Why Did Expo Design Center Fail?

why expo design center closed

I decided to write this article to address the hesitation that many homeowners have expressed in pursuing their home remodeling projects in Orange County. People have asked me, If Home Expo can fail, what makes Signature Design Center different? The answer is simple, I have built a business by not competing on price, but by offering service that is unmatched in all of Southern California. I am not bragging, but I pride myself and teach my employees that without our customer service we would have been out of business years ago.

So after speaking with several clients that have visited our showroom I thought I should share some of my insights as to why Home Depot’s Expo Design Center (in Anaheim and the US) concept did not work and 7,000 hard working Americans lost their job.

I.  Staffers Needed More Education.  When you go to Home Depot you can expect to get reasonable service from their associates.  When you are spending $25 for a gallon of paint, if the representative does not know the entire list of chemicals in the paint, you tend to be more forgiving.  However when you shop at Expo Design Center it is impossible to think that you can sell $75 a gallon paint without having salespeople who are dedicated to understanding and specializing in all things paint. There is a difference.

II. Service is Greater Than Price: My friends that drive expensive cars like the BMW, do not spend $50,000 on a car because it has leather seats, you spend that type of money because you can rest assured that when it needs service, you will have 4 people breaking their backs to ensure that you are satisfied.  The quality of knowledable employees overall shrank over they years at Expo Design Center, and high end clients demand nothing short of the best service.

III.  Prices were too high: Everyone in business needs to make a margin or they would no longer be in business.  But with the rise of the internet and other competition it became increasingly difficult for Expo to make their mortgage/lease payments and pass the costs of their goods onto their clients.  Customers became accustomed to going to Expo Design to test out products and purchase them in other places.   The best margins can only be charged when you have something more than price to compete on.  Again we are back to service.

In conclusion, I will miss the Expo Design Centers of Anaheim and other California locations.  We constantly competed with quotes from their stores to win clients, but mainly because Orange County needs high end options as everyone is not satisfied with selection from Lowes, Ikea and Home Depot.  We are in the business because we have a dedication to serving our clients unlike no other company in Southern California.

If you are in need of a home remodeling contractor quote in Orange or Los Angeles County, give us a call at: 714.289.2600

Signature Design Center welcomes all Expo Design Center Clients

Expo Design Center closes for all Orange County residents

Special Promotion for all former Expo Design Center Clients in Orange County.

In what was sad news to remodelers of Orange County and Southern California all over, Home Depot has decided to close all 34 of it’s high end, Expo Design Centers.  It may seem odd to say sad as we were direct competitors, but many local sales reps got their start at Expo Design Center.  In Orange County, Expo Design thrived because residents usually could not get the high end look they wanted for their homes at Home Depot or Lowes.

The Atlanta retailer is closing all 34 of its high-end Expo stores nationwide – three in the Bay Area – as well the Home Depot Design Center in Concord and five Yardbirds, a hardware-store chain founded in Santa Rosa that Home Depot purchased in December 2005. The company also is shedding 7,000 jobs, including 600 in the Bay Area.

The nation’s largest home improvement retailer, along with its competitors and furniture retailers, has been hard hit by the housing crunch and the overall economic downturn, which has weakened the demand for buying homes and starting remodeling projects.

Home Depot announced Monday it was exiting its Expo business entirely, closing stores in 13 states. California has 12 Expo stores, more than any other state. The company said continuing the concept, which it started in 1991, would sap resources from its core “orange box” Home Depot stores. No Home Depot stores are closing.

Not to worry, the Signature Design Center is offering a special sale for all Expo Design Center customers looking to get quality and or custom renovations completed in their home.  We carry many of the same high end luxury items found at Expo Design Center usually at a better price point.  And because we are local we also have great relationships with manufacturers overlooked by Expo Design Center because of their size.

For the months of Frebruary – April, Signature Deisgn Center is offering a free premium dishwasher, stainless steel sink and garbage disposal, including installation for any custom kitchen remodeling job including flooring, cabinets, countertops and electrical work.  Minimum purchase of $25K required for this promotion valued at over $2500.  For details or an appointment please call me, Fred @ (714) 442-2798.