October 1, 2015
BESTMOMENTS
Summer Classics display in the front lobby of the Chicago Merchandise Mart
Chicago Market 2015 Bew White, President Summer Classics Companies
Summer Classics just finished the most successful September casual show in its history. We had in excess of 200 additional visitors to the show room. We had a party Thursday night for "White Label" which exceeded any event we've ever experienced at the show. (See
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WHITE LABEL PARTY
photos) Summer Classics introduced over 200 new products and the excitement was electrifying. Seen in the showroom were the CEO and COO of Sunbrella. CEO of Cinmar the corporate owners of Frontgate Ballard and Grandin Road , the president of Stickley , Kittle's Nebraska
BEW HOLDING COURT
Furniture Mart and Hom, all large home furnishings retailers. Hits of the show included our new Slate grey finish, the Coast Collection and of course White Label, our new higher end collection of products geared toward the design trade.
MOTHER DAUGHTER AT THE APPOLO AWARDS
BESTMOMENTS October 1, 2015
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Contract Update Annual Sales Meeting Don Smith, V.P. Contract Sales Summer Classics Contract Sales
The Contract sales unit has had an absolutely fantastic September. We began the month with our 2015 sales meeting which was held in Birmingham and deftly hosted by nearly every department in the building participating in training, product knowledge and just in general great fellowship, relationships and connections. We started the three day event with live music and BBQ at our host hotel followed by a day at SC31 where groups of four floated from department to department for deeper information about our products, services and opportunities. A special thanks to Deana Ray for keeping us on time during all of those transitions. That evening we dined in the showroom and were serenaded by our in house crooner Rob Robinson. Congratulations to Sara Kaiser who was named our salesperson of the year, Meg Wilson was awarded the Navigator award and Deana Ray received honors from all of us as presented by Bew. We also named Michael Richman from Academy Cabanas our vendor of the year. The response to the sales meeting has been beyond our wildest hopes and a sincere thanks to all who played a role in making it a success including Libby, Lindy, Michele, Deana, Marisa, Mark, Rob, Matt and many, many others. Also, we really have to thank our vendors who made great efforts to support us with product demonstrations and sponsorship as well, they were BellaDura, Academy, FiberBuilt and Sunbrella. Contract has also participated in several trade shows this month with attendance at Market, always a great experience and then off to Seattle for the NEWH Regional Trade show with Shayne Bratz. Last but certainly not least finds us in San Francisco for the IHG Hotel Owners Conference and an opportunity to continue to grow our hospitality relationships. September also brings us the finalization of our 2016 commercial sales
catalog which we are eagerly anticipating the delivery early to mid-October. If you would like a link to the new catalog just drop us an email and we will be happy to forward along. Much appreciation to Marisa, Libby, Lindy, Michele, Deana, Meg and as usual many others for all of the time, energy and pride that is put into the catalog design.
Gabby Update New Products William White, President Gabby
Gabby had another solid shipping month in September and we expect to finish with a strong 4th quarter. The company continues to invest in increased inventory, improved packaging, and better systems and processes to improve quality control in Asia. This will be an ongoing effort to continuously improve by reducing returns and striving for on time and complete delivery. We are also pricing over 70+ new products for High Point, updating customer data for our ACT customer relationship management tool, overseeing the construction of our new Dallas showroom and starting the budgeting and planning process for 2016. As part of the budget process, we are working on a digital and print cooperative advertising program for customers that will leverage our marketing expertise and create economies of scale. Our new catalog will go to press in November as we adjust to new catalog chapters now being available approximately one month after each High Point market. In High Point, we are expecting our biggest show ever and are having wine tastings, live music, hors d’oeuvres, cocktails along with a bunch of selling! William and Morgan are off to Asia in early November to visit current and prospective suppliers as we continue to look for more capacity, unique materials, and suppliers with a solid manufacturing track record. The Asia team is doing a great job auditing factories and preparing us for our next trip. Wish us luck in High Point!
Parker James Update Chicago Harold Hudson, President Parker James
Parker James found the Casual Market upbeat and we saw many customers who have not purchased Parker James in the past. We had many existing Dealers and new Customers interested in our private label program. Currently we are working with four different retailers who are interested in Parker James producing product with their private label branding tags. Some of these are new designs, some are existing frames with custom finishes and some are taking existing product and making modifications. The minimums to be in this program are surprisingly low. If you are interested call your Parker James Sales Representative or Harold Hudson at 205.807.0295. The best discount for our Container Buyers expired on 9/30/15 but we will accept orders until Close of Business Monday October 5 to give you the opportunity to receive the best discount. Container orders have been coming in regularly in the last week. The new Container Program Discounts will take effect on October 6. Get your orders in before Monday and save 5% on average. Traffic in the showroom during the market was brisk the first 3 days and we had a few customers in on the last day (Saturday). The new contemporary product helped freshen up the Parker James look and the new twist Sol was our best introduction for 2016. If you are not buying a Container remember we have the Domestic Stock Program that anyone can purchase. The Parker James 2016 Domestic Stock Catalogue is now available in hard copy or via a PDF. Just let us know which version you want and we will be glad to get it to you. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our Customers and Sales Representatives who have helped Parker James with another great year.
