[omgROBYN]

Hi all, I'm the C.F.O of a mid-sized General Contracting Company owned by my family. In recent months we've had serious problems with our Cabinetry dealers with the work and scheduling (we're currently 3 months behind on a simple kitchen remodel) And I'd much rather keep my profit if possible. My question is this, let's say I start my own Cabinetry "dealership" company with an LLC and work for myself, pulling specs, and doing the drawings. Have any of you accomplished this (successfully) without a showroom? I would think that if I supplied plenty of manufacturers' books and samples, along with website information on the brands I sell, so that they could see the product. It should work... right? I don't want to get my hopes up, but at the same time, I'd much rather be the middle-man than wait around for months on another.

Please input.:thumbsup:

 

[Kent Whitten]

Most times it doesn't work that way. Most manufacturers REQUIRE you to have a storefront in order to carry their line. Same with some countertop manufacturers. You need a certain inventory.

I know a great custom cabinet maker that could be your sole supplier though :whistling

 

[Kent Whitten]

To add to what I said, there are suppliers out there that would work with you without the showroom. You are in a tough area though, pricing in FL, from what I hear, is ridiculously low.

Waiting 3 months is BS though, you need to find someone else. Wait time around here is 5-6 weeks, then another 2 weeks for counters

 

[omgROBYN]

I figured as much with tops, but was just hoping for the cabinetry. We've had this poor lady's house demo'd for almost 5 months, and boy is she feisty with us! We would just cancel the order with our current dealer, but the 50% deposit is already made and he's sent the order to the manufacturer but we're waiting on him to submit the last change the HO made... maybe he's waiting because he think's she'll change it... who knows. And Florida pricing is low... such a great place to work.

 

[omgROBYN]

>>>You do great work though, by the way.

 

[PrestigeR&D]

For me, normal turnaround time on an order is 4 weeks , at most. ......

3 months...- whats up with that?.:blink:



B,

 

[ArtisanRemod]

I get my cabinets, no matter how elaborate, from my guy in 3 weeks. At the most. Time to get a better supplier before you get dragged into court.

 

[CarpenterSFO]

... We've had this poor lady's house demo'd for almost 5 months, and boy is she feisty with us! We would just cancel the order with our current dealer, but the 50% deposit is already made and he's sent the order to the manufacturer but we're waiting on him to submit the last change the HO made...

You've had her house demo'd for 5 months and you are "waiting for him to submit the last change"? That seems like your management problem as much as the dealer's.

 

[ArtisanRemod]

And another 2 cents, my counters are 10 days after template is made. Having the right subs/suppliers is critical .
To answer your question though, I inquired about becoming a dealer when I was contemplating opening a small showroom. I weighed the time and money investment required, and it doesn't make sense to cut my cabinet designer/supplier out yet.

 

[rselectric1]

We've had this poor lady's house demo'd for almost 5 months, and boy is she feisty with us!

With good reason!!!!!!!!! Did you mean 5 weeks or is it seriously 5 MONTHS?

 

[DesignerDude]

...We've had this poor lady's house demo'd for almost 5 months, and boy is she feisty with us!

Boy, I would be too!

At my company, we have storage units specifically to receive and keep products for our jobs. Safe and organized.

We never start a job without our product received and in hand.

 

[omgROBYN]

I will absolutely 100% agree that this company has horrible management skills. But my advice falls upon deaf ears, and I'm not the owner. We originally pulled the permit for her house 5 months ago and have been steadily working on it. She's made a thousand changes and has "ran out of money" once, which halted work for a quite a few weeks.

I'm inquiring only for myself, to start my "own" business and do it for "me". Having nothing to do with my family's company.

 

[Live_oak]

I don't know of any of the major brands that don't require a showroom. Even a small one runs into some money. We probably spent 200K on opening up ours, but that doesn't include the location rent. That was already part of the operating budget for the other materials we handle. We just reallocated the space.

You need to budget not only for the vignettes and the rent on the space, but at least 3 years of operating expenses before you break even. As with anything, storefront costs are a you get what you pay for. Well trafficked locations aren't cheap, and locations off of the pathways don't get you any walk in.

I understand FL is full of dealers trying to out-cheap the other one and starve on minimal margins. Not a pretty scenario to think about trying to get started in unless you are sure that there's a niche that you can fill.