Kitchen & Bath Design News / October 1999
Article By: Kevin Winkler
Behind every successful business is a well-thought-out business strategy - and Rick Glickman of the Skokie, IL - based Dream Kitchens, Inc., dreamed up a winner.
In fact, the design firm's joint focus on profit sharing and employee empowerment as a means for creating a team-driven profit center won the firm first place honors in Kitchen and Bath Design News' first annual Industry Leadership award for the "Most Innovative Retail Business Management Strategy" category.
How did he do it? Well, first, and perhaps most importantly, according to Glickman, "we did it by including team members in the success of Dream Kitchens on a per project basis, via a bonus plan." This includes a share in the project profits, as well as an added bonus for the top two team members.
Empowering employees is a big part of the design firm's success, and Glickman notes that management follows this policy by being "open and honest with the team, keeping them informed and up to date on the financial situation, and allowing them the freedom to make day-to-day business decisions."
Glickman believes this winning combination of forthrightness and financial incentives keeps enthusiasm and team spirit at the highest level, and enables employees to remain focused on the company's business and marketing goals.
Second, Dream Kitchens works overtime to stay at the forefront of promotional and design technologies, using state-of-the-art technology such as the firm's comprehensive Web site and sophisticated 3-D presentation system.
In fact, Glickman dramatically reduced reliance onlocation and street traffic and expanded the firm's customer base by using Dream Kitchens' Web site as a "second location."
He also utilized an Internet Web site to shift the advertising focus and dollar from printed media to Web media, resulting in decreased operating expenses and increased sales and gross margin.
Dream Kitchens also finds its success in catering to market demand in a variety of niches. For instance, Glickman, with his background in restaurant design, knows a lot about cooking. And he knows a lot about how good design facilities cooking. Thus, before designing a project, he takes the time to find out how, what and how often a client intends to use his or her kitchen.
Because its location caters to a multi-ethnic clientele, Dream Kitchens has also carved out a niche in designing kitchens that cater to ethnic specialties such as kosher cooking.
Finally, Dream Kitchens continually changes the product mix to accommodate shifts in current buying trends and to attract a broader client base. This is done in part by dropping product lines that fail to spark consumer service philosophies.
Glickman also has made changes "by dropping product lines that were not in the Bath and Kitchen Buying Group," enabling the firm to focus on the most profitable products and cabinet installations, and less on the sub-contracted installation sales.
And clearly this winning business strategy has worked. Glickman's progressive approach and leadership skills have not only earned Dream Kitchens the respect of clients and colleagues, they've also resulted in substantial growth in both sales and profits.
But, perhaps, Glickman summed up the idea for a great business strategy best when he expressed his simple yet effective philosophy on designing: "Design must emanate from function." Likewise, it's the firm's focus on function that allows for a business that runs - and looks - like a million dollars.
