As of November 1st, The Progressive Group has successfully acquired noted West Coast manufacturer’s rep firm Oliver Marketing and associated businesses.
Specifically, it has acquired the following Oliver Business Units: Oliver Marketing Pac Northwest, SoCal and NorCal, Sound House Distribution and Diversified Distribution.
The sale further solidifies The Progressive Group as a national rep firm and distributor with representation in every key region in the country.
Oliver Marketing, Seattle, has been a prominent rep in both car and home audio. Car audio partners include Kenwood, Harman, Rockford, Elettromedia and others on the West Coast. It was not clear at press time if all those brands will now work with Progressive in that region.
The Progressive Group is owned by Patrick Industries, which also owns Rockford and Wet Sounds. Progressive partners with brands including (in varying territories) Kenwood, Rockford, Harman, VOXX, Stinger, Metra, Wet Sounds, Dual, Lucas, Rydeen and others.
The Progressive Group has been acquiring a number of rep firms in the last several years including CF Marketing/ RJR Distribution, a manufacturer’s rep and distributor for the Mid-Atlantic region.
In 2022/2023 Progressive merged with AVR, a southeastern rep firm and Premier Marketing of Statham, GA as well as Encore Sales, Washington, DC.
” This acquisition marks a significant milestone in our journey and is designed to enhance our capabilities, expand our product offerings, our reach, and reinforce our commitment to providing world-class service & solutions to our customers and vendors on a national level. As always, our mission remains centered around empowering our team members with the best tools and support to continue delivering exceptional results for our clients and vendor partners,” said Progressive’s Dave Russell.
The Progressive Group now has 11 distribution centers. It was founded in 1998 and is based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It has two divisions, Progressive Sales and Marketing, and R&D Distributing.
Congratulations Dave and Bob!