Hearthlist Digest #502 - Sunday, October 1, 2000 Friday after 6 by "R/P Kerr" <[email protected]> Commodity fireplaces continued ... by "Roger Sanders" <[email protected]> Re: gas logs without logs by <[email protected]>
(back) Subject: Friday after 6 From: "R/P Kerr" <[email protected]> Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2000 16:59:07 -0400 Friday after 6 pm I was counting the money, you know, late on a Friday, after closing, the door unlocked by our installers, back late from a couple of chimney sweeps. He walked in, up the stairs to our back office, me on the phone to a late caller, confirming a visit tomorrow to her new home, for a fireplace estimate, the envelope of time, between 7 am and 10:30 am, a face-to-face meeting, before she has to leave to get ready for a concert (she plays in a swing band), an open house for a senior's home, no phone yet, disconnected Friday night at midnight, not installed at the new place till Monday. "Do you have those electric...........................? You know, the fireplaces that look just like a real one? You can't even tell the difference. I wish I could see one." Close the door; lock the door. Disconnect the phone. We're not at home. A planetarium is not cold empty space, light years between immense flaming radiant stars. A map of India is not hot pungent gritty noise, bodies jostling, rubbing, shouting, breathing. An X-Ray is not granular muscle-bound bones, sliding under the skin, porous, white, enduring. We captured fire. Now must we freeze-dry it? Will we eat the shining glass-hard window dressing breads, and drink the coloured-water wine cut out from ads in "Wine Gourmet", Cuddled up to our symphony of light-showered flickering screen? Ceci n'est pas une pomme. This is not a smile: ;-) And this is not a poem.
(back) Subject: Commodity fireplaces continued ... From: "Roger Sanders" <[email protected]> Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2000 17:01:01 -0400 My good friend Tim Nissen, in an honorable rebuttal to my previous posting, argued that commodity fireplaces like HNG (Heat-N-Glo) should be promoted. I do agree with some of what Tim is saying, but some of his points were in rebuttal to points that I didn=92t make. The points that I have been making are: 1. If you are in a very competitive market as many of us are, don=92t waste showroom space, advertising and staff time on commodity fireplaces that are being =93given away=94 by others to so they can get the HVAC business, when you can make a better margin by promoting higher quality fireplaces. If you=92re not in a competitive fireplace market, obviously, you can make a good margin on anything you sell. 2. HNG is a commmodity fireplace line that has a strong preference for HVAC accounts over specialty retailers (in Oregon and probably elsewhere). They even document this on their website. Specialty retailers should be aware of this. The things that I think Tim is wrong in his posting are: 1. I haven=92t railed against HNG at all, I=92ve simply made some = statements of clear fact. There is nothing wrong with HNG doing anything that is legal. They=92re much more successful than most other commodity brands. As I=92ve said, they build a good commodity product and they may be the best commodity fireplace to sell. 2. Also, I didn=92t say that the HNG has chaotic distribution. In fact I=92ve said that they have very deliberate, effective and efficient distribution to their many overlapping channels. That=92s why they shouldn=92t be promoted by specialty retailers. 3. Tim, you may not be in a typical market. In a typical competitive market, I don=92t think you can win or even be profitable in the =93low = end spec builder game=94 selling commodity fireplaces at normal margins, simply by providing builders with great service and displays. 9 out of 10 builders will buy commodity fireplaces for $100 over cost instead of $400 over cost, regardless of your great service. 4. You can=92t =93live off the mix=94 of commodity and non-commodity sales when your gross margin from a commodity fireplace is less than $100 (the typical deal in competitive markets) You=92re actually living off the non-commodity business but putting up with the commodity business, just like you put up with income tax or a head cold. Also, I don=92t think that having a =93mix=94 has ever brought a customer into our store. 5. Your comparing our commodity selling to Safeway competing with Costco commodity selling is not a good model to follow. We lose big time. Safeway has no margins in the commodity categories that they compete with Costco in. You might more accurately want to look at the effects on local hardware stores, stereo stores etc. from competing with the Walmarts, Home Depots and Costcos selling commodities. The local stores are gone, regardless of their service. The survivors don't promote commodities any more. A good motto for those of us in a competitive commodity fireplace market is: IF SOMEONE WANTS ONE, HAY STICK ONE IN.
(back) Subject: Re: gas logs without logs From: <[email protected]> Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2000 17:01:32 -0400 Thanks, Larry, for your support to find my "log-less" gas fire. I will be sure to call Mike at Sure Heat in Atlanta. I appreciate your assistance. Heidi Alber