Terry Carlson, Lasko Products - HomeWorld Business

The August 14 edition of HOMEWORLD BUSINESS® revealed the 12th annual “Players,” people to watch in housewares during the next 12 months.

Selected by HomeWorld Business editors, the Players represent a cross section of a diverse housewares business— from established to newly installed company leaders; from large to small operations, from big-box to specialty retailers; from trade show managers to celebrity endorsers.

The HomeWorld Players are in the spotlight not only for how they might impact their respective organizations in the coming months, but also for how they might impact the overall housewares business.

Terry Carlson, Lasko Products, CEO

PLAYER’S CREDENTIALS: Terry Carlson was named to the position of CEO at Lasko Products in June 2016, and brought with him a long history of experience in the industry. In 1984, Carlson attended his first housewares and hardware shows and has since held positions at Black & Decker, DeWalt, Emerson, Bosch, Raymarine, Jarden and Universal Trailer.

“I’ve been in the industry and a part of the retail world and housewares for almost my whole career, and seasonal products has been a big part of what I’ve done over time,” Carlson told HOMEWORLD BUSINESS.

WHAT TO WATCH: With Carlson at the helm, Lasko’s number one goal is to accelerate growth. Carlson said the company is looking to be more aggressive investing in that growth, and is considering new strategies across the board including marketing, product, investments in tooling and equipment, research and development and advertising.

When it comes to product development, Carlson said the company will continue to grow in its current home environment categories while expanding into new categories in the near future.

He noted that the company is keeping two factors top of mind as it looks forward. “We absolutely have to have the right value and products for the end consumer and we also need to do the right things for our trade partners and make them successful with our products,” he said.

Carlson added that one of the company’s strengths is its U.S. manufacturing, and the company will continue to invest in its U.S. capabilities to further strengthen its ability to serve its trade partners.

PERSPECTIVE: “As the consumers change their buying habits, they change how they spend their time so it becomes a challenge for the manufacturers to follow their behaviors,” Carlson said. “There’s no doubt that we’ll have to shift our marketing strategies, our product strategies and how we do business with our trade partners to match what the end user is after, and to determine their needs and fulfill them in a way that our competitors can’t.”

2018 HomeWorld Business Players (click on name for profile):