Syllabus
COMPANY OVERVIEWS
Lester Electronics, Inc.
In 1978, Shang-wa Electronics, a small Korean manufacturer of capacitors, entered into an exclusive United States distribution contract with Bernard Lester, who then officially founded Lester Electronics, Inc. (LEI). LEI grew rapidly as Bernard added additional components to its product line, and made inroads with two large domestic manufacturers that use capacitors in both consumer and industrial products.
As a consumer and industrial electronics parts master distributor, Lester markets its products to small- and medium-sized original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), repair facilities and small local distributors throughout the Americas and Europe. To date, however, Lester has never marketed domestic-made parts outside of the United States. Operating in this way, the company's revenues approximate $500 million a year.
In 1984, Bernard took his company public, and it is now traded on the NASDAQ market and rated Baa by a nationally recognized rating agency.
Shang-wa Electronics
Shang-wa CEO John Lin began manufacturing capacitors in 1969, building a small, well-respected business in Korea. In 1978, John entered into an Exclusive Supply Agreement with Bernard Lester. Under the contract, Shang-wa granted Lester the exclusive right to sell Shang-wa capacitors in the United States for 65 years, as long as Lester maintained a minimum annual purchase of $1 million wholesale; as a result, Shang-wa is Lester's primary supplier of capacitors for the U.S. market. In exchange, Shang-wa cannot knowingly sell its capacitors to anyone intending to market to U.S. buyers.
For the past 35 years, the agreement -- which must be renewed annually -- has served both companies very well, and John and Bernard now consider themselves friends as well as business partners. In fact, five years ago, Bernard invited John to sit on the LEI Board of...
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