Stacey Dean
Anchorage, Alaska
We did our own design work before becoming dealers. We had trouble with the dealer that we bought cabinets from. We wrote our bill of materials, then the dealer would put our information in 20-20 to create the order. Our orders often shipped to us incorrectly. Since we didn’t buy directly from the manufacturer, we couldn’t get any help. So we decided the only way to buy cabinets for us would be directly.
We buy from two cabinet manufacturers. One has a builder-grade line and a medium-grade line. The other manufacturer has four levels of quality. Between the two, we can cover just about anything.
Cabinet companies handle their dealerships differently. They usually sell to you in one of two ways. Some companies have salespersons that work directly for the company. Most have manufacturers’ representatives that sell their cabinet line and several other companies’ product lines. For example, one representative we buy through also represents appliances, wood countertops, closet finishes, and a few other cabinet companies. So to become a cabinet dealer, you first have to get approved by the representative, then by the manufacturer. You actually are purchasing directly from the manufacturer, and the representative receives a commission from the manufacturer.
The investment and requirements vary by manufacturer. Some companies want an investment of a door selection center, they generally run $2,500. Some want to see a certain amount of displays. You will also have to buy literature.
The other investment is software for design and pricing. For example, 20-20 Technologies has a cabinet design and pricing software. When you are a dealer for a particular cabinet company, they give you a free software catalog of their cabinets that you load into 20-20 software. As you draw with 20-20, you can price your cabinets. But at $4,000 per copy, the base 20-20 design program can be cost-prohibitive. You could design with other software, but the pre-loaded manufacturer door styles and stain colors provide more realistic renderings.
Some manufacturers require that your showroom or office is open to the public during specific hours. Others prefer that you set appointments with clients.
Most manufacturers will ask you to sign a contract that requires you to meet a minimum order amount. For a stock cabinet company you will probably see higher minimums than a custom manufacturer. The price you pay for your cabinets will be based on the amount purchased the previous year. The more cabinets you buy, the bigger the manufacturer discount. Also, the more you buy, the less you pay for advertising.
Some companies require a showroom. Or they give you a bigger discount on your orders if you have a showroom. We do not have a showroom. But we have nice offices that have our cabinets installed in them and we have a lot of doors on display.
I would advise remodelers to get up to speed on kitchen design. Talk to other dealers in your area. Visit their showrooms and listen to the things they say about the companies they buy from.
Todd Allen Miller
Ventnor, N.J.
Three months ago we took on our first (and currently only) line of cabinets. We wanted to provide a higher level of customer service and a higher quality cabinet for our customers at the same or lower price than we are currently paying. This is especially important today because we are seeing our average project size decline and a bigger emphasis on remodeling rather than new construction. We are seeing a much greater emphasis on projects that involve cabinetry and projects where cabinetry has become a relatively large portion of the total project cost.
We became an authorized dealer for CWP Cabinetry, a small, high-end custom company that will make just about anything our customers want. By purchasing these cabinets directly, we are able to provide a higher quality cabinet to our customers at a lower price. We take on a lot more work to design and specify the cabinets, and we also take on more liability if we make a mistake in an order or something goes wrong. But given the current state of the economy, we think that these risks are manageable.
Everett Pollard
Sunapee, N.H.
Our company has been “quietly selling” CWP Cabinetry for about 10 years. We are a design/build firm with a $5 million volume that does additions, remodeling, and new homes. Our annual cabinet sales usually average around $100,000, but this year we supplied all of the cabinets (and design) for a 12,500-square-foot home and our sales are already over $355,000. Since we are the cabinet supplier, we usually charge full retail less the design expenses, so this can be a real profit center. It also increases the revenues for our design department.
We have only one small display area with door samples. We have not had to invest a lot. We don’t advertise our firm as a cabinet supplier but offer this as a service to our clients. They usually prefer to continue working with our designer instead of starting over with a kitchen designer elsewhere.
Greg Bowles
Augusta, Ga.
We started an in-house cabinet shop due to the high demand in home building seven years ago. Local cabinet shops could not keep up with the demand and they hated dealing with the remodeling/reconstruction clients. We are also in the insurance restoration business, and our local cabinet shops could not match the existing cabinets in a home. We decided to become a dealer for HomeCrest Cabinetry because our in-house shop could not produce a finish that compares to the cabinet displays homeowners see at The Home Depot or Lowe’s. Since new-home construction has slowed down, we have also returned to working with local cabinet shops. Now, when we have to replace a kitchen, we can choose from our various cabinet sources based on the client’s taste and budget.
This is a longer version of an article that appeared in the September issue of REMODELING.