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 Design |
 Equipment |
 Supplies |
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E&S Boutique Style |
  Although not unique, but certainly
unusual, TriMark has an interior design department, says
President Jerry Hyman. Manned by five full-time designers,
the department is conveniently located steps away from
the display kitchen and presentation rooms, which are
used by designers and contract salespeople. Consequently,
the engineering department and customer service department
are also offshoots of the showroom, giving curious customers
easy access.
 Like most every-day items, disposable products such
as paper napkins and take-out containers are not the
easiest to display. These mainstays are minimal on the
flash and a 10 on the difficulty scale when it comes
to organization. TriMark's solution for displaying these
products was to arrange them into an elaborate design
on the wall. "We're always looking to improve the way
we display disposables," says Sharon Egan, the director
of Customer Service. "It's a constant battle."
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Well, that's what customers' expressions tell Hyman when he sees them crisscrossing the floor to study a tabletop display or peering through the glass window that leads to a full-size display kitchen. "There's plenty of restaurant equipment dealers in New England and we wanted our customers to see something different when they walked into our showroom," he says. "We wanted them to say 'Wow! We wanted our showroom to be a reflection of our level of our expertise ... an example of how we go to market." The Wow Factor Fortunately for TriMark, it is in the enviable position of having several "Wow"-generators on staff and the way it goes to market reflects this. Recently named FE&S magazine's "Dealer of the Year" (an honor Hyman attributes in large part to his 150 associates), the New England dealer has been ranked among the magazine's Top 20 "Distribution Giants" for many years. In addition to a 30-person outside sales force, which calls on 90 percent of its customer base, it has an engineering department as well as an interior design department manned by five full-time interior designers. And unlike most dealers, TriMark sells everything its designers specify-lighting, drapes, wall coverings, carpet, etc. (which explains why everything from the designer carpet on the showroom floor to the elaborate crown molding in the bathroom looks as if it was selected by an expert's eye). In this case, looks are not deceiving. From the beginning the company's design team, which was responsible for selecting the display cases, lighting, carpeting, etc., has had free reign over the showroom-except when their ideas exceed what management determines is a reasonable amount. Then, they have to get creative. According to Sharon Egan, the director of Customer Service, that very creativity is responsible for the layout of the showroom. "When we first started ' it was one big space, and then Suzanne [Staples, one of the designers] came up with the idea of these lovely walls to divide the room into three spaces."
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