Home Center Merchant BILL

Fishman

Bill Fishman & Affiliates

1 '1650 lberia Place designs & estimating and contract instal_ San Diego, Ca. 92128 lation companies.

Ll OME CENTERS have rekindled fl their love affair with kitchen and bath remodeling. It's big ticket business. Yesterday, while snooping around the unmanned desk in the kitchen display area of a national warehouse chain, I spotted, in open view, two signed contracts for kitchens, each in excess of $4,000. That's a nice morning's sales job.

Kitchen and bath remodeling has become an important segment of the home improvement products business. There are many independent retailers, as well as national chains, reporting great profits from these sales. It hasn't always been this way. The past has had its share of horror stories co-mingled with the successes. But that's changed with the availability of educational programs, material handling systems, computer aided

Early merchandisers believed that the retailer had to stock an inventory ofcabinets in order to "buy right" and service the customer for immediate delivery. Today, cabinetry is available through distributors for just-in-time delivery and the pitfalls of handling (and damaging) cabinets has been curtailed. Gegting caught with aging inventory because of changing style trends is no longer a problem. Mis-measuring, once the prime reason for "eating" kitchen inventory, has been virtually eliminated through educational programs. And, the ability to sell kitchens is no longer limited to ',thegal-in-the-floppy-hat" who performed as the store's kitchen designer/expert. Today, it is the well trained, businesslike counterman who can make the customer feel comfortabte with the design, material and contractual arrangements for a new kitchen.

The National Kitchen and Bath Asso- ciation has been responsible for the improvements in merchandising this product segment. They have created programs that teach those who come in contact with remodeling customers about the mechanical and construction aspect of remodeling so that even homeowners who plan to do their own installations can be accurately guided.

The NKBA also takes the student through contracts, specifications, expediting, sales presentation and the profitability of merchandising kitchens and baths. Some of the national and regional retailers have contracted with the NKBA to bring the school on location at the store site and tailor the program to their own brand names and models.

Kichens and baths have become such an important product category that almost one whole floor of McCormick Place North will be devoted to exhibits by kitchen & bath product suppliers.

Its time has come.

Check out our Calendar on page l8 for in"formation on upcomtng conventions, meetings and trade shows in your region,