Retailers can capture attention with outdoor brand banners and in-store promo materials.

Flag banners and door entry window clings attract attention.

Even in a digital world, printed point-of-purchase (POP) materials can enhance retail showrooms with thought-provoking leave-behind information that sparks customers’ imaginations.

As part of an integrated well balanced marketing strategy, in-store promotional displays can provide cost effective cross selling success.

Fortunately, Nashville-based companies Astria & IronStrike will be equipped for the upcoming burn season with a variety of POP materials to enhance retail showrooms inside and out.

Retailers can capture attention outside with welcoming outdoor brand banners, flag banners, and door entry window clings, or warm up a showroom’s interior with individual product sales talkers and tall free-standing banner displays.  A looping lifestyle brand video brings everything together with the added interest of movement and sound to complete the package.

www.astria.us.com
www.ironstrike.us.com

The Celaya Rocker features a contemporary design.

Mallin Casual recently introduced two rockers designed to be plush, luxurious, and perfect for entertaining. Celaya’s clean, contemporary design features an attached cushion with an oversized, elegant frame. Retailers may choose to pair single and double rockers with the robust collection of dining and seating pieces, with options in sling and cushion.

Users can create an ideal space for conversation with the rockers and new aluminum coffee and corner tables. The frame comprises sturdy extruded aluminum adorned by cast accents, powder coated for weather resistance and luster, while cushions can be customized with quality Sunbrella fabrics.

A stunning banana leaf bucket provides exceptional comfort and style, complementing the Celaya profile.

Celaya Woven
A stunning banana leaf bucket provides exceptional comfort and style, complementing the Celaya profile. The woven bucket, newly introduced to the Mallin line, was developed to set the gold standard in comfort. It features a supportive seat and a delicate woven surface that is satiny to the touch—sure to be refreshing during the warm summer months.

The Celaya Woven dining chair, swivel rocker, and chaise bring together a robust extruded aluminum frame and natural elements in perfect harmony. The collection is a welcome addition to the line and the casual industry.

Terraza’s seating and dining pieces bring a regal presence.

Terraza Cushion
Terraza features a substantial cast frame complemented by a nuanced, airy back. The contoured cushion adds detailed flair, an exemplar of Mallin’s quality craftsmanship.

The cushion surrounds users in comfort, whether they are looking to relax and chat or dine al fresco. The cast frame is polyester powder coated for diamond-hard luster that enhances the beauty of the collection.

Terraza’s seating and dining pieces bring a regal presence to the backyard oasis and an eye-catching addition to retailer showrooms. We proudly ship Terazza from our plant just outside of Los Angeles, California.

www.minson.com

The RAD Mahopac from Solair.

Solair’s Retail Awning Display (RAD) is gaining nationwide attention among retailers across the country. Rolf Zimmermann, VP of Sales and Marketing for Best in Backyards, a division of Eastern Jungle Gym, recently shared his feedback on the reception of Solair’s Retail Awning Display (RAD) within his bustling outdoor living business in the Northeast.

“We now have a total of six RADs across multiple locations,” said Zimmerman. “Perhaps the biggest benefit of the RAD—especially to a retailer new to the awnings space—is its ability to encompass everything we need in order to sell an awning — all in a relatively small but impressive space.  Since we installed the RADs last Winter (2013), we’ve seen an influx of traffic to the stores and customers are coming in and asking for awnings specifically.”

The RAD Elmsford from Solair.

Because the outdoor room category is growing rapidly in the Northeast, there is tremendous opportunity for Best in Backyards to reach an untapped market. “As such, we recently added the awning to our portfolio of offerings,” explains Zimmerman. “Historically, we’ve carried pergolas, pavilions, outdoor kitchens and more, to enhance outdoor rooms and/or playgrounds. The Solair RAD enables us to better position ourselves as a key awnings dealer and leader in the outdoor room category.”

