Becoming More Profitable in 2019 – Part III

Before we jump into Part III of Becoming More Profitable –

I want to know – How has your month been going?

Have you made any changes to your business?  If so post in the comments below – I would love to hear about it.

Here are the links to Part I and Part II  just in case you missed it.

Today’s strategy for being more profitable is going to be really easy for you to implement, so if you haven’t taken action yet – maybe today is the day.

I want to discuss drawer boxes and slides.

When I first started supplying hardware to closet companies everyone was using white epoxy drawer slides – do you remember those $.85 slides?

Ball bearing slides where on the market but expensive – $7 – $10 for a 14″ slide.  Eventually import slides hit the market, pricing went down and the step up from a white epoxy slide to a ball bearing full extension became much smaller.

Within the first year almost the entire industry converted.

I really believe that we are on the verge of the industry changing again.

You no longer have to buy a $20 under mount slide – we have a quality under mount for less than half the price.

We also have come up with closet sizes that will fit on your 14″ vertical panels.

Homeowners have them in their kitchens and they are starting to expect them in their closets.

The leading companies across the US have already fully converted to under mounts.

The one catch is the drawer box construction is different than what you are currently making.

What are your options and how can you get around the catch?  You don’t think I would be telling you to convert without giving you a solution – do you?

If you are only offering under mounts as an upgrade the easiest thing to do is to outsource a dovetail drawer box pre-prepped for under mount slides.

Richelieu has a solid birch 5/8″ pre-finished drawer box that we supply fully assembled with a 7 – 10 day lead time.  Ordering is simple – we have an online order form that makes the process very easy, no need to send confirmations back and forth delaying the ordering process.

All you need to do next is order the 825 or 828 slides depending on the size of your vertical.

And That’s It!

Tell your designers to add extra “$” to the price of your drawers and even if  you only upgrade one job per week, now when a customer asks for under mounts you have a program in place and are ready to go.

If you want to convert fully let us know –

I still think outsourcing your drawer boxes is the way to go.

Depending on the type of machinery you are using, maybe buying pre-finished sides makes more sense.

Contact your local rep and we can walk you thru the process.

Do you have questions, comments – post below or email me at RDeMarco@Richelieu.com.

Thx for reading!!

Becoming More Profitable in 2019 – Part II

We are a week into the New Year, have you finally caught up?

Are you back into your routine?

Historically January and February are a couple of the slowest months of the year.  Now is the time to start thinking about introducing a new program or product line.  Use this time to work on your business – you will thank me in December.

This is Part II of Becoming More Profitable in 2019 – Here is the link to Part 1.

We are all trying to make more money, but that isn’t always as easy as – “I’ll just install more closets.”

Do you have the leads, designers, installers, trucks etc??

Even if you have the money to pay for the marketing and necessary equipment, do you have the people?

All the money in the world can’t solve that.

That is why increasing your average sales is the easiest way to go home with more money at the end of the week.

How do you increase your average sale?

I’m glad you asked, you have to do something to your closet today that you weren’t doing yesterday.

In last week’s post we discussed belts, ties and valet rods.  Making sure that homeowners aren’t spending that money further downstream.

Another thing you can quickly do is upgrade your decorative hardware.

Many of you sell an inexpensive chrome knob or wire pull and if you want to get fancy you offer them an upgrade – a bar pull.  Then you say “if you don’t like this make sure your handles are here at time of install and we will put them on.”  So your guys are still taking the time to install the handles and you’re not making any money for that time.  I’ll bet some of you reading have even given a credit back because they didn’t use your handles.

I created a closet decorative hardware board – 97CLOS, it has 8 handles and 4 knobs in 5 finishes.  Everything on the board is less than $5, if you don’t like my selection make your own.  Just come up with a program that works, you could add an extra $100 per week per truck.  How quickly does that add up?

Do you have a showroom?  Ask me about our tower programs.

