The Middle Ground Jon Pritchett likes the showroom concept, too, for a lot of the same reasons. And after 43 years of remodeling homes in central Indiana, Pritchett Brothers has just opened its first showroom, albeit on a very modest scale.
Pritchett wasn’t interested in a full-blown showroom that needed lots of space, full-time staffing, and continual updating.
“We’ve taken a 25- by 40-foot area and put some bays and booths in it. It’s more of an idea space than a showroom,” says Pritchett. “We’re not trying to compete with Lowe’s or Home Depot.”
Each bay focuses on a category of product or an aspect of the remodeling process. Doors, wood flooring, moldings and casings, tile, and glass block all have their spot. One bay is dedicated to current design-related books and magazines that feature stories on home makeovers and ads touting the latest products. And of course there are before and after pictures of the firm’s remodeling work.
“Before this, we just teamed with local suppliers. They’re experts, so that’s worked,” Pritchett says. “But we found we get bottlenecked on allowance items like cabinets. We needed an area to have meetings.”
Pritchett thinks clients will especially appreciate the library of picture-packed books and magazines they can draw on for ideas, and he’s counting on those beautifully photographed rooms to improve client-remodeler communication. “Even when they see a lot of product, it’s not always as helpful as when they look at a picture and say ‘I want it to look like that.’”
The Old and The New Chicago-area Airoom Architects & Builders have been in business even longer than Pritchett. Few independently owned showrooms can match its longevity, scope, and employee numbers. The business, now headed by president and CEO Michael Klein, debuted in 1958. “My father built four room-sized spaces — kitchen, bedroom, bath, family room — to show the kind of work we did. It was a new concept then.”
Airoom’s expansive main showroom, in the northside Chicago community of Lincolnwood, covers 30,000 square feet. Two more showrooms have opened recently in suburban Naperville and Hinsdale, and plans are in the works for an expansion to the East Coast. The design/build firm has more than 170 employees.
Browsing the glassy three-story showroom for remodeling ideas, homeowners encounter a half-dozen differently styled kitchens, and the same number of baths, from powder rooms, to kids’ baths, to his and hers master baths. There’s a master bedroom, mudroom, family room, and an exterior setting showing off windows, roofing, and decking.
Klein has some caveats for remodelers considering launching a showroom. “First, have enough money to do it correctly. Don’t underestimate the cost. It’s capital-intensive. Staying current means you’re changing out the displays every two to three years. A new showroom becomes very old very fast.”
Getting the right product mix and staffing with personnel who can talk knowledgeably about both the product and the remodeling process is vital to success.
“It’s important to key your showroom to your clientele,” Klein says. “You could do all moderate lines if that’s who your client base is, or you could skim off the top 1% of the population and focus on them. If you have the bandwidth, you can service them all adequately.”
Today’s sophisticated computer technology offers options that weren’t dreamed of when Burton Klein built those first four demonstration rooms nearly 50 years ago, and Michael Klein predicts that the Internet will become an increasingly attractive alternative selling venue for remodelers.
“Building out a showroom costs $200 to $300 a square foot. We feel we have to have a showroom — it’s our heritage. But virtual showrooms may change the thinking in the industry.”