We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cory Adams. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cory below.
Cory, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What can you share with us about the story behind how you found your key vendors?
Sourcing out the right partners in business can be very tough.
For furniture, it has evolved with the advancement of technology and that is something that we all must adjust to. At the same time it can hinder the overall quality of the products and services that our industry provides the end customer. Some things should not be bought from a photo and have more value that what the general public today perceives it to have.
Value is often lost on the basis of a dollar amount when in fact value relates more to the bang that dollar provides over a given amount of time. That value lies in the quality of the product and the quality of services vendors can provide to you as a retail owner.
I can remember being a young boy in the 1990’s, walking up and down the streets of High Point NC with my father, staring up at all of the huge buildings and showrooms. As we walked by the showrooms and rode the elevators up and down in the large concrete and glass buildings, we were essentially “window shopping” to find the next best selling furniture. In those days it was not as easy to browse the internet or look at vendors virtual showrooms. You had to go out and look at the new items, speak with the builders and connect with the sales staff. In some ways, I really wish that was how it had to be done now. It is almost mundane to have to browse the internet in search of a new company that might have the next greatest product!
When you have to speak directly with a vendor you can really connect and see the inspiration and feel the dedication to their craft. Those are the vendors you want to have in your store. Those are the vendors that will stand behind their products as we do with our customers. Those are the vendors we want to work with. Now a days it seems like anyone can open up shop on the web and sell “less than average” furniture advertised as “quality” for an inflated price tag. Of course this does not mean that you can’t find quality products through the internet, but who wants to have to assemble their furniture after paying such inflated prices? Craftsmanship in the furniture industry does not equal a DIY weekend project for your typical home owner. This is especially true when it comes to truly valuable furniture and that is why we like to partner with those vendors who ship their products built or with minimal assembly that we can complete when it arrives to us. We provide the end consumer with a great product, but no without the assistance from the vendor themselves. It is a process and more of a two sided relationship than most people would often assume.
Problems. It does not matter what you buy or who you buy it from, the best of the best furniture can have problems. This is where our vendors have to understand that we are willing to fix or repair these issues and not always ask for a brand new item. AKA we do not want to cost them any extra capital when it is not a necessity. When we do need a new item, our vendors have to then understand there was nothing we could do to fix the issue and they should be willing to send us a new piece. This understanding between us and our vendors assures that our customer receives a top quality item. When we can find a vendor that will work to build a trusting relationship we can boost sales and growth for both our retail store and the vendors business as well. Reputation is everything and we want to make sure to build up our vendors just as they will do for us. We can do this by working with each other and not for each other. That may be one of the hardest lessons that I ever personally had to learn in the furniture industry. Well, that and the fact that a customer is not always right, but you knew that right?
It seems all to cliche to explain, but the core values and morals most of us inherently have are the best way to choose your partners. In business and in life, I truly believe that being upfront and honest is a key factor in being successful when choosing a vendor. Make sure you have faith that your chosen vendor will be honest and upfront with you. Having the integrity to be honest even when it may create a negative outcome for you and your vendors reputation can also drive a trusting relationship and create growth. No one I have ever known is successful because they lied and cheated their way to the top. I also do not know anyone who got their wealth by brushing problems under the rug. Make sure when you talk the talk that you can also walk the walk. It is great to come to an agreement with new vendors, but also be sure to keep each other accountable as well.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
How I got into the furniture industry: I was raised in it.
The type of products and services we provide are all encompassing high quality custom dining furniture, home bar furniture, bedroom furniture, and outdoor dining/patio furniture. In order to provide custom furniture, we have to be able to work with each customer on what their custom preferences are for the product they are buying. This entails each of our sales associates to be intimately knowledgable about the manufacturers we work with, what their custom options are for that specific piece of furniture, what the availability is, and what the production turn around time will be. We consider ourselves resources and local experts in high quality custom furniture. So, customers come to us for advice and information, and they do this through our custom consultation service.
What I am most proud of regarding my business – is our ability to adapt to new market conditions, for over 30 years, in multiple markets, and stay not just in business, but remain to be a thriving business.
The main thing I would want to get across to new customers, current customers, social media followers and anyone reading this, is we are an NC locally owned, family owned and operating business. Our service quality matches our product quality and we would like to continue to grow as a resource for anyone shopping long lasting, quality, custom furniture. We would like to reach more people with this message, and be the first business they come across when searching this on Google. If we could simply relay to the customer, the benefits and advantages of purchasing long lasting, high quality furniture, they will be saving money, long term, and investing in family heirloom pieces. Customers tell us that they though they were buying quality furniture, 3 years ago, the same furniture they are having to throw out today, and buy something new. We just wish we could have reached that customer 3 years ago.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
Beginning in 2019, when Covid hit, the furniture industry’s market conditions started changing rapidly.
There are still unemployment challenges among our business as well as our manufacturers. This effects the retailer because production turn around time becomes lengthened, since there are less people willing to build the furniture from our orders/sales. To give you an example, one manufacturer who used to have a product turn around time of 6-8 weeks, now has a turn around time of 6-8 months. This effects the customer’s options – and where they used to only want to buy locally, are more inclined to buy online, from big box retailers who offer faster turn around times and free shipping. This is a challenge we’ve had to adapt to, and adjust our marketing around.
There are still supply/demand challenges amount our manufacturers. Timber, at one point was hard to attain. If the supply is low and the demand is the same or increases, then this effects pricing.
Since 2019, we’ve had multiple price increases among all the manufacturers we work with. This means, we have to relay these additional costs on to the customer, Which creates more market challenges for us.
We have overcome these challenges with our efforts in marketing. Positioning us as a local expert, with the content we’ve created on social media and on our website, helping us to reach new customers with a new message. Our marketing tactics adjusted based on analytical data and insights across multiple platforms. We used these insights to adjust our messaging and our overall marketing strategy. We have worked with Penny Marketing, LLC since 2017 and this agency handles and manages all this for us. They have been very successful with deploying our new strategy
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Our digital marketing agency, Penny Marketing LLC, has been a huge resource and partner when it comes to building our brand image, through understanding people’s perception of our brand, Understanding how our brand is perceived, gives us the ability to alter it, adjust it, develop it or enhance it. We have been successful in positioning Barstools and Dinettes as the local expert in Raleigh, North Carolina for high quality custom furniture.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.barstoolsanddinettes.com
- Instagram: instagram/barstoolsanddinettes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barstoolsanddinettes/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/barstools-and-dinettes/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bandd8620
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC19qV6V5VA7FrkV8ujS7qaA
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/barstools-and-dinettes-raleigh
- Other: https://www.barstoolsanddinettes.com/customers-custom-furniture-ideas
Image Credits
Penny Marketing LLC