News

The security industry has been able to do business as usual amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research from Imperial Capital, an investment bank with a specialty in security.

The bank presented a range of data and charts to back up this assertion on a recent webinar.

Some of the key data points:

• When the unemployment rate jumped from below 4% in the first quarter of 2020 to 12% in the second quarter of the year, security industry revenues dropped considerably less—from just above $250 million to just below that number.
• And while security industry stock values were down for a few months right after COVID was declared an emergency, those values have made steady gains and have fared better than the S&P 500.

Key Industry Trends

Imperial Capital analysts also shared some key trends in the market on the webinar, some COVID-19 related and some unrelated:

• As the public buys more goods online, companies have had to expand their warehouse space: online retail requires 300% more warehouse space then a traditional brick-and-mortar retailer. Those warehouses need protecting, creating new opportunities for security dealers.
• The impending 3G sunset means that an estimated 10 million alarm subscribers will need to upgrade their systems over the next year or so, which will generate a revenue bump for alarm dealers and which presents an opportunity for alarm dealers to offer new functionality to those customers.
• Access control and visitor management systems became more important to businesses amid the pandemic, particularly systems that incorporate touchless capabilities or that integrate with wellness check technology.
• Video analytics also saw an increase during the pandemic, driven in part by labor shortages in the guard business through a large part of 2020.

While some security equipment purchases may have been pandemic driven, perhaps demand for these offerings will remain high as the pandemic abates and as businesses continue to experience the benefits of access control, visitor management, video analytics and other advanced technologies.

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Security Equipment Supply (SES) is a leading wholesale alarm equipment distributor that has almost 40 years of experience serving security dealers. We carry a full line of security equipment, including intrusion protection, fire protection, access control, video surveillance, smart home devices and more.

Our knowledgeable salespeople can help you with the advanced equipment that Imperial Capital referenced on its webinar – including visitor management, video analytics, wellness check technology and more. We also can help with equipment to replace or update security systems that rely on 3G technology.