Bath Showroom Offers Customers New
‘Choices’
By John Filippelli
Lowell, MA Bill Curry believes that a showroom should be about
choices. That’s why when Curry, owner and president of County
Supply and the Choices Showroom, remodeled his showroom, he
incorporated beauty and functionality, but focused primarily on
providing plenty of options.
The showroom, which recently hosted its grand opening for some
200 customers, friends and dignitaries, caters to customers of the
professional contractor. The 6,000 sq. ft. area features a wide
variety of displays, including 22 whirlpools (four of which are
operational); two working shower units with a variety of body spray
options; 200 working lights; some two dozen vanities; over 200
lavatory and kitchen faucets; 20 fully accessorized tub/shower
units (with shower door installed), and over 50 kitchen
sinks.
A dramatic waterfall display in the entryway consists of four
vessel lavs that cascade water into a stainless steel trough topped
with 10 working kitchen sink faucets, adds Kevin Geoffroy,
marketing manager for the company.
Despite the state-of-the-art design, created by Curry and Penny
Shuman of PS Design of Natick, MA, the main attribute of the
showroom’s success is its “Choice” program. Designed to counteract
the impact of “big-box” businesses cutting into the percentage of
fixtures purchased through the plumbing contractor as well as the
margin a contractor can make reselling that fixture the “Choice”
program enables contractors to offer homeowners a high level of
retail services while still controlling the sale and margin.
“The ‘Choice’ program is designed for new construction projects,
but the same basic components that make up the ‘Choice’ program
occur during every sale we make,” notes Geoffroy. “That way,
customers not only get to pick what they want, they also get the
benefit of knowing what will work in a particular application and
what [might] not.”
Geoffroy states that the 11 members of the showroom staff (the
company has 40 employees total) are the key to the program, as they
are intimately familiar with the process of choosing fixtures.
Furthermore, the staff handles everything from the type of fixtures
the customer sees, to additional labor charges, to the “synergy”
between products and the job.
As Geoffroy explains, “[The staff] makes sure that the customer
selects things that will not only work for the client from a taste
perspective, but will also work within the design of the room and
be available at any time for the job.”
Furthermore, the showroom is designed to allow the shopper to
compare similar products and view products simultaneously (the
showroom features over a dozen vignettes to give the customer an
idea of what a bathroom will look like when the products are
installed). This makes Choices a user-friendly environment. Choices
is also interactive, as customers are encouraged to try the working
faucets, sit in the tubs and enjoy the radiant heat flooring by
walking the showroom barefoot.
In addition to these services, the showroom also provides
product demonstration, coordinated delivery schedules, stock and
quote offerings.
As Geoffroy notes, “[Bill} believed that contractors needed a
place to send customers that was luxurious a place that would ‘wow’
them. But, it also needed to be a place where their margins would
be protected. That place is Choices.”