Patiosource: PatioSource grows naturally
Combo of outdoor furnishings mixed with plants
Cinde W. Ingram -- Casual Living, 8/1/2007 12:00:00 AM
Step inside PatioSource's sleek contemporary entrance and discover a fresh combination of outdoor home furnishings mixed with plenty of silk plants, trees and palms. Like a garden, the retailer's business is driven by sunshine.
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Mediterranean looks of Mallin's Silla Grande Collection, accented by pillows in mix and match fabrics, are popular choices at PatioSource. |
Wide aisles make room for shopping carts customers fill with floral stems and greenery they have arranged at The National Touch counter, located near the rear of the 18,000-sq.-ft. flagship store. Skylights give natural lighting, high ceilings allow room for umbrellas to be displayed open while an abundance of big windows keep the focus on outdoor living.
Steve and Jan Shaw left banking and real estate careers when they started The Natural Touch in 1979. Seven years ago, they added outdoor furniture, which started small but grew quickly and led to two more stores. Their second store opened in 2003 in an affluent area of Encinitas, Calif., while the third opened last year in Eastlake/Chula Vista. Both of those stores have a 7,000-sq.-ft. format.
"As far as the outdoor furniture goes, we're relatively new to the game," Steve said. "In August 2000, there was a large patio company here in town that went bankrupt. One of their executives asked me to invest with him in another patio furniture company — his own. I said 'I'm not really interested in being an investor but why don't you come to work for us since you know the business?'"
PatioSource started by offering a couple of Mallin collections and strap furniture from Pennington. Each season since, more manufacturer lines were added. "It has become the driving part of our business," Steve said.
Mallin and Tropitone continue to be best sellers while Domus teak, Castelle, Hanamint, Laneventure and Winston collections also sell well. Ebel was added this season. Several pieces of each collection are displayed, and detailed signage lists prices plus other products. "We want the customer to be able to see what else is available and we can't show everything," Jan said.
While alternative tabletops from Ancient Mosaic and others are evident, PatioSource also displays glass tabletops. "I think it's a mistake when patio furniture stores don't show any glass," Jan said. "Part of the reason is some higher-end customers spend so much money on their hard surface, they want it to show."
Bright-colored covers for tabletops are often used as tablecloths rather than storage and have become a hot product. Closeout areas draw certain customers back to the stores almost daily.
Jan said her husband likes selling outdoor furniture more than the silk trees and plants. "When we go to the shows, he really enjoys the people we meet and talking about furniture," she said. Personally, she likes it all — especially selling Christmas products. From September through December, the Shaws shrink the patio part of their displays to make room for holiday. For example, instead of showing nine different pieces of a collection, they will show two or three.
"We transform the better part of this whole showroom into Christmas," Steve said. They use marketing efforts during that time to cross-sell patio furnishings.
The PatioSource story wouldn't be complete without revisiting the fire that destroyed the San Diego store on the day after Christmas 2005. When the blaze began in the building's track lighting, the Shaws were on their way to Las Vegas to open a new store. They also were serving the hospitality market by supplying botanicals and outdoor furniture for casinos and hotels, including Treasure Island and Mirage. The fire changed their expansion plans as they redirected their efforts. Within a month, their San Diego store was operating again across the street through the help of neighboring businesses in the home furnishings district, which includes several large furniture stores, rugs and accents. When the store was rebuilt, they kept the shopping cart format and their good growth resumed. The fire also delayed work on their Web site, which should be updated by month's end.
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