Showrooms: Beyond Sample Boards
The house had been sitting vacant for several years, and the owner was willing to make a deal. However, Trindco found itself faced not just with a renovation, but also the need to rezone the property.
“We had to not only draw up plans, but also get approval from the city to put in a retail operation,” says Adams. “It took about two years, so it wasn’t for the faint of heart. Everything was a drawn-out process, but we both saw a vision that took us beyond a strip-mall location.”
Click to enlargeToday, that vision is 1,400 ft² of home-like space on the first floor, with an additional 1,200 ft² on the second floor utilized as offices. And, Adams says it’s a great space both for kitchen-and-bath and cabinet shops that use it as their own showroom for countertops, and for homeowners looking to remodel a kitchen or bath.
To further increase foot traffic, build a sense of community and help decorate the space, Trindco also opened up the showroom to a nearby art gallery.
“It gives us some additional color and gets people talking about the place,” Adams says.
He adds that his partner likes the space so much he uses the office as his own when he’s not on the road. The company has an account executive who’s also assigned to the office, and other salespeople rotate in and out.
And, while it doesn’t have all the offerings of the Suffolk showroom, Adams says, “We fit a lot into it.”
That includes samples on a side porch that’s covered by an awning, an entryway, and a design room that has other materials in it, including quartz, soapstone and recycled-glass products.
Click to enlarge
“The kitchen has a large island, and we did accent color cabinets and countertops in there,” he says. “The perimeter countertops and the island countertop are in different colors. We’ve also put a tall backsplash in some areas and short backsplash in others.”
What it doesn’t have is a lot of sink and faucet displays, although Adams says most people can visualize those. Of course, buyers who decide to go with granite are also invited to visit the Suffolk facility to pick out their own slabs.
Today, Trindco advertises both showrooms, and Adams says the effort has definitely given the company a better presence in Virginia Beach.
“We carry some different products than others in the marketplace, like the Artisan Group granite with its lifetime warranty,” Adams says. (Trindco, along with INCounters and Quality Surfaces Inc., belong to the network of North American stone fabricators.) “We’re the only ones in this area able to sell that, so we’ve been able to differentiate ourselves and increase our business.”
This article first appeared in the February 2011 print edition of Stone Business. ©2011 Western Business Media Inc.
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