GWW vs ALC Comparison

Founded in 1927, W.W. Grainger originally distributed various motors via a mail-order catalogue. Over the course of the 20th century, the firm expanded into new industrial product categories and launched its first digital catalogue in 1995. Today, the company organizes itself into two segments focused on different customer bases. Its larger segment, high-touch solutions, offers a vast array of maintenance, repair, and operations, or MRO, supplies and bespoke inventory management services to larger businesses. Its smaller segment, endless assortment, operates two online platforms, Zoro and MonotaRO, that offer comprehensive catalogues of MRO supplies to smaller businesses. Grainger has operations throughout the world but primarily generates sales within the US.

Alcon is one of the leading visioncare companies in the world. Following nine years as a Novartis subsidiary, it was spun off as a public company in April 2019. Alcon operates in two segments: visioncare and surgical. Visioncare comprises contact lenses, lenscare solutions, and a suite of ocular health products. With brands like Dailies, Total1, and Air Optix, Alcon controls about one fourth of the US contact lens market. Surgical comprises intraocular lenses, ophthalmic surgical equipment, and consumables used during surgeries. Its main products include Centurion, a phacoemulsification device used during cataract surgeries, and a portfolio of IOLs including PanOptix and Vivity. Alcon has one of the largest installed bases of eye surgical equipment in the world.