Unlike screened porches and sunrooms, Solair awnings easily retract and extend, allowing users to enjoy the deck or patio however they desire—covered or uncovered. Customers who want a spur-of-the-moment lunch outside can extend the awning at the push of a button to create a cool outdoor dining room in seconds.

www.solair.com

Sunbrella fabrics suit every aspect of the home.

Interior designer Kate Jackson chose Sunbrella Fabrics as her “perfect solution” for the modern home.

NARRAGANSETT, RI – Sunbrella® fabrics has launched “The Beach House,” Part III of Perspective New England that follows the makeover of a Narragansett, Rhode Island beach house from faded to fabulous in a series of seven online episodes. The story follows interior designer Kate Jackson of Kate Jackson Design as she breathes new life into the beach house through a sophisticated and kid-friendly coastal chic design.

“The Beach House episodes feature a series of design challenges that will resonate with families everywhere, whether or not you live on the New England coast,” said Gina Wicker, design and creative director for Sunbrella fabrics. “For this makeover, we looked to interior designer Kate Jackson to bring the beach house to life through her unique style, her fabric and color palette choices and her careful consideration of the family’s needs.”

A native of Rhode Island and working mom of three, Jackson understands intimately the challenges facing the owners of the beach house: Greg and Stacie Hall balance raising two active daughters and two dogs with running two small businesses.  “It’s not enough for a home to just be beautiful—it has to stand up to our active families and the busyness and messiness of our everyday lives,” said Jackson. “It was so fun to work exclusively with Sunbrella fabric for this project because it combines the style and beauty that consumers want with the high performance that families need.”

With a solutions-oriented approach to design, Jackson tackles fading in the living room and dining room; an open floor plan in need of a smarter furniture arrangement; a large beachfront backyard in need of defined spaces for dining and relaxing; and a new design for the girls’ bedroom/play area that reflects their personalities and can grow with them into their tween years.

“Sunbrella fabrics are really the perfect solution for the modern family home and I think Kate was able to show us that in her design of the beach house,” said Wicker. “From the sheer window treatments and retractable awnings that let in just the right amount of light to the furniture upholstered in stain resistant Sunbrella fabrics, Kate has created a design that is sophisticated, kid friendly and livable.”

Additional online content includes blogs and short videos on tough interior design challenges, such as Jackson’s advice on hanging draperies in relation to transom windows and how to arrange furniture for different occasions. The series also will educate consumers on Sunbrella fabrics available at the retail level and how to gain access to additional Sunbrella resources by working with interior designers.

Perspective New England is a three-part design journey exploring the versatility of Sunbrella fabrics for every aspect of your life—at home, on the water and on an adventure. All three parts of Perspective New England, The Rhode Yacht, The Real Yacht and The Beach House, can be viewed online by visiting www.sunbrella.com/perspectiveNE. Keep up with the full project by following @Sunbrella and #PerspectiveNE on Twitter and Instagram.

www.sunbrella.com/perspectiveNE

All items in the Calais Collection (such as the Chat shown here) are available in Driftwood or Chestnut.

Fla-based Ebel Inc is eyeing 2015 with a new collection called the Calais. Items in the collection are available in Driftwood or Chestnut, along with two seating depths—Lux and Standard. The sectional offers “split” corners, where part of the sectional is standard depth, and the other can be Lux depth.

The Calais continues a tradition begun by Ebel Inc in 1988 with Anne Ebel (president) selling resin benches out of Virginia Beach, Va. Now, based out of Jacksonville, FL, Ebel Inc. continues to successfully operate – on a much larger scale – with the same “family company” values the business started on.

Calais features Lux and Standard seating depth.

That team philosophy has helped Ebel Inc partner with dealers across the US, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean—and now Ebel products can be found on residential and commercial properties.

In the global environment, Ebel Inc is making every effort to remain environmentally responsible. All aluminum and weather wicker is 100% recyclable, and teak parts are only harvested from sustainable plantations.

