“You cannot be everything to everyone, or you will be nothing to no one,” is an expression that defines who we are and what we do in the world of business. For Matrix Distributors, based in Lutz, Florida, owner Bobby Ali recognized that from the beginning and instead of offering a mind-numbing selection of products, they have 70% of their inventory in just one category: 510 batteries.
“They have been our mainstay,” Ali claims, “and when I started back in 2012 I knew I didn’t want to be married to my job, so I focused on something I had experience in. Plus connections.”
A dozen years earlier he developed relationships with students in China. Those never turned into business connections, but indirectly Ali learned more about the Chinese markets and ended up finding hardware and electronic manufacturers. He was in the gas station business at that time so initially started importing Chinese vape products into the US and selling them at his own station and through his gas station relationships.
“I had no idea how revolutionary these produces were,” Ali confessed, “I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time, and understood China better than most people.”
He started peddling juices but later decided to not compete in that very crowded market. Through trial and error he determined that the 510 batteries were easy to import and less restricted than other products, and that became his signature item.
Even a decade later Ali travels in his van, meets his customers face to face, and gives them his personal attention. “Nothing good happened to me sitting behind a desk,” he jested.
Matrix is THE place to go for batteries, but they also offer a special line called “Uncle Bob Recommends,” consisting of about a dozen different POS displays of the TOP moving—and distinctive–items. Most are inexpensive impulse driven packages that you need to check out!
