Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM OCTOBER 2020 52 F inding profitable merchandising solutions during a pandemic – or any appliance inventory at all, for that matter – certainly has its challenges, but AVB's Merchandising Vice President Chad Evans and his team have met those hurdles head-on. "We have spent the last several months working with vendors and suppliers to provide cost savings where we can, and support to make sure that the independent dealer is getting their fair share of product," Evans said. Among the fruits of those labors are exciting offerings from a host of new BrandSource partners including Broan, a leader in residential ventilation, plus kitchen, laundry and floor care manufacturer Miele USA, a first-time exhibitor at last month's BrandSource Virtual Convention that Evans described as "one of the premier names in the luxury appliance space." At the show, Miele showcased its Affordable Luxury Appliance Suite, which provides consumers with a luxury kitchen starting at an unprecedented $10,000 retail. Other expo highlights included the new G7000 Dishwasher series and the newly redesigned MasterCool Refrigeration line. "Miele is proud to be the first luxury appliance brand to partner with BrandSource and exhibit at this year's Virtual Convention," said Keith Van Arsdale, vice president of sales for Miele USA. "We are looking forward to the networking and new business opportunities that BrandSource offers." Besides appliance product, Evans and his team also procured an enhanced approach to display. "We are also excited about a new store display/kitchen vignette program from Performance Displays and Millwork," he noted. "We took what we had introduced at the AVB Summit in March and refined it and made some very strong offerings to help dealers merchandise their stores." "We have come up with a custom design as a standard offering for BrandSource members," explained Dave Lewis, executive vice president and co-owner of Performance Displays. "Dealers can choose from a number of different types of modules and vignettes to outfit their showrooms and have it customized to fit the look and feel they desire." Still, top of mind for most BrandSource members during the group's 2020 Virtual Convention was finding and securing inventory. Tackling the issue from the vendor side was Lindsey Freibert, Senior Principal National Account Manager at GE Appliances (GEA), who addressed dealers' inventory concerns at a series of member regional meetings held during the show. "What happened is, at the beginning of this – about two weeks after we all got home from the BrandSource Summit in March – we shut down our factories across the board," she explained. Taking quick action in the wake of the COVID outbreak, GEA shut down operations for one week and installed temperature screening stations, added protective personal equipment (PPE) stations, and socially distanced workers on the production lines, she said. "And then we were up and running and we have not shut down since." Meanwhile, GE Appliances continues to invest and hire for the long-term. The company is pumping $62 million dollars into its Louisville facilities to further increase production and create 260 new jobs as each of the three major manufacturing plants at Appliance Park ramp up assembly lines to produce more washers, dryers, dishwashers and refrigerators. "I guess that's all to say that we're doing what we can to really keep up with demand and we're not there just yet," she told BrandSource members. "We're all aware of availability issues from most appliance manufacturers, and I can assure you that we haven't let our foot off the gas." Going forward, Evans and his team will continue finding the best profit opportunities in today's retail environment, and will remain busy working with each BrandSource region to bring members up to date on inventory availability, ongoing and upcoming promotions, and new vendor offerings. "We have been focused on communicating to dealers through video calls, webinars and emails what is going on in the industries that we cover and helping them to navigate the difficult inventory situation," Evans said. AVB MERCHANTS RISE TO THE OCCASION DURING APPLIANCE DROUGHT Andy Kriege Appliance Trends Andy Kriege, YSN is General Manager of Communications for AVB/BrandSource, merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, consumer tech and home furnishings dealers RO

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