Design Obsessed

NEWSLETTER

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Sarreid Ltd CEO, Brad Cates Persian Blue Sideboard

On the Cover: High Back dining chairs Butterfly Table JUN Sideboard E 28, 2020 BRAD CATES

Many of us unknowingly quote American poet Robert Lowell when we suggest that the light of the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. In our case, the locomotive headed toward us is cause for excitement, because its bright lights signal the arrival of exclusive Sarreid designs on the way.

Throughout the long months of the pandemic that by all accounts broke our industry’s supply chain, we’ve remained design obsessed and bullish on the home furnishings business and the housing market. Thankfully, rather than divert from our chosen track when others hesitated and hit the brakes, we shoveled more coal in the boiler and kept the container loads coming.

Now, about those lights in the near distance. When you arrive at our showroom this Fall, we expect that you will find a company that has embarked on a continuous journey of evolution, and one that is closing in on its destination. While we’ve always been devoted to offering distinctive designs, we’re heading toward to a place where Sarreid products will be largely found only at Sarreid. Our development of exclusive product is in high-gear, and we are approving the samples on a near-daily basis.

Of course, obsessions are often accompanied by some anxiety. As excited as we are about our new designs, we also know that too many designers have been plagued with worry in recent months, brought on by manufacturers that have left them to wonder when and if existing orders will ever arrive.

If you already do business with us, you’re aware that we have made it a priority to let our customers know the moment products are being unloaded at our warehouse. While our communication processes have been working well, we have improved our systems even further, because we are obsessed with transparency and service, as well as design.

Our big news: As this month draws to a close, sales reps, dealers and designers will not only be able to see if a product is out of stock, they’ll also be able to see when the next container is arriving. Data will be updated daily, reliable, and visible on eCat and our website so you can act accordingly and take control. How’s that for a bright light at the end of the tunnel?

DrawingBoard

Grand scale, classic style. A new canopy bed presages Sarreid’s move into whole home. Another, in classic hand wrought iron, nods to the past and hints at our future. We know those who are passionate about design are continually looking around the bend, watching for signals about what’s to come. As we ready for Fall Market, the Sarreid team is deep in the creation of exceptional designs that are ours alone. We’ve partnered with the most talented furniture designers in the business and the most exceptional artisan manufacturers the world has to offer. Each chosen because they are as obsessed with detail as we are, from finish and materials to exclusive hardware. Our overarching goal: To enable you to order products from across our offering for whole home, secure in the knowledge that no matter where they are produced, finishes and palettes from all our collections will mix beautifully with each other.

Q: Sarreid (and the industry) have changed a lot since then. How has that affected your business as an independent rep?

A: In the beginning I represented multiple companies, all at the better end. As I got older, I made the decision to pare down the number of lines and represent only Sarreid. I found out there were literally hundreds of decorators and designers in my territory that nobody was doing business with. They would get turned away from the High Point Market showrooms, and they really were not given any advantage when they bought from retailers. Most companies just overlooked them. Everybody laughed at me back then, but I chose to focus on those smaller accounts, because I saw them as the future of the business at the high end.

Q: You have built extraordinary relationships with your customers over the years. How did you do it, and what advice do you have for young people in the industry today?

JOHN REID

Sarreid has been blessed by our relationships with exceptional sales representatives over the years, whose longevity and loyalty to both our brand and their customers have long set our company apart. This month, we spotlight the incomparable John Reid. A: I started by looking at how I could help designers make more money and I mentored them on business practices. Giving of yourself unselfishly, expecting nothing in return, will come back to you greater than you gave it when you least expect it. That is a universal truth, and when you put your customers’ success and profitability ahead of your own, you do not have any choice but to be successful.

Q: You promote your accounts to consumers on social media. Why?

Q. You have been representing Sarreid in the Carolinas for decades. How did you come to call the industry home?

A. My father wanted me to be a physician, and my mother wanted me to be a preacher. I went to Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, for undergraduate work, where I had a minor in religion, a major in Pre-med, and I took a second major in business because I did not want to do either of those things. I taught school while working on my master’s in business, but when my first child was born, I had to make more money than teaching and graduate school would pay, so I got a job with an apparel manufacturer that owned a number of textile companies. I was a vice-president, but because I was young, they told me they could not pay me that much, and I began looking for ways to work for myself. I was contacted by Sarreid’s California rep about the possibility of becoming a sub-rep, and decided I wasJUNE 2going to t8, 2ake t020he chance. ASIA TRAVEL

A: I post about designers and retailers in North and South Carolina three times a day, every day. Business is changing and as it changes, I have to continually look at what the opportunities are to help my customers, most of whom are hard-working entrepreneurs who do not have a lot of time for marketing. These buyers and designers want to know somebody is on their side. For me, it is about building relationships and having the fun of helping other people be successful.

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