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Ask yourself: What do you
get when you cross the talents of the best independent retailers, the
finely honed distribution skills of regional fabricators and the product
innovation and expertise of the custom window covering leader? The Hunter
Douglas Window Fashions Gallery Program.
Several years ago Hunter Douglas management started thinking about how
the company could improve upon the American window covering shopping experience
and make it more satisfying to consumers. “We realized that we wanted
to create a superior shopping experience, and a retail environment consistent
with the Hunter Douglas image consumers see in our national advertising,”
says Jim Mathews, Hunter Douglas vice president of marketing. “We
wanted the look of our national advertising as well as the look of our
dealer showrooms to complement, not compete with each other.”
Hunter Douglas receives hundreds of thousands of customer leads each year—both
through its national consumer advertising and Web site hits. The success
of converting these leads to Hunter Douglas sales is directly related
to the way in which dealers respond to them. Yet once these leads are
turned over to dealers, there is little uniformity in product presentation,
price, promotion and value-added services, such as installation, product
knowledge and financing.
“We realized that Hunter Douglas products can be best sold in an
environment where dealers are knowledgeable, professional and experienced
in their communities,” continues Mathews. “And where they have
support from a national company that truly has an interest in their success.
That’s why we developed the concept of the Window Fashions Gallery
Program.”
The Window Fashions Gallery Program is an alliance between the nation’s
top independent retailers, window covering fabricators and Hunter Douglas.
Its ultimate goal is to provide customers with the exceptional retail
experience they deserve, all the while connecting the strong and professional
image of Hunter Douglas with a strong, local dealer.
“We hope to develop a national network of premier window fashion
dealers who are committed to Hunter Douglas products and who will elevate
the industry standard for window coverings at retail, while strengthening
their entire business,” states Penny Steyer, director of marketing
communications for Hunter Douglas. “To date, 65 stores throughout
the country have installed the Hunter Douglas Window Fashions Gallery
and others are slated to receive the display.”
THE MOST-VISIBLE ELEMENT
The unique retail display environment that Hunter Douglas developed for
Gallery stores is the most visible aspect of the comprehensive Window
Fashions Gallery Program. The largest display of its kind, the Gallery
showcases Hunter Douglas products with full-size, backlit product samples,
sample books and four-color photography, all in a user-friendly format.
It also offers comfortable seating where customers can easily view and
operate product samples for easier selection of the treatments that will
best complement their homes.
“In developing the Window Fashions Gallery display environment, we
conducted more than five years of research, testing and focus groups with
both consumers and dealers to produce the final design,” says Maureen
Marrone, director of visual merchandising for Hunter Douglas. “We
relied heavily on this feedback and, based on what we heard, we produced
an environment that addressed the various needs of both audiences.”
The flexible configuration of the display environment allows it to be
accommodated in most retail showrooms and Gallery dealer response to this
environment has been overwhelmingly positive. “The display environment
made a big difference in our sales volume last fall,” says John Kennedy,
owner of Home Trends of Wellesley, in Massachusetts. “We always did
well with Hunter Douglas, but now there’s a front window appeal and
in-store look that truly increase consumer interest and sales.”
“It’s easy for customers to see how all the products work, and
that makes selling much easier,” notes Karen Bierk, owner of Brandt’s
Wallcoverings & Fine Furnishings in Scottsdale, AZ. “With the
backlit vignettes, people can visualize how much opacity each window covering
offers. We can help them make better product selections and fabric choices.”
THE BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
In addition to benefiting from the unique display environment, Gallery
dealers can take advantage of a host of other value-added services, both
from Hunter Douglas and service providers. One of the most popular programs
is a logo restyling and business materials image package, which can refresh
the image of a store while allowing it to keep its unique look and feel.
“We’d been using the same logo since 1886 when my great-grandfather
started the company and it was time for an update!” says Chris Larsen,
owner of Thybony Paint & Hardware, Mundelein, IL. “We are thrilled
with our logo redesign and are beginning to use it on our advertising
and printed materials.”
Some of the biggest advantages of the program are the Lead Preference
Program and Internet services. Leads generated from Hunter Douglas Web
site hits and calls made to the 800 number listed on Hunter Douglas national
advertising are preferentially routed to Gallery stores.
To draw consumers to Gallery stores, a Window Fashions Gallery page has
been added to the Hunter Douglas Web site, providing information to consumers
and added visibility for each Gallery store. In addition, Gallery dealers
have customized Web pages linked to the Hunter Douglas Window Fashions
Gallery site that they can update online at any time with new information
about their stores. Dealers also can access the business-manager area
of the Window Fashions Gallery Web site to access, add and track leads;
learn about Gallery services; access service providers’ Web sites
and more.
