Trail Appliances takes a di erent path

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TUESDAY, MAY 5 | 2015 | BUSINESS COORDINATOR: SCOTT NEUFELD 604-605-2636 | [email protected]
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Jason Broderick looks over the new 22,000-square-foot Trail Appliance store on Sweden Way in Richmond.
WAYNE LEIDENFROST/PNG
Trail Appliances
takes a different path
Family-run company forgoes online sales for old-school showrooms
BRIAN MORTON
“
The goal is to
give people
— not just premium
shoppers, but shoppers
from every price range,
every budget — the
inspiration for what
their kitchen could be.
VANCOUVER SUN
R
etail’s future is online sales and smaller stores, right?
Not always, if Trail Appliances is any indication. The
giant appliances retailer, which recently opened a
22,000-square-foot store in Richmond with plans to open
more, avoids e-commerce, preferring that customers first
determine what they want on the company website, and then
head down to the nearest store to find out more before closing the deal. The reason? Buying an appliance is an impor- JASON BRODERICK
tant investment and the buyer should link up with an expert TRAIL APPLIANCES B.C. PRESIDENT
to be sure they’re getting a perfect fit.
“With Trail, right now, we do
not do e-commerce,” said Jason
Broderick, president of Trail
Appliances B.C. “It’s not part of
our strategy.
“We prefer our customers to
get the information they need
(online) to begin their consideration of the appliances they’re
looking for. But because appliances can be very complex,
because of the different installations requirements, the different
functionalities, we prefer them
to talk to one of our experts.
Our sales staff on average have
10 years of experience in the
business, and that way when
(customers) think they want
a certain product, our staff
can confirm that product
will fit in their home and be
installed properly.”
However, Broderick said
if someone can’t make it
into the store to finalize the
order, Trail will work to “walk
them through the steps” over
the phone and have the appliance delivered.
He said larger “bricks-andmortar” showrooms work best
for Trail.
“We’ve decided to run with
larger stores,” he said. “And we
believe that in order to bring
people into the showrooms, it’s
got to be an extremely compelling experience, and so we invest
greatly in that experience by
making the showroom inspirational, with interactive products,
state-of-the-art display kitchens,
with them using the product in
our showroom if they like.”
Trail’s newest store, on Sweden
Way in Richmond, includes a
13,000-square-foot head office.
It boasts two functioning demonstration kitchens, 16 designer
kitchens, appliances that shoppers can try out, and 50 brands
from North America, Asia and
Europe.
“The goal is to give people —
not just premium shoppers, but
shoppers from every price range,
every budget — the inspiration
for what their kitchen could be,”
Broderick said.
“So we have different kitchen
displays here that are beautiful
but not expensive, and all the
way through to the most elaborate you can get.”
The store’s new location in
the centre of Richmond’s home
improvement hub reflects
Trail’s strategic approach to
development.
“What’s key to us in making
the investment is its placement
within a sizable population, and
being in a home decor hub, with
complimentary products. In the
case of Richmond, Ikea’s our
neighbour and there’s tons of
other home decor shopping. Our
Richmond showroom is accessible by 1.5 million people within a
30-minute drive.”
The Richmond store, second in size to Vancouver’s
26,000-square-foot store, is one
of 15 Trail stores in B.C., Alberta
and Saskatchewan. There are
seven B.C. stores, including five
in the Lower Mainland, and a
clearance centre and distribution centre.
There are two head offices, in
Richmond and Calgary, where
the family-owned company was
started in 1974 on MacLeod Trail
— thus Trail Appliances — by
Broderick’s grandfather Jackson
Broderick, now retired.
Jason Broderick said the
new Richmond store is unique
because of its design.
“The products for the most
part are all hooked up live here,”
he said, “which means before
you purchase you can test the
appliance and see how the controls work. In the case of a dishwasher, you can listen to the
dishwasher’s noise level. And we
invested greatly in the supporting functions of the business.
For example, we do all our own
deliveries, we have a parts-andservice department, a customer
care team.”
Broderick said his grandfather’s six sons took over the
business — “that was the second
generation” — and now there’s a
third generation, including him.
There are about 950 employees
companywide, with 350 in B.C.
Broderick recalls moving to
B.C. in 1980 with his father and
uncle and starting a Richmond
store. “They slowly built the
business,” he said. “I remember
looking in my garage when I was
a youngster and seeing boxes. I
didn’t know why. Now I reflect
back and it was because they
were storing product there.”
As for the future?
“We just celebrated the launch
of our Richmond store,” he said,
“and we’re already looking for
new opportunities and expansion plans.”
[email protected]