bcf, ufi, mh, ihm, dccl, gcl, fc
Decor/art brands (8): sarreid, wwjc, jyc, eli, rw, wag, bsc, ap

Representative Accounts

Company	Org	$/Unit	Category	Channel	Orders
Summer Classics	sc	$430	outdoor	wholesale	333,367
Currey & Company	cci	$624	lighting	wholesale	13,875
Hooker Furnishings	hf	$749	furniture	wholesale	345
Sarreid, Ltd.	sarreid	$968	decor	wholesale	13,422
Jamie Young Company	jyc	$230	decor	wholesale	82,355
Wildwood/Chelsea House	wwjc	$303	decor	wholesale	43,432
Hubbardton Forge	hfg	$846	lighting	wholesale	8,885
Alfresco Home	ah	$60	outdoor	wholesale	9,563

Full roster — 39 companies

Company	Org	Category	Channel	$/Unit	Orders	Customers
International Home Miami	ihm	furniture	wholesale	1,070	18	147
Rowe Furniture	rf	furniture	wholesale	1,050	1,282	4,803
Sarreid, Ltd.	sarreid	decor	wholesale	968	13,422	4,773
Hubbardton Forge	hfg	lighting	wholesale	846	8,885	3,978
Four Seasons Furniture	fsf	furniture	mixed	765	11,403	776
Hooker Furnishings	hf	furniture	wholesale	749	345	12,536
Universal Furniture	ufi	furniture	wholesale	692	37,497	2,107
Charleston Forge	cfg	furniture	mixed	670	6,658	2,524
Kalco / Allegri	kal	lighting	wholesale	647	1,352	2,949
Currey & Company	cci	lighting	wholesale	624	13,875	39,039
Donald Choi Canada	dccl	furniture	wholesale	607	520	478
Arabela Lighting	arl	lighting	wholesale	579	340	33
Alden Home	ap	decor	mixed	575	1,635	4,763
Braxton Culler	bcf	furniture	wholesale	554	6,772	1,476
Summer Classics Contract	sccon	outdoor	contract	537	65,834	5,373
Varaluz	vl	lighting	wholesale	534	743	3,193
Furniture Classics	fc	furniture	wholesale	457	31,171	3,098
Summer Classics	sc	outdoor	wholesale	430	333,367	92,414
Eurofase	el	lighting	wholesale	422	1,245	2,181
Butler Specialty	bsc	decor	wholesale	411	8,607	4,100
Ratana International	ril	outdoor	wholesale	350	1,946	630
Wildwood/Chelsea House	wwjc	decor	wholesale	303	43,432	3,619
Geo Contemporary	gcl	furniture	wholesale	298	469	410
Lucas McKearn	luc	lighting	wholesale	289	4	0
Crystorama	clm	lighting	wholesale	281	1,816	3,178
Troy Lighting	tl	lighting	wholesale	255	548	2,265
Hudson Valley Lighting	hvl	lighting	wholesale	245	849	2,256
Wendover Art Group	wag	decor	wholesale	238	4,645	1,783
Jamie Young Company	jyc	decor	wholesale	230	82,355	3,810
Elegant Furniture & Lighting	eli	decor	wholesale	198	21,114	1,297
RENWIL	rw	decor	wholesale	196	10,300	3,118
Buster & Punch	bp	lighting	trade-only	185	26	1,263
Kuzco Lighting	kll	lighting	wholesale	184	973	2,089
Minka Lighting Group	mlg	lighting	wholesale	159	169	1,476
Matteo Lighting	mlc	lighting	wholesale	139	368	1,210
Dainolite	da	lighting	wholesale	118	22,044	3,018
Alfresco Home	ah	outdoor	wholesale	60	9,563	648
Magnussen Home	mh	furniture	wholesale	—	1,955	1,067
WAC/Modern Forms	wac	lighting	mixed	—	4,757	2,987

Key Commercial Truth

These brands are the backbone of SuperCat's revenue. They grew on trade relationships and are adding B2B portal self-service to complement rep-driven sales. Their challenge: maintain dealer loyalty while building brand awareness and adding digital channels.

The 7 orgs that moved here from Specification all share the same pattern: their prices look like specification, but their operations (large customer bases, territory structures, online ordering portals) look like brand distribution.

Multi-Channel Distribution

Segment 3

24Accounts

~30KLifetime Orders

~5KT12M Orders

$55–$449$/Unit Range

What They Are

Predominantly lighting companies (18 of 24) selling $55–$449 products through as many channels as possible — trade showrooms, electrical distributors, retail chains, online portals. They compete on availability and catalog breadth, not exclusivity or brand prestige.