Providing a strong and long-lasting product not only ensures low maintenance for the consumer, but also helps to keep the environment a cleaner place by reducing the amount of harmful chemical cleaners needed, and by reducing the amount of waste.

The Calais Sectional offers “split” corners.

In 2008, Ebel Inc partnered with Trees for the Future, an organization committed to furthering sustainable agroforestry in developing countries. Since its inception, Trees for the Future has planted nearly 50 million trees – estimated to remove 1 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.

Ebel Inc. has committed to planting enough trees to offset the carbon emissions resulting from the daily operations at its Sunshine State headquarters. The company has also committed to plant one tree for every piece of furniture produced and have already planted more than 85,000 trees.

As of 2009, all marketing materials are printed in a facility that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, whose mission is to promote well-managed forests by ensuring forestry practices that are environmentally responsible, socially equitable and economically viable.

www.ebelinc.com

Galaxy Outdoor built an outdoor kitchen area for Fox 5 News studio cooking segments.

Las Vegas-based Galaxy Outdoor recently constructed the Fox 5 Galaxy Outdoor Kitchen, viewable HERE on the Galaxy Outdoor website. Galaxy built the outdoor kitchen for the brand new cooking segments hosted at the Fox 5 News studio.

Interested viewers can tune in this Wednesday (Aug 6) to view the official launch of the Fox 5 Galaxy Outdoor Kitchen 20 minute segment with Chopped Champion Chef Phillip Dell from Sin City Chefs.

The Evo Affinity 30G Classic Cooktop will be on display during the segment, where the emphasis is on social cooking. With the Evo, foods can be prepared directly on the cooktop, and either separately or simultaneously, pots and pans may be used as in traditional stove top cooking.

The Evo Affinity 30G Classic Cooktop will be on display during the Food Wars Fox 5 News Studio segments

The 30G Classic has 30-inch diameter black oil-seasoned steel (optional ceramic-clad cook surface available) heated underneath by inner and outer gas tube burners. Evo’s technology allows independent heat adjustment across inner and outer cook surface zones for managing a wide range of menu possibilities. Heat is delivered to each burner via separate inner and outer control knobs.

Edge-to-edge even surface temperatures range from 225ºF to 675ºF (121ºC to 357ºC) from the center to the outside edge without the hot spots and temperature problems prone to traditional square griddles. The burner system has a push button electronic ignition system which ignites both burners simultaneously.

A stainless steel drip pan completely surrounds the underside of the cook surface catching all food debris. Separate spill over trays that contain and hold drip pan debris are concealed in slide out drawers at each right and left side of the control panel. Operating on either Natural Gas or Propane LP Gas, the Affinity 30G Classic Cooktop creates a social cooking space for any outdoor kitchen.

www.galaxyoutdoor.com

by Tony Ramos

Last week, I had the opportunity (and privilege) of attending the Cal Spas Vendor Appreciation Dinner, held at the company’s headquarters in Pomona, Calif. Cal Spas brought together a large number of its local vendors to extend the company’s appreciation and thanks to them for being part of the Cal Spas team. No one does a better job than Cal Spas (led by Casey Loyd, CEO) of extending thanks to its customers.

For the past 35 years, Cal Spas/Cal Flame has been in the forefront of product innovation and design with home-resort products. Proudly promoting goods made in the United States, Cal Spas/Cal Flame depends on its specialty retailers/dealers to promote, sell, and distribute its products. Loyd has always understood that Cal Spas/Cal Flame is only as good as its dealer base. For this reason, Cal Spas/Cal Flame invests a lot of time, energy, and money in dealer training, in dealer-support programs, in dealer education, and in letting its specialty retailers/dealers know that they are appreciated.

Attendees at the 2014 Cal Spas Vendor Appreciation Dinner.

