Dallas – Quick-Step’s designer partner, Los Angeles-based interior designer/style expert Erinn Valencich, recently taught retail customers how to “stay within a budget and still create beautiful living spaces quickly, easily, and affordably” during free decorating and design seminars at Avalon Carpet Tile and Flooring retail stores in New Jersey. Valencich regularly conducts free decorating and design seminars for retail partners as part of Quick-Step’s comprehensive merchandising program, designed to equip retail partners for even greater success with the Quick-Step brand.
“The Quick-Step brand excels at serving our retail partners by taking our superior product line and then wrapping it in an effective, comprehensive merchandising program,” said Roger Farabee, vice president of marketing for Unilin, Quick-Step’s parent company. “Providing our specialty retailers with Erinn’s free decorating and design seminars is just one aspect of our comprehensive merchandising program.”
“Erinn’s free seminars not only help drive the right kind of traffic into our retailers’ stores, but also raise awareness in their communities that these specialty retailers, and the Quick-Step brand, are strong and inviting resources for customer service and design advice when considering a flooring purchase,” said Farabee.
“The recent decorating and design seminars not only provide an exciting, free design service to Avalon’s customers attending the event, but also reinforce in the local community’s mind that Avalon is a flooring retailer that offers design expertise and strong customer service, in addition to extensive knowledge of flooring products,” said Sean O’Rourke, vice president of hard surfaces, Avalon.
During the recent seminars, attendees were encouraged to bring photos of a room in their home they would like to refresh. Valencich worked one-on-one with attendees to give them free, personalized design advice on these rooms. Valencich also gave a formal design presentation that walked attendees through overall effective design techniques to achieve “big style through small changes.” Attendees were given practical advice on the use of color as well as several other key design principles. Valencich’s effective “room lift” techniques demonstrated how easily and affordably consumers could breathe new life and design flair into any room. Her room lift tips include easy, affordable DIY changes that are within the skill level of most homeowners.
A free Quick-Step floor was given away at each event, compliments of Avalon.
“Consumers can feel so intimidated by the thought of selecting a new floor that they sometimes abandon the idea before even beginning the process,” said Melissa Firth, interior designer and Avalon retail store manager. One of the recent decorating and design seminars co-sponsored by Quick-Step and Avalon helped highlight the October grand opening of Avalon’s newest retail store in Deptford, N.J., of which Firth is the manager.
“[Valencich’s] seminars offered very tangible design advice that showed attendees how doable and fun it can be to embark on a room refresh project, which includes the addition of a new floor,” said Firth.