How They Sell

Everywhere: showrooms, distributors, Amazon, Wayfair, Home Depot, Lowe's, own site
Dealer portals and catalogs for wholesale partners
7 of 24 orgs have ≥3 online ordering groups — significant B2B portal adoption
High SKU counts, broad distribution, lower price complexity
Mix of decorative/residential and builder/commercial products

Who Buys

Lighting showrooms and electrical distributors
Online marketplace shoppers
Builders, contractors, electricians
Big-box retail partners (Home Depot, Lowe's)

Representative Accounts

Company	Org	$/Unit	Category	Channel	Orders
Savoy House	shl	$137	lighting	mixed	6,747
Craftmade	clli	$109	lighting	mixed	1,348
Linon/Powell	lpf	$117	furniture	wholesale	11,837
Kichler	kl	$123	lighting	wholesale	875
Progress Lighting	prog	$87	lighting	wholesale	96
Maxim Lighting	mli	$55	lighting	wholesale	255

Savoy House note: Very high per-order values at $137/unit indicates bulk distributor orders (thousands of fixtures per order), not individual spec orders. This confirms the multi-channel/distribution model — a distinct sub-type within this segment.

Full roster — 24 companies

Company	Org	Category	Channel	$/Unit	Orders	Customers
Lifestyle Solutions	lss	furniture	trade-only	449	155	52
Sauder Woodworking	swc	furniture	wholesale	390	5	0
Shadow Catchers	sca	decor	wholesale	260	3,065	2,782
Golden Lighting	gl	lighting	mixed	153	526	2,345
Capital Lighting	clc	lighting	mixed	153	285	3,244
Savoy House	shl	lighting	mixed	137	6,747	1,357
Karat Home	khi	furniture	wholesale	131	48	2
Kichler	kl	lighting	wholesale	123	875	3,193
Linon/Powell	lpf	furniture	wholesale	117	11,837	1,975
Craftmade	clli	lighting	mixed	109	1,348	5,188
AFX	afx	lighting	wholesale	99	73	3,550
EGLO Canada	eglo_can	lighting	wholesale	99	149	790
Vaxcel	vic	lighting	mixed	90	316	1,496
Progress Lighting	prog	lighting	wholesale	87	96	6,551
ET2	et2	lighting	wholesale	84	53	7,529
Eglo USA	eglo	lighting	wholesale	80	289	1,321
Designer's Fountain	df	lighting	wholesale	76	27	778
DALS	dals	lighting	wholesale	71	55	630
Groupe Courchesne	gc	accessories	wholesale	70	3,722	1,513
Access Lighting	ali	lighting	wholesale	64	129	2,373
Millennium Lighting	ml	lighting	wholesale	60	118	0
Maxim Lighting	mli	lighting	wholesale	55	255	9,378
Legrand US	leg	specialty	wholesale	—	0	1
Morgan Fabrics	mfc	specialty	mixed	—	51	94

Key Commercial Truth

These companies are in a distribution arms race. They need to be wherever a buyer might look. Their competitive advantage is availability and catalog breadth, not exclusivity. eCat is a wholesale ordering tool for their dealer channel — one of their many channels. Most volume comes from big-box POs and marketplace orders that never touch eCat.

Volume & Mass Market

Segment 4

13Accounts

~251KLifetime Orders

~26KT12M Orders

$3–$33$/Unit Range

What They Are

High-volume commodity distribution. Products are low unit-price housewares, giftware, tabletop, and kitchen items sold in bulk to mass retailers, department stores, and specialty chains. All 13 orgs sell accessories/housewares/giftware. Identical membership to v3.2.

How They Sell

Purchase orders from major retail chains (Walmart, Target, Costco, Home Depot)
Marketplace presence (Amazon, often seller-fulfilled or wholesale)
Trade shows (AmericasMart, housewares/gift shows)
10 of 13 orgs have single or dual price codes — commodity pricing
High MOQs, container-direct from overseas manufacturing

Who Buys

Category managers at big-box retailers
Regional distributors and wholesalers
Convenience/drug/grocery chain buyers

Full Roster — 13 Accounts

Company	Org	$/Unit	Orders	Customers
Abaline Supply	asi	$33	78,507	1,756
Pioneer Morton	mpc	$24	74,378	1,764
Godinger	gsa	$19	4,663	2,023
Ricci Argentieri	rac	$18	6,489	548
Bulbrite	bri	$12	5,955	3,232
Philip Whitney	pw	$10	461	102
Studio Silversmiths	ssi	$9	567	410
ELICO	etl	$8	5,502	595
Moda at Home	mah	$8	5,506	880
Sixtrees	st	$8	429	787
Home Essentials	heb	$7	16,307	1,631
Kennedy International	kii	$6	32,778	3,636
Uniware	uhc	$3	19,387	6,617

Key Commercial Truth

These companies move tens of thousands of units. Their rep's iPad is a territory management and order-capture tool — the rep visits retail stores, checks planograms, writes reorders. Their selling conversation is about margins, minimums, freight, and fill rates — not about design, finish, or specification.

