March2017_BestMoments

MONTHLY UPDATE: MARCH 2017
BEST MOMENTS
President’s Note
February has turned out to be another banner month for Summer Classics and
Gabby. Summer Classics is up 35%, Gabby is up 36%, Summer Classics Private
Label is up 272% overall and retail sales are up 98% compared to February 2016.
Shipping is up 21%. Overall sales for February are up 39%––the incredible month!
While these percentage increases seem somewhat spectacular, these are in the offseason
with the exception of Gabby. So it’s yet to be seen what
will happen in March, April and May when sales take off. We are
optimistic that these percentage increases will continue throughout the
season.
As a result we have increased our inventory in frames and fabric. We have reduced
our shipping time on cushions to two weeks to be able to ship product during the
key months.
We have rolled out the EOS operating system throughout the company and
this year, we will be rolling out many tools that will become part of the
way we do business moving forward. We believe this will help make Summer
Classics and Gabby easier to run and help us focus on the 6 key components
to make us even more successful - Vision, People, Issues, Traction,
Process and Data.
As our business continues to grow, we’re pleased to welcome new members to our team––you’ll see these new hires listed on
page 7. You will also want to be sure to get to know Victoria Cabiness in Human Resources, who has hit the ground running
with a great deal of enthusiasm. For the month of February, we selected a group of W.I.T. winners who exemplify our newly
created core values. See page 9 for a complete listing of this month’s winners.
Sincerely,
Bew & William
Bew White and William White
Fixed Point
Foundation
Furniture Donation
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MONTHLY UPDATE: MARCH 2017
Marketing News Mark Griggs, v.p. marketing
2017 is proving to be another challenging and rewarding year for our team! Our social presence and number of digital
promotions continue to grow. We now have one of the most advanced digital programs in the industry. We’re also
excited to build on the success of the StyleMakers program with a new expansion and launch this month.
We have distributed the SC Dealer Custom Mailer program to the field along with a menu of all the items, which sales
representatives can request for our great customers from our internal printing operation. We are presently working
on the next issue of our popular Moments magazine for the Retail group. We’ve also created a number of materials to
support Contract’s addition of Gabby. We’re gearing up for the busy spring season with many plans for new photography
and video.
In addition, we’re making preparations for High Point and the opening of the newest licensee store in Dallas. Our team
is in high gear and our print shop is running around-the-clock to support all of these efforts.
Contract Update Don Smith, v.p. sales of SC Contract
It has been an extremely busy month for the Contract
Division! Angela King and Todd Kaiser attended a NEWH
Drinks by Design event that we sponsored in San Francisco,
CA. Over 100 designers attended the event at The Battery.
Don Smith also attended a NEWH product showcase in
Denver, CO that enabled us to display the Wind collection to
many leaders in the hospitality community.
opportunity to exhibit at the MAA leadership conference
which represents over 300 multi-family communities in 17
different states. The conference was located in Memphis, TN
and attended by Meg Wilson and Alissa Landrum. Last but
not least, Don Smith, Mark Rodell, Angela King, and Todd
Kaiser exhibited at the Environments for Aging National
Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, NV.
Across the country, Angela Kelman, Nick Hancock, John
Hancock, Jim Humphries, and Alissa Landrum attended the
Country Club Managers Association of America (CMAA)
national business expo in Orland, FL. This was a great event to
showcase the brand to Country Club managers and designers
from all over the country. Mark Rodell and Don Smith also
exhibited at the National Apartment Association expo with
over 800 attendees in Chicago, IL. We also had a tremendous
All the reps have been busy meeting with existing and new
customers to show them the new collections and fabrics for
2017. We are very excited about new projects and partnerships
that are happening in the contract department. As we continue
to increase our market share across the country, we are excited
about the upcoming year in contract!
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MONTHLY UPDATE: MARCH 2017
Sales Update Schon Duke, v.p. sales
Steve Bennett our very own “Outdoor Specialist Trainer”
was a special guest speaker at the first ever Educational
Conference held by the ICFA (International Casual
Furniture Association) called Navigating the Future.
The event was held at the hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale
Arizona Feb 14--16,2017. Topics included: Selling across
Generations--Digital media, Digital Marketing strategies-
-ROI from Technology, Customer engagement, Success in
an online world, selling to Millennials and Sales Training
for manufacturers/reps/retailers. Steve held a morning
breakout session for just manufacturers and reps to a packed
room. It was a very interactive with great questions and back
and forth. In the afternoon Steve spoke in the large room
with all attendees. He addressed training responsibilities
and took the group through 4 steps from the front door to
an invoice, again, receiving some good questions.
Steve Bennett is a gifted speaker and trainer.
With more than 30 years’ experience he has
anticipated nearly every objection and teaches his
followers to work towards win-win solutions. He
delivery is the perfect blend of humor and relevant
examples to make his ideas engaging and memorable.
