TriMark United East's showroom proves that lots of big ideas can fit into small Packages

By Stacy Ward,
Managing Editor
FEDA News & Views (May/June 2003)

It's been a long time coming but you're finally ready to start mapping out your new showroom. There's only one problem: You've got more big ideas than square footage. Well, it could be a problem depending on your perception. If you're a believer in the 90s notion of "supersize it and they will come," then, yes, you've got a dilemma on your hands. But if you look at it with Jerry Hyman's eyes, that small space could be an opportunity to do something extraordinary. At least that's how he and his associates at TriMark United East eventually saw it after months of debate about the design of their new showroom.

When they acquired their current location in South Attleboro, Mass., three years ago, the dealer's top brass were leaning toward expanding into the cash-and-carry market. The world around them seemed to suggest that it was the right time to go big. The superstore bug was invading slabs of concrete nationwide and dealers, erecting their own versions of the concept, were following suit. Now, with a showroom/warehouse space more ideal for walk-in traffic, they were ready to do the same.

"We had a tremendous amount of discussion on what we thought the showroom should be," says Hyman, the president of the company. "A lot of our friends in the industry were going the cash-and-carry route and when we found this building we thought it was the perfect opportunity" to go in that direction.

If you've ever visited TriMark, then you know that somewhere along the course of this story the dealer made a 360. A little under half the size of its previous 7,000 square-foot showroom, the year-old space doesn't have a trace of cash- and-carry and looks more like an E&S Crate & Barrel than a typical dealer showroom. Absent are the rows of inventory stacked way high, the aisles of equipment and the ever-so-familiar metal shelving. In their place: polished wood and glass display cases, discreet accent lighting and shelving low enough to provide an unobstructed view of the entire showroom floor.

Finally coming to the conclusion that they "did not have to be all things to all people, "TriMark's management decided to put the brakes on their cash-and-carry plans (at least for the immediate future) and focus on their bread and butter-being a traditional dealer. And then they kicked it up a notch. "If we weren't going to do cash and carry, we were going to swing the needle all the way to the other side," Hyman says.

Their definition of swinging the needle: an upscale display showroom with "a jewelry store" feel.

Although smaller than most, the 3,000-square-foot space is just the right fit for TriMark. It's big enough to display at least one of just about everything the dealer carries (all of the product comes from the warehouse); while the warmcolored walls and beautifully-decorated sitting nooks make it inviting enough for those who drop by to pick up an order or meet with their sales rep. Most importantly, it delivers the "oomph" the dealer was shooting for to make it stand out among the lot of its competitors.

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