The Cal Spas Vendor Appreciation Dinner was a classy and low-key event. While many Cal Spas/Cal Flame hot tubs, grills, and outdoor kitchens were on display, there was no sales pitch. Even though Loyd is the consummate salesperson—and he does a great job of teaching his staff and dealers the ABCs (always be closing) of business—last week’s event was simply a time for the executive and support staffs at Cal Spas/Cal Flame to get together with the company’s local vendors, enjoying good food and good conversation. Loyd gave a short (but heartfelt) speech shortly into the evening; then, he let everyone eat, mingle, meet new acquaintances, and know that being a part of the Cal Spas/Cal Flame team is not to be taken lightly.

In our often-rushed, congested, no-end-in-sight society (with all types of traditional- and social-media outlets screaming at us and trying to get our undivided attention), two simple words—thank you—get overlooked and are rarely uttered. Here is a case in point: Last year, my family and I remodeled our home. It was our way of helping to stimulate the economy. Unlike most home remodeling/construction projects, our remodeling started on time, ended on time, and came in on budget. Best of all, we were more than happy and satisfied with the end results.

We worked with at least 10 different craftspeople on our remodeling project. Everyone was treated with respect, and everyone was paid on time. Only one craftsperson, however, had the business savvy and courtesy to say, “Thank you for your business.” I was interested to note that this was the person with whom we had spent the least money. The experience reminded me of the story in the Bible (Luke 17:11-19) in which Jesus heals ten lepers, but only one leper returns to offer thanks. I guess, as they say, some things just don’t change.

As businesspeople, we need to be thankful to (and appreciative of) our customers—and to let them know how thankful we are, on a regular and ongoing basis. When we start to take customers for granted, that’s when we start to lose customers. For specialty retailers and dealers who do business with Cal Spas/Cal Flame, two things are certain: They know that they are appreciated, and they know that—starting right from the top, with Loyd—Cal Spas/Cal Flame is thankful for their business. Now that’s a good business strategy that should be employed by all.

Tony Ramos is the founder and publisher of Patio & Hearth Products Report. He can be reached via e-mail: tramos@peninsula-media.com

Solace is an addition to the Alfresco Homes’ collection of contemporary clean outdoor furniture.

Alfresco Home, founded in 2004, is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of outdoor living products. Recognizing a need for independent retailers to have one complete resource for casual furniture, garden accents and other outdoor living products, Joseph and Kimberly Cilio launched Alfresco Home and focused on the development of fresh, functional, and fashionable products that transfer value through to the end consumer.

The following are just three of the many products that continue to build on the company’s decade of design excellence:

The Solace Collection
Alfresco Home’s Solace Collection brings simplicity and functionality to the outdoors. The modern and fresh design in the dining and gathering collections enhance any outdoor space with quality extruded aluminum construction. Solace is an addition to the Alfresco Homes broad collection of contemporary clean outdoor furniture. Beauty mixed with low maintenance truly makes outdoor living easy.

Vasari blends traditional style of cast aluminum with the beauty of woven wicker.

Vasari 48” Round Gas Fire Pit Chat Table
Alfresco Home extends their gas fire pit collections with the original design of The Vasari 48” round gas fire pit chat table. This unique fire pit blends the traditional style of cast aluminum with the beauty of woven wicker. The Vasari Fire Pit features a slide-out shelf to accommodate the propane tank as well as a remote starter control. The Vasari fire pit is part of the grand San Remo collection which includes dining, deep seating as well as accent pieces.

Fervor™ grills feature GrillSmart™ technology.

Fervor™ Icon 655
Alfresco Home recently introduced Fervor™ to their Outdoor Gourmet lineup. Fervor™ captures the best of the outdoor lifestyle in its range of high-quality barbecues that emphasize healthy and easy grilling. Fervor™ grills feature GrillSmart™ technology; for healthy, simple and clean grilling. GrillSmart™ is an oil management system featuring matte enameled cast iron grill grates that channel fats and oils away from the food.

www.alfrescohome.com
www.grillsmart.net