Kitchen & Bath Design News is the industry's leading business, design and product resource for the kitchen and bath trade.
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Industry experts from KBx and K&B; Alliance share insights into growth initiatives, marketing plans, technology and key challenges facing kitchen and bath professionals right now. BY JANICE COSTA Sharing Strategies hether planning growth initiatives, marketing strategies or new ways of benefiting from technology, networking with other industry professionals can be an essential tool for staying abreast of the latest trends, and discovering new tools to fine-tune one's business. This is one of the tenets behind two key industry orga- nizations: K&B; Alliance, which is an invitation-only alliance of decorative plumbing and hardware and kitchen and bath showrooms, and KBx, a national organization comprised of entrepreneurs operating kitchen and bath dealer/distributor companies offering products such as cabinets, countertops, lighting and flooring. Part of parent group FEI and led by Kathy Tilley and Eddie Schukar, these organizations provide unique opportunities for kitchen and bath professionals to share knowledge and insights with fellow industry profession- als about trends, growth strategies and more. This month, four members of KBx and K&B; Alliance discuss their views about current business conditions, growth initiatives, the greatest challenges facing the industry, market- ing plans and the impact of technology. GROWTH INITIATIVES KBx member Howard Kuretzky, president of the Lithonia, MI-based Kurtis Kitchen & Bath, is engaged in both retail and wholesale/builder/contractor sales distribution, with five showrooms in Michigan. He's encouraged by retail sales that "have shown 8-15% growth trends over each of the last four years," and has seen even greater growth at his own show- rooms, noting, "Our newest showroom for retail sales has grown 50% each year for the last three years. Wholesale sales are growing at a 40-60% rate for each of the past three years." Currently, he says, "We are reinvesting most of our profits back into the business in the form of updating showrooms, improving wages and benefits and working to develop better 'teams' for the retail centers and wholesale channel." Despite the strong growth, he continues to focus on future growth initiatives, such as executing a comprehensive market- ing campaign for the retail business, including enhanced on- line communication with prospects and clients. Additionally, he notes, "We are redeveloping our showroom environments in order to keep ourselves current. We've upgraded three showrooms with new displays and electronics. We've commit- ted to remodeling one showroom a year." K&B; Alliance member Thompson Price, principal and CEO for the St. Louis, MO-based Thompson Price Kitchens, Baths & Home, is also enjoying the strong economy, noting, "This year we are ahead of projections by 35%." He continues, "The main shift we are seeing in the market is our customers' demand for us to be a one-stop shop. Our custom- ers want to use one company for multiple projects. For example, we just completed a large kitchen, powder room, laundry remodel and deck project. We must expand our product selections and mix to be relevant, current and easy to do business with." As far as growth initiatives, he says, "Our primary stra- tegic growth initiative is diversification in product offering, based on customer demand. We also have a major focus on marketing to tell our diversification story via social media and strengthening our online presence." Price sees the K&B; Alliance as a valuable tool to help him achieve these growth strategies, explaining, "We continue to look for great ideas from outside markets, and the collabo- ration approach via the group saves us resources and brings speed, scale and scope to all of our new growth initiatives." KBx member Jeff Cox, director of the Portland, OR Parr Cabinet Design Center, has 31 locations in three states, and provides building materials and services to professional con- tractors and homeowners, as well as cabinets and appliances to homes in Oregon, Washington and Arizona. Cox has seen business holding steady in 2016, with pro- jected growth in the 6% range. He notes, "Margin growth has been a corporate-wide initiative for over a year, and we are seeing results. We are seeing our clients move toward more custom products and full project solutions. In addition, we have improved efficiencies in order accuracy and delivery. With shortages of labor, installation has shown to be a very profitable segment and an area we have invested additional capital in." Part of his growth plan includes enhanced communication with the company's team leaders. "We find that when our team is exposed to the true cost of the operations and the net result of the margin increase, there is significant improvement in other key metrics. We are also reviewing new markets for entry and looking for acquisition opportunities in our current markets. And, we have a significant advertising campaign to drive retail/remodel traffic in to our showrooms." W At the Parr Cabinet Design Center, seen above, Jeff Cox is seeing a move toward more custom products and full project solutions. 44 Kitchen & Bath Design News • September 2016 NETWORKING