Bright idea pays off for Regency Lighting.

A typical business could save $78 during the life of a light bulb by replacing a 100-watt bulb that burns for 1,000 hours with a bulb that is not quite as bright but is 13 watts and burns for 10,000 hours.

That is what a sales representative at Van Nuys-based Regency Lighting might tell a potential client, says company CEO Ron Regenstreif.

Regency, a lighting distributor, not only sells lights but also helps businesses improve the quality of their lighting and lower their energy usage, Regenstreif says. It sells to office buildings, hospitals, hotels, department stores and retailers.

The company has been growing steadily for about the past 10 years because it is run with a warm, family-like atmosphere, it stresses friendly, knowledgeable customer service and delivers promptly, sources say. It reported 1994 revenues of about $10 million.

"They do business the same way I do. They make sure the customer gets what the customer wants," says Martha Wilcox, owner of Martha's Leg Fashions, a hosiery, slipper and sock store in Woodland Hills.

"They're high in integrity," and "they'll do what they say they'll do," she adds.

Sells mostly light bulbs

Regency distributes about 10,000 different lighting products, 70 percent of which are light bulbs, Regenstreif says. About 65 percent of the total products the company distributes are made by Osram Sylvania, a well-known lighting manufacturer based in Massachusetts.

Regency's customer list includes the Bullock's and Nordstrom department store chains; the Hyatt Hotels Corp., Marriott International and Motel 6 hotel chains; Circuit City and Toys R Us.

The company distributes all over the nation. During the past 18 months it has opened offices in San Francisco, Atlanta and Dallas. Thus, now it operates a total of four offices and 60,000 square feet of warehouse space, Regenstreif says.

As a result, it has also grown from 37 employees to 69 during the same period, he says.

Regenstreif says he and his partner, Michael Goldstone, believe in treating their employees well. Staffers get annual raises and surprise bonuses, and they work little overtime and few weekends, he says.

In addition, it's not uncommon for Regenstreif and Goldstone to walk around the office asking employees how they are doing and telling some that they're doing a great job, says Director of Marketing Mark Gwinn.

From the customer's perspective, the sales representatives "are extremely pleasant to deal with," Wilcox says.

Also, the representatives are very knowledgeable and have access to lots of information, says Michael Vaughn, an area facilities analyst at Toys R Us.

Prompt shipments

Furthermore, Regency's prices are fair and shipments arrive quickly, Vaughn says.

Regency gets products to its customers the day after they are ordered, Regenstreif says.

Regenstreif founded the outfit in 1981 as an energy conservation company in an era when homeowners got federal and state tax breaks for installing energy conservation systems. He brought in Goldstone as a partner in 1982.

But the tax breaks ended a few years later, and Regenstreif found it hard to sell his systems. So in 1984 he shifted his focus from energy conservation to selling lighting instead, he says.

Since then Regency has grown by about $1 million in revenues each year. By 1992 its revenues were $8 million, by 1994 they were $10 million, and Regenstreif said he expects revenues of about $12 million for 1995.

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Year founded; 1981 No. of employees then: 20 No of employees now: 69 Revenues then: $400,000 Revenues now: $10 million