September 1, 2015
BESTMOMENTS
Michael Young, Bew White and Dick Cross at Garden Party 2015, the unveiling of our new 487,000 square foot headquarters.
Garden Party 2015 Bew White, President Summer Classics Companies
There will never be another garden party like this one. The title of Magic was perfect, it was just that. With the cabaret, the magician, and the excitement around the new White label line and new 2016 products the mood was electric. I'm not sure we will ever duplicate this. It started Monday night with the transformation of the show room into an ideal setting for
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seating 240 guests. It was almost like a beautiful wedding reception created by Chris Hutchens and Roy Dollar. They created an ambiance that added the bit of magic needed to make the perfect evening. On Tuesday evening we entertained in the showroom again with magician Hart Keene, who was a contestant on America's Got Talent, and is
currently performing in several venues around the United States including Las Vegas. He used Connie Kasper's husband, Lee Alice Hamm, Mark Griggs and Carmen Squadrito to make the evening one most people will never forget. I'm still working on how he did those tricks!
BESTMOMENTS September 1, 2015
Contract Update Bring the Heat
Gabby Update Dallas Bound
Parker James Update Domestic Stock Catalog
Don Smith, V.P. Contract Sales Summer Classics Contract Sales
William White, President Gabby
Harold Hudson, President Parker James
We have been absolutely having a heat wave of activity, productivity and general bliss at SCCS. We are on track to have yet another fantastic order entry month and backlog officially passed 2014 this month and shipments (ahem invoices) are also on a streak. Which should put us up for the year by 10%. We are absolutely humbled to have such an amazing group of folks to work with on a daily basis, not to mention such a beautiful venue to enjoy the day, really excited about the rumble of asphalt trucks, music to our ears! We have also added a few salespeople this month; we welcome another full time customer account manager to the team with the addition of Sherri Witkowski in Los Angeles, Sherri comes to us after a long stint at Smith & Hawken Contract in the Western Region, welcome Sherri! And then, we welcome the Colvin Group which is comprised of Greg, Jill, Ryan, Paul and Dana to cover Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota for Summer Classics. And last but not least, we welcome a friendly face known to many who will manage the Chicagoland area, Jeremy Rago. Oh, many thanks to Jeff Fuge and his group as they arranged access to several of the largest design firms in Maryland and a wee little hotel company called Marriott during the month of August. And then there's a laundry list of folks just burning up the shoe leather out there; Meg, Sara, Jim, Karma, Cindy, Nick, John, the SCC Inside Sales Support staff also logged quite a few nice relationships and opportunities to serve as well. Also, we have been absolutely up to our elbows in planning and preparation for our first SCC sales meeting in a couple of years which starts the very end of August, not going to lie...I'm saving all of that for the September update, look for a lot of news and photos next month. We were glad to be a part of Garden Party.
The Gabby team is finishing up a wonderful summer and is starting to prepare for High Point in October. Kaining is in Asia hard at work finalizing samples. We expect this show to be our best ever! We are also in the process of finishing our largest shipping month in Gabby’s history. Much appreciation to the shipping crew and operations staff for getting our product out the door during this busy month. Our marketing and business planning for 2016 is well underway and we are looking at digital and traditional advertising programs for a Dallas market opportunity. We see Dallas as an avenue for growth moving forward. We have also surveyed and segmented our customer base and have valuable data on geographic locations, style and product preferences, and areas for improvement. Thanks to Mark Griggs and Andrea Rezzonicco for their efforts in providing the data we need to work smarter. We are excited to welcome Andrea Cawley, our newest Gabby Sales Representative. Andrea lives in Miami, FL and will represent us in the state of Florida (except for the panhandle). We would also like to welcome Netashia Abrams to the Customer Service Team and Preston Lucas to the Quality Assurance team. We’d also like to note that Gabby and Summer Classics have both been nominated for an Arts Award for occasional and outdoor furniture. We are excited about the nomination and the awards ceremony in Dallas in January! Now, are you ready for some football?!! Bring on the fall weather.
Parker James continues to receive our 2016 Direct Container orders from our Dealers. We are starting to see customers who bought our Domestic Stock Program for this past season buying full containers for the 2016 Season since they had good sell through of the product. The 2016 Domestic Stock will be as follows: • Aaron (Black) • Alyssa (Weathered only) • Terrazza (Weathered only) • Davenport Dining Chairs (Weathered and Black Walnut • Plaza Dining Chair (Black) • Sol (Weathered and Natural Leaf) We currently have all items above in our inventory with the exception of the Sol and that will be available in December for shipment. We will have the 2016 Domestic Stock Catalogue printed by the middle of next week. The new contemporary product had a great reception by our customer base. If you need a new 2016 Domestic Container Catalogue please let us know and we will get one out to you. Your Parker James Sales Representative also has copies they can bring by. If you want to review the new catalogue here is a link that you can see the catalogue: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ iy0i3wkq26665lc/ ParkerJamesCatalogUpdated.pdf ?dl=0 < —Dropbox of Container Catalog
BESTMOMENTS September 1, 2015
Marketing Update SC Marketing Services Mark Griggs, V.P. Marketing Summer Classics Companies
We enjoyed seeing all of our great dealers and designers at Garden Party 2015! The theme was Magic and the event was definitely magical. The entire marketing staff put many hours into the detailed preparation and execution of the event. From the invitations to the special commemorative items, it all came together to create yet another rousing success. I had the opportunity to meet many of our clients for the first time. The discussions I had helped me to realize that the direction in which we are headed with our cooperative advertising offerings are right on target. In addition to the popular national magazine program, our retail operations have helped us create then refine high performing programs in digital, direct mail and broadcast. In the weeks ahead, we will be rolling out a program to our partners that will support sales of Summer Classics and GABBY products through all of those channels. We know how difficult it is to find dependable partners in the marketplace to provide marketing
services. That’s why we plan to offer assistance with
“We know how difficult it is to find dependable partners in the marketplace to provide marketing services. That’s why we plan to offer assistance with those services to our partners. “ Mark Griggs
those services to our partners. Our programs are proven winners that can provide immediate sales. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead as we provide more information on how your organization can participate. If I didn’t get the opportunity to meet you at Garden Party then I certainly hope we’ll have the opportunity at the Chicago Casual Show. We have lots more magical surprises up our sleeves or not up our sleeves as the case may be. Look for more magic from Summer Classics! We’ll be immediately visible and ready to deliver the products you need to be successful in 2016!