BESTMOMENTS October 1, 2015
Operations Update West Coast Distribution Center & Production Improvements Dick Cross, Co-CEO Summer Classics Companies
The first stage of our “settling into our new facility is complete. Cushion plant, warehousing and shipping operations are transplanted and are operating at improved levels of productivity. But the real payoffs are yet to come.
exceptional captains of their respective teams. But the coordination between their activities will improve. Associates will spend less time chasing down late or incomplete orders. Everyone will have higher visibility of how well we are operating – as a continuous whole versus independent functions – every day. The feeling of “we” will be displacing “us and them” in the culture in the plant. And pride from knowing that we are the best performing operation in our industry will swell. These results will not be confined to Pelham. During this month Andy Mazeika, a West Point Graduate, four-year varsity receiver, an Army ranger and a veteran of the Iraq War and of Target warehousing took over coordination of operations in Los Angeles with Pelham.
“We’ve successfu!y secured the beachhead, and now are accelerating with success, Today, our operations are functioning enthusiasm and pride.” largely as they did before in their separate locations - with separate information support, separate scheduling, and separate working rules. Some of this is necessary. Because cushion operations are, indeed, a lot different from warehousing and shipping. But over our next stage of “settling in” we will shift into a much more integrated and unified operating organization. Bringing cushion production, warehousing and shipping, Ben Erickson, V.P. Information Technology scheduling, purchasing and customer Summer Classics Companies service much more closely together Syspro 7 user training has begun this through better shared information week. Over the following four weeks support and coordination. The leading up to the Syspro upgrade, each result will be higher levels of on-time department will spend time performing and complete shipments to more their daily processes in a test entirely satisfied customers. All environment to ensure that all users are contributing to future growth and to familiar with any screen changes and future opportunity for every processes perform as expected. We are associate. still targeting October 30th – November 1st for the upgrade, so all Syspro and What, specifically, will this mean to reporting services will be unavailable every operations associate? First, from 5:00 PM October 29th through Chip and Micah will continue as the Sunday, November 1st.
IT Update
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BESTMOMENTS October 1, 2015
Marketing Update SC Marketing Services Mark Griggs, V.P. Marketing Summer Classics Companies
The marketing group has been busy in September! Everyone has completed multiple projects to help each of our divisions and the company as a whole continue to excel. Here are few of the items we’ve completed over the last month: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Labor Day & Factory Authorized ad programs GABBY and Summer Classics Survey Results Summer Classics primary catalog final edits Completed catalog for Contract Parker James domestic catalog Outsource fulfillment partner research Multiple projects for Chicago Casual Show Invitations Email Murals Tags POP Email Social Media Updates
• Created & introduced 2015-2016 Coop Program • Magazine ads for Cottage Journal, Design Today & St. Albans • GABBY SmugMug redesign • USB Keys with catalog, pricelist and video sent to dealers • Black Tie Invitations • White Label hang tags, boxes and back plates • Representative presentations • Editorial Calendar • Facility tours for Garden Club, Home Accents Today, Columbiana Mayor
As you can see, we are ready to assist you with any marketing need! Don’t hesitate to call on us. We look forward to helping you be successful.
Press and Announcements Rob Robinson, Public Relations Manager Summer Classics Companies
• Elle Décor. Nov. “What’s Hot”. Feat. Barkley Table (Exclusive until Oct 14). Circ. 580,000/issue. 98% of readers read that section. Of those 98%, 55% take action on something they see in that section. • The Wall Street Journal. Oct. 17. Writer, David Sokol, and Design Editor, Jim Gaddy, on “Anatomy Lesson” Feat. one of the rooms from Nancy
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Braithwaite’s book, Simplicity. “Get the look”. Feat. Helena Settee. • TV “Show Me St. Louis” • TV “WIAT Ch. 42 NEWS” • SC-31 Tours for Weatherly Garden Club, Home Accents Today Magazine, City of Columbiana
BESTMOMENTS October 1, 2015
Sales Update World Class Customer Service Karen Montgomery, Customer Service Manager Summer Classics
5 SC/PJ CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS Defintion of Customer Service: “Customer Service includes assistance in planning, installation, training, troubeshooting, maintenance, upgrading, and disposal of a product.” Wikipedia.org. 5 Standards of Excellence 1.