Other Gallery programs and services include coordinated employee apparel,
customized advertising materials (including a Window Fashions Gallery
TV ad), payroll processing, same-as-cash consumer financing, credit card
processing, a vehicle leasing program, customized van design, eLearning
online and preferential access to Hunter Douglas education and training
programs.
Window Fashions Gallery dealers benefit from numerous training vehicles
available through Hunter Douglas, including advanced training seminars
to strengthen product know-ledge, installation certification and customer
service training, which are available to the retailer’s entire Gallery
staff. In addition, dealers can participate in online classes, as well
as quarterly conference calls with other dealers, which allow them to
share information and ask questions of the Gallery director. All training
received by Window Fashions Gallery dealers and their employees will be
credited toward membership in the Window Fashions InstituteSM, through
which Window Fashions Gallery dealers and their employees have the added
advantage of receiving special local training programs that can accelerate
their ability to earn the Institute’s seal.
BECOMING A GALLERY DEALER
Becoming a Window Fashions Gallery dealer is not a cure-all. It requires
a commitment on behalf of dealers—changing the way they think about
their businesses, a willingness to learn and use technology, and being
open-minded and brave enough to take the next big step to bringing their
businesses to a higher level. Hunter Douglas helps individual dealers
effectively lay the groundwork and build a solid foundation to become
more successful. Becoming a Gallery dealer is an investment—in time,
money and developing a new thought process about business.
“Dealers do have to work to take full advantage of all the aspects
the Gallery affiliation has to offer,” says Chris Larsen. “First,
business needs to be increased to a level high enough to pay for the display
environment. Once installed, dealers also have to work hard to inform
the community about the store’s Gallery status and keep employees
motivated to sell, sell, sell!”
“The Gallery program has created a little bit of extra work for us,
but it’s definitely worth it,” said Carol Low, who co-owns Window
Creations Fabrics Etc., Inc., Cumming, GA. “We check our leads on
the Web site every day for potential new customers.”
A store must be nominated by its fabricator, then pass a stringent review
process by a Hunter Douglas approval committee to obtain Gallery status.
Among other requirements, a dealer must be financially stable and have
a showroom or store that can accommodate the display environment, a minimum
of 400 square feet. A store must also offer shop-at-home services, measuring,
installation and repairs.
The major cost to a retailer to join the Window Fashions Gallery network
is the display environment, which varies depending on which Gallery configuration
the dealer chooses, as well as any associated costs to upgrade the store
to accommodate the display (for example, new electrical outlets, carpet,
paint, etc.)
A variety of types of stores have signed up for the Gallery—some
stress in-store sales, others in-home; some sell a full line of decorating
products, others sell only window fashions; some sell only the highest-end
products and others offer a full spectrum of products and services. No
matter what type of store signs on to become a Gallery dealer, once the
Gallery is installed, the store takes on a more professional appearance,
while maintaining its own identity and way of doing business. Hunter Douglas
provides dealers with the tools to do their business more effectively.
WIN/WIN/WIN SITUATION
Window Fashions Gallery dealers, consumers and Hunter Douglas all benefit
from the Window Fashions Gallery Program.
“On just one Sunday, we received three consumer calls directly from
the 800 number listed in the Hunter Douglas advertising,” says Bruce
Abramson, co-owner (along with Brad Brown) of Window Coverings to Go,
Davie, FL, the first retailer to sign with the Gallery program. “All
three prospects came in and bought. We’re learning that when Hunter
Douglas generates leads, people buy. The lead preference program helped
us see the power of the Gallery program.”
“A couple from Philadelphia who was relocating to our area of suburban
Chicago found us on the Web site and contacted us before they even moved,”
continues Larsen. “We ended up with a $6,000 sale that we never would
have known about without the Lead Preference Program, and we were able
to service a client from thousands of miles away, making their move a
bit easier.”
Hunter Douglas is reaping the benefits of the Window Fashions Gallery
Program as well. “Our positive and close connection with this group
of top dealers around the country is helping us better understand retailers
in our marketplace,” adds Mathews. “We’re gaining a forum
for an open dialogue with our retailers that will help us to develop products
and programs in tune with consumer and retailer needs.”
As they get to know each other, Window Fashions Gallery dealers are also
learning to depend on each other and to utilize each other as resources.
They are building informal networks for referrals as well as acting as
sounding boards for one another to discuss new ideas and find solutions
to difficult challenges.
“The Gallery has been a win-win situation for us, but most importantly
it’s a winning proposition for the consumer,” concluded Abramson.
“Hunter Douglas started by asking, ‘Where can we send consumers
to give them the best shopping experience?’ They’ve answered
the question by developing an incredible retail program and selecting
the best dealers across the country to share their vision.”
Jeff Janke is the director of the Hunter Douglas Window
Fashions Gallery Program. He has been in the window coverings industry for
nearly 25 years. |