Dormant / Unclassifiable

Outside Segments

6Accounts

Insufficient eCat ordering activity to classify by selling motion, or using eCat for a non-standard purpose:

Company	Org	Reason	Notes
Sabine Pools	sp	Non-standard	Uses eCat as retail POS (5 DCs, 0 customers, 1,827 orders)
Kaleen Rugs	krb	Dormant	2,208 customers loaded but only 2 orders ever placed
Tomlinson Companies	tel	Dormant	14 orders since inception, last in 2022
America's Backyards	abol	No orders	605 customers, 680 products, zero submitted orders
Silver One	soi	Empty	Zero customers, zero orders
Ideal Living	ilc	Empty	Zero customers, zero orders

Model Validation

Agreement rate: 93 of 109 orgs (85%) remain in their v3.2 segment or its v4 equivalent. 8 systematic corrections, all well-supported by operational data. The v3.2 Specialty segment dissolves — its orgs are either dormant or reclassifiable.

Key Finding

Price is a continuous dimension within segments, not a boundary between them. Brand & Trade spans $60–$1,070/unit. Specification & Design spans $14–$9,100/unit. The same segment contains orgs at very different price points because they share the same selling motion.

Cross-Tabulation: Selling Motion × Product Category

	furniture	lighting	outdoor	decor	accessories
specification	16	9	1	1	0
brand-building	10	14	5	8	0
multi-channel	4	18	0	1	1
volume	0	0	0	0	13

Furniture clusters in Specification (16) and Brand (10) — zero in Volume
Lighting spans all active segments — price determines tier, not product category
Accessories/housewares are exclusively Volume

Cross-Tabulation: Selling Motion × Channel

	trade-only	wholesale	mixed	contract
specification	17	7	3	0
brand-building	3	20	14	1
multi-channel	1	17	6	0
volume	0	9	4	0

Trade-only is concentrated in Specification (17 of 21 trade-only orgs) — the purest signal
Wholesale is broadly distributed — a channel modality, not a segment
Mixed channels appear most in Brand (14) — B2B portal self-service complementing rep-driven sales

Ambiguous Accounts

These orgs sit on segment boundaries. Classification is defensible but arguable either way.

Company	Org	Assigned	Alternative	Why ambiguous
Somerset Bay	sbmh	Specification	Brand	8 online ordering groups, but core motion is trade spec through showrooms
Interlude Home	ih	Specification	Brand	20,149 customers is huge for spec — but sells to designers
Palecek	pf	Specification	Brand	17,377 customers, 15 price codes — but trade-showroom driven
Gabby	gh	Specification	Brand	12,001 customers, 175K orders — but designer-focused
Bliss Studio	blh	Specification	Brand	3,610 org users — large B2B portal footprint
Summer Classics Contract	sccon	Brand	Specification	Contract/hospitality selling closer to specification
Savoy House	shl	Multi-Channel	Brand	$75K AOV anomalous for mid-market — bulk distributor sub-type
Sabine Pools	sp	Dormant	Active	1,827 orders — but uses eCat as retail catalog, not B2B

Recommendations for Kjael

1. Adopt Selling-Motion Labels

Rename segments from price tiers (Luxury/Premium/Mid-Market) to selling motions (Specification/Brand/Multi-Channel/Volume). The label tells you how to serve the client, not just what they charge.

2. Accept the 8 Reclassifications

Currey & Company with 39K customers is not a specification play. Hooker with 12.5K customers is a heritage wholesale brand. These corrections align segmentation with how these businesses actually operate.

3. Use Three Axes Operationally

How they sell → eCat features. What they sell → data complexity. Who they sell to → customer file, pricing, user groups. The three-axis framework maps directly to SuperCat service decisions.

4. Sub-Segment Brand & Trade

At 39 orgs this segment may warrant sub-clusters (outdoor, lighting, furniture, decor). The outdoor sub-cluster alone (Summer Classics ecosystem: 399K orders) dwarfs entire other segments in eCat activity.

5. Track Dormant Separately

6 dormant orgs = latent revenue or churn risk. Kaleen Rugs has 2,208 customers loaded but 2 orders — onboarding stall or use case mismatch.

6. Price Stays Continuous

Keep tracking $/unit (catalog and realized separately), catalog median, and order patterns as continuous variables. They describe economic profile. They should not draw segment boundaries.