MARIETTA, GA.—To help ensure it is giving its Premier Partner dealers what they need to be successful, Wools of New Zealand has recruited seven of the industry’s leading upscale retailers to form its Premier Partner Advisory Council.
“By uniting this exceptional group of retailers, we are able to redefine the wool industry and create new ways of doing business that are built on a strong foundation of partnership,” said Elise Demboski, Wools’ executive director of North America.
Members of the inaugural council include Paul Chapman of ABC Carpets in New York; Wyoma Craghead of CDC Carpets & Interiors in Austin, Tex.; Peter DiPaola of Cornell Carpets & Designs in Mt. Kisco, N.Y.; Brett Hemphill of Hemphill’s Rugs & Carpets in Costa Mesa, Calif.; Steve Lewis of Lewis Floor & Home in Chicago; Sam Presnell of The Rug Gallery in Cincinnati, and Steve Wilson of Synergy Floor Covering in Denver.
“With the expertise of the advisory council,” Demboski noted, “we are building something unique that will benefit our retailer partners, our mill partners and the New Zealand farmers that grow the best wool in the world.”
Hemphill said members of the council plan to be proactive, noting the group will do more than discuss ideas; it will work with Wools of New Zealand to launch programs that “best benefit the wider group.”
He pointed to a recent idea that resulted from Wools’ partnership with Miele vacuums as an example. Through this program, Premier Partners get exclusive coupons they can give their wool customers. “Right now, we are working with Wools of New Zealand and several of its mill partners to create Premier Exclusives, which are proprietary products that further differentiate our stores.”
Presnell added, the Premier Partners program is one avenue in which Wools of New Zealand is bringing the industry together “in new and exciting ways. It is giving carpet retailers a voice and a sense of belonging to a cause greater than themselves. Wools of New Zealand is really listening to our needs and responding with many small pluses that add up to make a big difference.”
Demboski agreed that retailers who become a part of the Premier Partner program are privy to special programs that differentiate their showroom and increase their selling power. Some of the exclusive advantages cited include sales incentives, promotional pricing, wool specialist training and aggressive credit card processing rates.
Premier Partners are also the sole participants of Wool for a Better World, a sales event being held in November, Presnell added. “And members will soon benefit from exclusive product introductions. This comes on top of the cleaning materials, testing assurances and great green story that Wools of New Zealand already offers.”
Lewis called all program members “showrooms of excellence. They are luxury flooring stores that understand wool and are committed to educating their staff and supporting their customers with exceptional service and installation.”
He added these retailers, like himself, “believe in the Wools of New Zealand brand and want to partner in its success,” because “the brand attests to the fiber and the construction being the most reliable, consistent, quality controlled, tested wool in the world. It is a great story for the retailer to use. No country is more committed to its farming integrity than New Zealand and that makes the Wools of New Zealand brand more important.”
For more on Wools of New Zealand and its retailer pro- grams, call 770.649.7699.