The audience left uplifted, energized and
eager to put what they learned into practice.
--Edward M. Tashjian, Principal
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MONTHLY UPDATE: MARCH 2017
Chaplain Corner
John Scott III, Corporate Chaplain
The Principle of Overflow
Matthew Mitchell in his book Resisting Gossip explains how he uses a simple object lesson to illustrate “the principle of
overflow,” which simply means that our words overflow from what’s already in our hearts.
“I held up a bottle of water and then poured the water out on the platform. Then I asked our church family, “Why is
there now water on the floor?” Everyone laughed nervously because the answer was so obvious.
Then I asked, “But why is there water on the floor and not Pepsi or Kool-Aid?” Now besides the fact that I would have
gotten into major trouble with the custodian if I had poured Pepsi or Kool-Aid on the carpet, the truth is, there was
water on the floor because there had been water in the bottle. Similarly, Jesus said, “Out of the overflow of the heart the
mouth speaks.” What’s inside us determines what comes out of us.
Mitchell brings up a very simple but interesting concept. There are many days when our conversations with friends,
family and co-workers don’t produce the quality of tone or the fruit of encouragement that we long for them to bring.
The issue behind this principle suggests that many times what we watch, listen to, engage in and receive in the world can
have an affect on how we impact other people.
So in this regard, let us find ways to fill up the tank of our hearts with quality fuel, knowing that the overflow is being
poured out on someone.
Come see me whenever you need to…… John can be reached at (205) 441-3935 thecenterbham.org.
SC Private Label
Harold Hudson, president
This month we were busy photographing three groups of private label product (over 500 photographs) for one of our
customers that will sell this product branded as their own label. The three groups were modifications of existing product
in finishes the customer chose with minor frame changes. Summer Classics will sew the cushions for the frames and
they also will be selling throw pillows, floor pillows and poufs (ottomans).
Summer Classics Private Label offers the customer the option to customize furniture with resin colors and frame finishes
and brand the furniture as their own. This eliminates the product being shopped and gives the brick and mortar
retailer the option to floor the product and also the ability to sell the product via the internet.
In February we continued to ship containers from our new factory and the SC QA Asia team has reported the quality is
great.
We also visited a large retailer (1200 stores) and reviewed two groups of Private Label samples. The samples were approved
and we hope to be building and shipping this product in late 2017 for spring 2018. We have two more sets of
samples arriving next week and they will visit our Birmingham Office in late March to approve these samples. They also
will be buying umbrellas from us with custom made covers. We now have the ability to offer umbrellas to our Private
Label Customers.
In the next two weeks we will be finalizing our new product for 2018 that will offer lower prices than in the past and
also allow for customization by the end customer. We also plan on introducing teak as well.
Don’t forget we have a Domestic Stock program that most product ships in 48 Hours. If you have questions about this
program contact your Summer Classics Sales Representative, Customer Service Rep or Harold Hudson at 205.807.0295
and by e mail at harold@summerclassics.com
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Operations
Tom Livingston, v.p. Operations
MONTHLY UPDATE: MARCH 2017
It is an exciting time here at our Corporate Office as the SC Fabric Committee begins to finalize the fabric line for
the 2018 season. We start each October meeting with fabric mills to see their design ideas and color trends; as well as
give them our thoughts and vision for the next year’s line. We are always
preparing the fabric line 12-18 months in advance. We chose exclusive
designs and patterns from these initial meetings and each mill sends us
color swatches (blankets) of those choices in every requested color trend.
Normally during the months of October and November we see between
10 -15 fabric mills and by January have over 5,000 different fabrics to
potentially choose from.
During the month of January we have our initial Add/Drop meeting
where we select the fabrics we want to drop from the line and take a first
pass at new additions. We then will meet with the mills a second time
to finalize any color tweaks that are needed and place purchase orders
for fabrics that are being added. We always attempt to finalize the line
by March 1st so we can being ordering fabrics and planning for photo
shoots and swatches. Be sure to keep an eye out for the 2018 fabric line;
it is sure to be one of the best ever!!!!
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Inspiring Thoughts
MONTHLY UPDATE: MARCH 2017
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up.” - Galatians 6:9
“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.”
- Coco Chanel
“Losing is a learning experience. It teaches you humility. It teaches you to work
harder. It’s also a powerful motivator.”
- Yogi Berra
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.“
- Will Rogers
“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty and
persistence.”
- Colin Powell
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is
success.”
- Henry Ford
CORE VALUES
Dedication | Enthusiasm | Synergy | Integrity | Goal-oriented | Nimble
OUR BRANDS:
WHOLESALE | CONTRACT SALES | PRIVATE LABEL | SC HOME STORES
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