Retail Observer

November 2020

The Retail Observer is an industry leading magazine for INDEPENDENT RETAILERS in Major Appliances, Consumer Electronics and Home Furnishings

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RETAILOBSERVER.COM NOVEMBER 2020 30 A s interest in home remodeling grows, especially with more time spent at home, the $130.8 billion kitchen and bath industry continues to experience high employment vacancies. That's why the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) launched NKBA NextUp, an initiative that aims to recruit and empower a well-prepared workforce for the kitchen and bath industry. NKBA also teamed with BridgeYear, a Houston-based organization, to allow students to "try on" various lucrative careers in kitchen and bath, from design to skilled remodeling trades and showroom sales, that they can pursue after graduation. Earlier this year, as part of the BridgeYear/NKBA Career Tours, nearly 6,000 Houston-area students got the chance to "test drive" kitchen and bath careers. Half of the students expressed high interest in one or more of the professions, while more than 90% of the participants reported positive views about the occupations. These findings also echo new NKBA research among a nationally representative sample of U.S. high school students, showing that perceptions clouded by stigmas about the skilled trades are lessening. NKBA's research also revealed that the top perceived benefits of kitchen and bath careers are: the opportunity to be the boss, to build a business, to help clients and to create plans and designs. Respondents also said that knowing someone in the skilled trades is one of the most common reasons they became interested in design and construction careers. In general, a better understanding of career paths – whether by talking to kitchen and bath professionals or spending time in the field – would help attract more students, as only about one- quarter said they feel "very informed" about these opportunities. And that's where showroom professionals come in. There's always an opportunity for professionals to engage with high school students to help them understand how fulfilling a showroom sales career helping customers make their home renovation decisions can be. "It feels so good to see your client's face light up upon the reveal of their remodel because you know you've just made their wishes come true," said Jack Bernstein, founder and CEO, Kurrent Kitchen & Bath in Brooklyn, NY. Bernstein is also a member of the Class of 2019 in NKBA's prestigious Thirty Under 30 program which recognizes outstanding young professionals in K& B fields. It will also be appealing to high school students (and no doubt their families) to learn that they can start making an income right after high school in kitchen and bath showrooms with little or no previous training. "The design and construction industry is recession-proof because there is always work available. So there's always going to be a need for showroom sales," said Ravi Chatterjee, founder of ABC Design Showroom in Las Vegas. "When the economy isn't great, people may not buy new homes, but they'll remodel where they currently live. And when interest rates go down, people buy new homes." Chatterjee noted his cousin opened a showroom in Los Angeles at the height of the 2008 recession and grew his business to three showrooms within two years. Yet a successful showroom professional must have the skills FINDING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SHOWROOM SALES TALENT IS VITAL TO A THRIVING INDUSTRY A S S O C I A T I O N N E W S

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