AS "We are incredibly happy. We were not expecting to win. There are so many great fireplace retailers in North America that we feel truly honours to get the award."
You weren't able to attend EXPO this year so you weren't on hand to accept the award. What do you think you might have said if you had been able to accept in person?
"I would have been so stunned I'm not sure what I would have said. Lucky, my business partner (Brad Leonard) was there and thanked our suppliers and all those who nominated us. He is much better at public speaking than me."
The criteria for judging included:
- Visual Merchandising
- Marketing/Promotion
- Design Services
- Installation Services
- Employee Training
- Customer Service
Can you tell us how you rank these elements in terms of priority in your operation? Is there any one element that you focus on in your stores?
"Customer service is the obvious main focus. If you take care of the customer, good things will happen to your business. After customer focus, I guess I would rank the rest in the following order: Installation Services, Employee Training, Visual Merchandising, Marketing / Promotion and Design Services. That said, the one element that is missing from the list is people & process: having the right people in the organization and being as efficient as possible. These two elements rank immediately behind customer service for us."
In designing your showrooms, what sort of experience were you hoping your customers would have as they walk through the store?
"We want our customers to walk in and say 'wow' - feel an emotional attachment. After the wow factor, we then want them to feel that 'we are in the business' and that we'll take care of their homes as we take care of our showroom. We also don't want them to be overwhelmed with product choices, it's not about tons of choices (we are not the box store), it's about the right choices."
What do you think this award will mean to your business?
"Firstly, it's been great for our team. Our industry is great but it's not always easy on front line staff - so receiving this type of recognition has been great for them. It's also been great to hear from so many other fireplace stores. We have not really publicised the award in our markets as we don't believe in traditional print or radio advertising. Although, I must say - this may be the exception."
Nominations for the 2015 VESTA Retailer of the Year awards will be open in December of 2014.