Don’t just stop at the handles and knobs – what about the hooks?  Everyone reading offers a basic coat and hat hook.  Maybe some of you offer a very high end hook with concealed fasteners.  That’s a big step up especially if you are putting on cleat in a walk in closet.

Richelieu has the largest hook offering in the industry so that you can create your “Good”, “Better”, “Best” selection.

Stay tuned for my weekly post on “Becoming More Profitable in 2019.”

I love hearing from you – please let me know your thoughts.

Do you have questions, comments – post below or email me at RDeMarco@Richelieu.com.

Thx for reading!!

Becoming More Profitable in 2019

I hope you had a great holiday season and took some time to recharge your batteries.

Now is the time to get back to work, the uncertainty with our government and economy is making today the day that You start to put the systems in place that will make you more profitable in 2019.

This is the first of a series of posts that will hopefully give you a few simple ideas that you can put into action to increase your bottom line.

Good – Better – Best Pricing Strategy

According to HBR there are 3 ways to use this price strategy.

  1. Going on the offensive
    • You can dramatically increase profits by creating higher-end “Better and Best” options.
      • For example – Six Flags Amusement Park has standard, gold and platinum passes. Gold reduces wait time by 80%, Platinum by 90%.  The idea is that at least half of the customers will upgrade to a “Gold” pass increasing profits by not actually doing any extra work.  Some ways customers have successfully put this strategy to use is selling higher end panels or decorative hardware.   More to come on this, keep reading.  🙂
  2. Going on the defensive
    • Is there a new lower price competitor in the your market?  Rather than reduce all of your pricing, creating a “Good” option is a solution.  You might find only 15% of your customers opt for the “Good” solution, and 85% are buying the better option which was your standard offering.
  3. Consumer psychology
    • 3 tier pricing helps differentiate you from the competitor.
    • People tend to choose the middle option.

Following are some areas of your business that you can use the GBB strategy.

Belts, Ties and Valet Rods – When it comes to your everyday accessories most homeowners don’t know what type of belt, tie or valet they are getting.  All they know is that they want one.  Rather than sell a $25 belt rack with every job, (that I hope you are charging at least $50 installed) maybe when doing a white closet you offer a $10 option (that you are selling for $25).

I know as you are reading this you’re thinking that you’re actually losing money by installing the less expensive one, but the reality is you could be pricing those high end accessories out of your customer’s budget.  They might opt to buy something on line and install themselves or worse give the job to a closet company that is offering less expensive options.  That high end belt and tie rack might not land you a job, but it could cost you one.  Our top selling “good” and “better” options are

Stay tuned for my weekly post on “Becoming More Profitable in 2019.”

I love hearing from you – please let me know your thoughts.

Do you have questions, comments – post below or email me at RDeMarco@Richelieu.com.

Thx for reading!!

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Leave a comment below and let me know what your experience has been like.

Thank you for watching.

Richie

 

Have You Heard The Big Announcement?

Richelieu acquires Eveready

If you haven’t get ready for a bombshell…

Richelieu officially acquired Eveready Hardware last week and I am so excited about what it means for YOU and the business we do together!

For those of you that don’t know who Richelieu is. They are one of largest hardware distributors in the country, direct importers and manufacturers.

This means you will have access to a much more robust product line, new exclusive hardware and very competitive pricing.

Their website Richelieu.com does everything – you can download specs, track orders, see your order history and place new orders.

The best part about the acquisition is that they are keeping all of my employees, so the next day service that you have become accustomed to isn’t changing. Orders placed by 11:30 still ship the same day!

My role is changing a little. I’ve been promoted to US Closet Hardware Manager.

Don’t worry – You will ALWAYS have access to me, but because I will be getting busier the day-to-day ordering will eventually be filtered thru the office or the website.

I really appreciate all that you have done for me, without your support I wouldn’t be taking this next step.

If you have any questions or need anything don’t hesitate to email me richdemarco@optonline.net or leave a comment below.

Thank You!!