IT Update Ben Erickson, V.P. Information Technology Summer Classics Companies
The IT department has had consultants visiting from Syspro over the past few weeks helping us prepare for the upcoming Syspro upgrade. We are working on migrating our custom programming to the test system over the next 3 weeks and then will begin live scenario testing with all departments. The focus for the month of
October will be testing and training and then more testing and training. Then on Thursday October 29th, we will take down Syspro after business hours and work through the live conversion Friday through Sunday with regular operations resuming on Monday November 2nd assuming all goes as planned.
Press and Announcements Rob Robinson, Public Relations Manager Summer Classics Companies
Media Day - 16 Editors and Administrators from Hoffman Media visited for an all day event. Mayor Tours SC31 - Columbiana Mayor & Director tour SC31 and buy furniture at Tent Sale for New Senior Center Recent Press: • Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine. September 2015 issue. Feat. Landry Side Table (SKU SCH-220180) & Echols Chest. • Veranda. Sept./Oct. Feat. Magnolia Nesting tables. See GABBY’s ad. • Milieu. Fall. See Gabby’s ad.
• Colorado Homes & Lifestyles. September/October "Kitchen" issue. Close 7/13. Feat. Whitlock Dining Table. • Shorelines. Alabama Power's publication that targets lake residents across Alabama. https:// apcshorelines.com/ “great seating for lake houses” https://apcshorelines.com/blog/pull-up-a-seatoutfitting-your-outdoor-spaces/ • Design New England. September/October 2015 issue. Feat. Gabby's Addison Cube. Selections section, where designers are choosing their picks for pop-art inspired room schemes. • Veranda Sept/Oct 2015 issue. Feat. Magnolia Nesting tables. • Birmingham Home and Garden. Sept Issue. Feat. Bew, William, Chris H., Gabby piano shot, & tent sale info.
BESTMOMENTS September 1, 2015
Sales Update International Casual Furniture Market WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16TH - SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19TH Schon Duke, V.P. Sales Summer Classics
With the “heat” of summer winding down we are getting ready for our next Major Market for Summer Classics. Chicago Market is our “Super Bowl” for Summer Classics as far as the Markets go. This is where our dealers come to market to write orders and confirm their ”Early Buys” for next year and season. We are going to be showing our 214 New Introductions and collections. We have the White Label collections a very exclusive designer oriented product direction made up of 5 collections. White Label has its own catalog and will be featured in a select number of dealers nationwide. New eclectic occasional tables for the outdoor are unique to the outdoor market place. Our new Occasional tables are a new category and direction for Summer Classics. We are seeing tremendous orders for those 10 occasional tables made up of cocktails and end tables. Wright and his team are already designing more tables to add to next year’s assortment! The other big hit we are seeing in new products is a great new finish called “Slate Gray”. This new color is spot on to the market place. We are seeing this finish being ordered on classics bestselling collections like Croquet, Lattice and Rustic. We at Summer Classics are leading the way in design and products in the outdoor industry. Fabrics are the headliner act at Summer Classics and you will see that in Chicago with intentional bursts and pops of color throughout the showroom. Think of our “color” selections at market like the finishing touch of a sharp dressed man and the selection of his tie. Color, style and fashion all matter and we do not miss those details at Summer Classics. Chicago is the market where we claim our leadership role in the industry. We have the products, display and the sales
team to step into the future of Summer Classics… That future is very bright! The best for last, I would like to recognize Jamie Monroe and his “Herculean” efforts at Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Garden Party and the Upcoming Chicago market! Many thanks for a job well done.
“I would like to recognize Jamie Monroe and his “Herculean” efforts at Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Garden Party and the Upcoming Chicago market!” Schon Duke
Fall Sale 2015 - September 15th through September 28th PROGRAM DETAILS
5% discount
5% discount
total of 10% off
EX. If you currently sell product at 30% Off MSRP, You must sell product at 40% Off MSRP to participate in this sales event.
sale specifications:
FACTORY AUTHORIZED
FALL
Sale
Must Use PO: FS15 click here to sign up or visit
SEPTEMBER 15th - 28th
BESTMOMENTS September 1, 2015
For over 35 years Summer Classics 速 has established a heritage of sophistication by manufacturing only the finest Outdoor Furniture. From concept to creation our obsession is design and relentless attention to detail. For 2016, we are introducing WHITE LABEL. The collections paint the perfect brushstroke of luxury and elegance. No detail has been overlooked from finish to packaging. Every curve of the hybrid mixed materials expresses our tradition of quality and style. Available only from exclusive retailers and designers, these products are for the most selective of clients who believe in luxury without compromise. WHITE LABEL is dedicated to those in pursuit of the best moments in life.
For more information visit: http://scwhitelabel.com