In 2010, most people didn’t know what LED lighting was, or if they thought they had an idea, it was far from reality. Murray Sarway, CEO of i-Luminosity, saw the endless opportunities in the LED lighting industry, and decided he needed to give entering the commercial lighting industry a shot. He went knocking door to door through New York City with what he knew was a long term solution for energy savings and maintenance savings. One of the first places Sarway stopped by was the popular NYC supermarket chain: Morton Williams.
At the first store he visited, Sarway was politely asked to leave, and his journey continued. After this first rejection, Murray made it his goal to one day sell Morton Williams a fully integrated lighting package that would scale from that one store to all of their locations. Little did he know, this opportunity would come to fruition sooner than he thought.
Upon Sarway’s third visit to a different Morton Williams location, the manager suggested he call Bill Sloan, Vice President of Operations at Morton Williams Supermarkets. Naturally, Sarway immediately picked up the phone and gave Bill a call. Bill explained that he had heard of LED lighting, but wasn’t aware of the benefits the technology could provide. In a matter of hours, Sarway grabbed his lighting samples and drove to the Bronx where he met Mr. Sloan for the first time. Sarway recalls Sloan’s office being at the end of a long corridor, and as he approached the door he heard a man from a side office ask “Hey! What are you doing here?!”. That man was none other than Morton Williams’ founder, Morty Sloan. Murray replied: “I am here to show Bill some of our LED lighting options”. Morty immediately showed interest in the overall look of the products and requested Sarway contact his corporate electrician for approval.
This is the beginning of a tale that’s grown to be a decade-long, mutually beneficial working relationship; and was the initial spark that blazed the trail for I-Luminosity’s rapid growth in the commercial lighting industry.
I-Luminosity and Morton Williams, in collaboration with Supermarket Technical Services, an associated contracting firm specializing in store fixture layouts, refrigeration design, H.V.A.C, and electrical lighting design, have retrofitted and built out more than 20 supermarkets across the 5 boroughs of New York City. After 10 years of success through this collective partnership, we felt compelled to ask the players behind this success story what their most memorable moments and projects were, and their outlook on the LED industry overall:
https://www.mortonwilliams.com/
What first attracted you to using LED’s?
Originally, we were looking at them [LED lighting options] for the maintenance cost savings and the energy usage savings. My father, Peter, and I were In Las Vegas for a trade show. We saw an opportunity to visit Lightfare, which was also in Vegas at the same time. We were very impressed with some of the manufacturers and the re-lamping vendors that were beginning to present LED lighting into the retail market place. The quality of light that we saw at this show many years ago was impressive, and the technology has only gotten better and more cost-efficient. These were clearly becoming less cost prohibitive. The large fluorescent tube manufacturers we had done business with for many years at the time were not on board with LED. Upon our return to New York, we began looking at vendors and lamps who could begin providing this service to our clients. We also found out that there were rebates available from the local power companies and other Municipalities for incorporating LED.
Morton Williams on Billionaires Row in Manhattan. Lighting provided and installed by i-Luminosity
Retrofitting refrigerated cases is a time-consuming and costly endeavor that had to be undertaken by every supermarket every 2 years. Not only did this create additional cost for the SUPERMARKET, it also created lots of environmental waste. Every two years, we had to discard the old lamps that would eventually end up in landfills. The ballasts needed to be disposed of even in a different manner. I believe they are considered hazardous waste. The beauty of LED is that there is no ballast at all, and the lifetime of the LED technology pays for itself, and then some, in the long run.
– Michael Marotta, President
Supermarket Technical Services, Inc.
Having identified his new clients’ unique needs, one of Murray’s eventually favorite challenges was creating a new product specifically for Morton Williams. A member of the design team behind Morton Williams, Jackie, saw a concept in London of this pewter pendant with copper inside that she loved. The pendant retailed for $565 each, equipped with a 4FT cord. She gave Murray the challenge of reproducing this 24 inch pendant but with a 10 foot cord. After a few samples and finish swatches, i-Luminosity successfully produced over 150 pieces at only $179 each. This is a testament of i-Luminosity’s main value proposition. When you work with i-Luminosity, you are going straight to the end source.
Morton Williams West End Avenue. Lighting provided and installed by i-Luminosity
How has I-Luminosity supplied you with exceptional service over the past few years?
While searching for quality products and a vendor, we were most impressed with the lamps provided by Murray Sarway, CEO of I-Luminosity. Not only were the products superior, the service was friendly and impeccable. His knowledge on rebates and utilities were helpful in keeping the cost down to the end users.
– Michael Marotta, President
Supermarket Technical Services, Inc.
I-Luminosity has successfully built their business off of building personal relationships and never giving up when it comes to maximizing the end client’s ROI. Murray was determined to build a relationship with power house retailer, Morton Williams and he did. i-Luminosity offers wholesale pricing to the end user. The team of lighting specialists communicate one on one, with on site supervisors, architects, & store designers. Offering solutions for lighting controls & sensors to be sure all your lighting needs are met including speciality lighting. From lighting plans to shipping questions, their lighting specialists are there to service you every step of the way. Their vast product line makes it easy to handle your entire lighting package with one specialized point of contact.
What would you say to someone who is contemplating using I-Luminosity as their LED Lighting supplier?
Superior product, superior price points, a company that stands behind their product. An innovative company that’s always looking at “what’s next”; what can they do better.
LED lighting is an emerging, growing and rapidly changing technology, so it’s very important that an LED company is also evolving and growing and changing to adapt to the latest market trends. We’ve seen so many advances in this technology in the last 10 years and i-Luminosity has been ahead of the curve with every advancement. We highly recommend them to any multi-location commercial entity.
– Michael Marotta, President
Supermarket Technical Services, Inc.