Attitude of Service 1.
Calls answered in a courteous manner (smile everytime)
2. Answer all calls within 3 rings 3. Listen and understand our customer’s question
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4. Transfer caller after giving them the correct name and extension. Let them know if they are going into voicemail or will be speaking to someone live. 2. 3.
3. Process RMA’s within a 24-48hr. period. Always acknowledge receipt of the request with a promise of follow-up 4.
Professionalism-We are the “face” of our company
1. Response Time 1.
Return emails within 24hrs. with appropriate response or notice that you will need more time to have an answer
2. Return all calls within a 2-4 hour window
Proficiency/Consistency of SC/PJ Product knowledge
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Become product experts who develop a consistency in answering questions and concerns
Develop a “partnership” attitude with our sales force.
BESTMOMENTS October 1, 2015
Sales Update World Class Customer Service Karen Montgomery, Customer Service Manager Summer Classics
Marie Burns – Marie has been with Summer Classics Customer Service for 8 years. She worked as an intern in the CS Department for 1 year and then evolved into a full time Customer Service Rep in March of 2008. Her prior work history includes a stint as a Dispatcher for the City of Calera which she feels taught her to maintain her composure when dealing with customers in a stressful situation. She has 2 sons, 7years and 1year. Marie enjoys watching them play sports and spending time with her extended family. CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM MEMBER BIOS Britney Shoemaker - Britney has been with Summer Classics for 9 years. She has approximately 20+ years of customer service experience. She is one of seven children and the proud aunt to two beautiful little girls. Her hobbies and interests include shopping and collecting dinosaur fossils to add to her current extensive collection. Her work goal this year is “to provide better service than I did yesterday and exceed what I provide tomorrow, to take Customer Service to new heights with knowledge and LOVE.” Amber Mueller – Amber has been with Summer Classics for 2 years. She has previous experience in Project Management, Sales, and Customer Service in the Construction Field. (Residential and commercial) She is the oldest of 5 children and the Aunt to 5 nephews and has 3 more on the way! Her hobbies and interests include working as a volunteer at Children’s Hospital of Alabama, watching old movies, skyping with her nephews and cooking. Her work goal this year is “to step into a leadership role”. Stephanie Sanders – Stephanie recently joined Summer Classics Customer Service about 2 months ago. She comes to us with 15+years of Customer Service experience. Stephanie has 2 beautiful daughters ages 10 and 11. Her hobbies and interests include learning about Naturopathic medicine
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and reading materials on the subject just for fun. She also designs and makes handmade jewelry and would love to venture into making bags (i.e. handbags, duffle bags and messenger bags) Her work goal is “to eventually be involved in the fabric selection and design departments.” Pamela Ellison – Pamela has been with Summer Classics for almost 2 years but has been in the business of customer service for over 37years. She has 3 grown daughters and 4 grandchildren she adores. Pamela prides herself on her DIY projects. She has dry walled, painted, tiled etc.… Her work goal is “to learn more about other departments and how they operate.” Kelly Duckworth - Kelly has been with Summer Classics Customer Service for 2 years. She has 10+ years of customer service and can repair cars (replace windshields, paint, body work etc.…) her first car had flames on it! She has one son who loves to play sports. They actually got to go to the Little League World Series this year. Kelly loves to do crafts, enjoys painting and shopping in her free time. She would like to find more time to relax and plan a trip to somewhere she’s never been before. Her work goal this year is “to have an opportunity to travel and see the territory she services.”
Her work goal this year is “to improve my communication skills and also to keep improving my product knowledge skills. I believe that if I improve these two skills then everything else will fall into place and help mold me into a more efficient leader in the Customer Service Department.” Twinica Newton – Twinica “Queenie” has been with Summer Classics Customer Service for a year now. She started with us as a temp working with Gwen to get marketing materials out and then was hired full time to support Marie in Special Accounts and support the department in whatever way needed. She has several years of customer service experience. She loves to spend time with her dog, cooking, gardening and riding motorcycles. Her work goal this year is “to be successful and to move up within the chain! She wants to continue to help others when they need her the most.” Laquitta White – Laquitta just joined our Summer Classics Customer Service family. She has 4 weeks under her belt here and approximately 12 years total in a customer service role. She is married with 3 children ages 5 mos., 9yrs. and 10yrs. and a 3 year old Dorkie (Yorkie Dachshund mix) Her hobbies include singing and spending time with her family. Her work goal this year is “to fulfill my 90 days with Summer Classics and become a full time employee.”