By Sarah Zimmerman
ANAHEIM, CALIF.—Looking to provide a new retail format designed to serve the affluent female consumer, help members increase revenue and leverage its own brand power, BrandSource—a major appliance, consumer electronics and home furnishings buying organization with aggregate member sales of $11 billion—will open BrandSource Home Gallery in the first quarter of 2009 across the U.S. and Canada.

The “whole home” concept will expand participating member stores by integrating a complete package of remodeling products and services into one streamlined retail environment, including flooring, kitchen and bath, technology and installation services.

The initiative was introduced by Bob Lawrence, BrandSource CEO, at the group’s annual convention in August—held in Las Vegas—during a special kick-off dinner and presentation event.

“We listened to women about what they want and we’re providing it with BrandSource Home Gallery,” he said, explaining there are plenty of member incentives too. “Our members have a great opportunity to really connect with the sophisticated female shopper by offering an alternative environment designed to appeal just to her. We see this as a very strategic approach to increasing sales, obtaining referrals and building customer loyalty.”

He continued, pointing out an average high-end kitchen remodel is $118,000, whereas just the appliances for such a job are about $19,000 of that. “Our members can get a bigger percentage of sales by offering a complete solution to customers who are already in the store looking. The sale of appliances or electronics is only a small piece of what could be a very profitable pie.”

Currently, BrandSource member stores are branded with common signage, interior branding elements and advertising, though they run the gamut in size and structure—Main Street, strip mall and standalone locations, said Mark Baird, managing partner, BrandSource Marketing. The Home Gallery locations will therefore be implemented in a cookie-cutter fashion in terms of displays, product mix and store branding, he explained.

For instance, “the percentage of showroom space allocated for floor covering will vary, but will require a minimum of 2,000 square feet. Floor covering will also be featured in kitchen displays—stores will have at least three to four to as many as 20 different kitchen displays depending on size.”

Along with common showroom threads, BrandSource Home Gallery members will be provided with ongoing training and educational support in all areas, Baird explained.

“BrandSource Home Gallery has an experienced support structure in place, including sales, product training, customer experience, product service, operational, management, human resources and use of exclusive BrandSource programs such as wholesale inventory financing through expert finance, retail credit card through the BrandSource card, market analysis, customer profiling, customer loyalty programs, advertising and media selection, as well as online marketing and promotional activities.”

He noted there will be a start-up program associated with BrandSource Home Gallery, including specific training on new product categories, market analysis, store design, consultation and an integrated software package from Kashmoo and 20-20 Design.

WFCA membership

And, since flooring will be such a large component of the new retail spaces, all members of BrandSource Home Gallery will be automatically enrolled in the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) as well.

“WFCA is an important organization in the flooring industry that provides tremendous value to its members, both on the business and consumer side,” Baird said. “We will include membership with the annual association fees and will pay the full membership cost to WFCA for each BrandSource Home Gallery member.”

As far as membership goes, selected BrandSource members are being offered the opportunity to become BrandSource Home Gallery members based on specific requirements such as sales volume, available floor space, management expertise and resource, Baird said. Non-member flooring retailers or design centers will be offered the opportunity to join the organization if membership criteria is met.

This is a great opportunity for non-member flooring dealers to increase profits, Baird explained. “A floor covering retailer may have the opportunity to add additional product categories, such as appliances and specialty audio/video, for example.” He noted, specific to flooring, BrandSource Home Gallery members will have access to several hard surfaces import lines, as well as private-labeled soft surface programs and displays. More details will be released at a later date.

For more information on becoming a BrandSource Home Gallery retail partner, call 800.920.6984 ext. 1.