I have been looking at other business options seperate from my current deal. To expand not replace.
My son and I were talking last night about some ideas. We live in a small town. Beer and pretzel area. Here if you want a new kitchen or bath and want to sit down and do the design thing it is either Lowes, soon Menards, or 1 local plumbing supply house and there good designer is retiring.
The shopping are is expanding. We have become a regional shopping area for a number of small towns. My guess would be for a total of 100k or so in terms of population this shopping area pulls from.
With all that in mind we wondered if we could put together a storefront operation as far as kitchen and bath design and maybe closet organizers etc. Trying to get the folks that choose not to do the big box thing as well as out of towner in for shopping. We can set up to handle shipping and recieving from my current business set up and support it from the paper work side there too. And of course my current business can handle the initial installations plus we could hook up a couple subs if needed.
We should be able to build our own displays and my son is somewhat of a computer guru. Suggestions on suppliers and software would be greatly appreciated. I am thinking of not doing any type of franchise thing and believe in a smaller area we need to offer a couple different areas to make it work.
So I am thinking that the things in a broad format to check on are
1) software
2) costs
3) training for designers
4)cabinet suppliers
5)advertising blitz ideas.
I would appreciate any suggestions or comments and if anyone has experience in this type of arena knowing good things or pitfalls would be helpfull. Not to mention advice on software etc. I would like to be able to do the design on lap tops and do a walk through for them to see their room as though it were built. Not cheap I imagine but hell……its only money. Thanks in advance. DanT
Replies
A friend of mine here in Toledo builds commercial cabs-hospitals, offices etc. He has a small display (and doesn't push sales) for I think Legacy Cabinets. I did a search for them and see that in Ohio they are offered in many different type places-Modern Bldrs to Uncle Marty's Hardware. So, there are dealers that do sell to the small retailer. I would classify Legacy as "builder" specials but I'm thinking a little study should produce maybe a better line. At any rate, perhaps these suppliers also offer their software for design, tho alot of it looks pretty generic.
http://www.legacycabinetsllc.com/wtb.html
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Edited 11/25/2006 7:07 am ET by calvin
I was just doing the google thing myself. Merillat I have heard of and seems to be a pretty complete line with both upper and lower end products. Legacy seems in that area too. Thanks for the input. DanT
http://www.2020technologies.com/us-eng/index.aspx
Modern Bldrs uses this software in their design.
Gene Davis has presented here some cab designs that he does on an available software that also enables you to show elevations of rooms, homes, additions etc. Sorry, can't help you with the name on it.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
One thing you may want to consider is whether to carry the same brands as the big boxes or not. You'll likely never be able to compete with them on price for the same items, so it may make for a tough sell. If you're carrying different lines, of course, you can then seel the benefits of your lines vs theirs.
As far as software goes, 20/20 is the defacto standard for cabinet designs. Most manufacturers already have their catalogs of parts prepared in the right format for you to import into 20/20.
Bob
Thanks Bob, good info as always. I will look up the software. The reason I was looking at Merrilat is no one around here, in terms of big boxes etc., carries it. I agree with you that we don't want to carry the same brand as pricing levels will certainly be an issue. Thanks again. DanT
And this is the National Association of Kitchen designers.http://www.nkba.org/
this website is geared specifically to what you are considering, you may find some more info. Note that the regular contributors are designers, and shop owners, not contractors, a different perspective may be good. http://www.kitchenbathpros.com
Dan,
one thing that caught my eye is your reference to the designer retiring. An interesting point about the cabinet shop I did a lot of work for was that the top salesman was not a designer and had no design training that I know of. However he had been a salesman for IBM, and knew how to sell. (IIRC he generally sold more than the other 3 salespeople combined)
They sold their custom line, and a stock line called "Homecrest". I was never impressed by Homecrest, but they became acceptable in my eyes once I saw what the big box stores were selling.
None of the other salespeople were "Certified Kitchen Designers" from the NKBA, but some had associate degrees in interior design.
Maybe 10 or 12 years ago a contractor and cabinet guy teamed up and had a small kitchen place. I don't know if they made much, but when the contractor wanted to retire, they sold the business to someone who ran it into the ground.
There was one other small place, but somebody bought it, and after a year or so, took a few down payments to the casino and lost them. Tough to run the place from behind bars.
Bowz
Dan,
Check out the cabinet component option. You design the kitchen, they send you the faceframes, doors & drawerfronts, cab carcass parts and you assemble, finish, & install.
http://www.cabinetcomponents.com/
This can be a bargin compared to buying from Merilatt and the quality and your profit margin can both be higher.
I use Sketchup Pro to knock out kitchens, but SU is not a dedicated cab program like Cabinet Vision or 2020.
It sure costs a lot less, however.
I rarely detail out the fronts (doors and drawers) or give any color or texture to the cabs . . . the dedicated programs do that and much more. My purpose is to get a scale layout and design, and then use the detail to build or buy components.
We have gotten doors and drawerfronts from Conestoga, Scherr's, and Keystone Wood Specialties. Cabs and complete packages have come from Scherr's and Conestoga. For quick ships of white melamine carcases, we go to Cab Parts.
Here is an example of a SU-designed kitchen.
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