 |
Doug and Sharon Sanicola's understanding of what drives consumers to their products has made Outdoor Elegance Patio Design Center one of the strongest retailers in the outdoor-living industry.
Written By Kimberly Rodgers
Photography by Eric Erickson
With a 13,000–square-foot showroom, Outdoor Elegance is one of the largest outdoor casual retailers in Southern California.
I t would not be an overstatement to say that Outdoor Elegance Patio Design Center (La Verne, Calif.) recently underwent a dramatic transformation. Owners Doug and Sharon Sanicola razed two existing structures on their two-acre commercial property and built a beautiful 20,000–square-foot building. With 13,000 square feet devoted to showroom and mezzanine space (and a 7,000–square-foot attached warehouse), Outdoor Elegance has the largest casual-furniture showroom in the area. “That is just the inside showroom. On the outside area, we have another 12,000 square feet,” Doug Sanicola says.
 |
| Doug and Sharon Sanicola |
The impressive outdoor courtyard displays an array of water fountains, statuary, planters, birdbaths, bistro sets, and benches. The showroom's interior features an even more dazzling selection of products and accessories from high-end manufacturers such as Brown Jordan, Domus Ventures, Gloster, Laneventure, Lloyd/Flanders, Mallin, Meadowcraft, OW Lee, Tropitone, and Winston. Grill lines include Fire Magic, Viking, Lynx, and Twin Eagles. Outdoor Elegance also carries an impressive line of hearth products by R.H. Peterson, Dagan Industries, Design Specialties, and Portland Willamette.
“When we built the new store, we eliminated the few lower-end lines we were carrying,” Sanicola says. “We stay far away from the big-box stores' mentality. More than anything, we educate customers and explain to them the reasons why our furniture is priced higher. It's a process that we go through.”
While his new building is certainly a showplace, Sanicola also decided to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. “This building is so user friendly and green. We built it with as much technology as we could and really tried to help the environment,” he says. Sanicola's building is only the second site in California to install an air-conditioning system using fabric air ducts, or duct socks (the first is a building owned by Southern California Edison).
This system, which provides uniform air distribution through a flame-retardant material, is an energy-efficient, cost-effective alternative to a traditional metal duct system and will not rust, rot, or corrode. Low-energy fluorescent lighting is used throughout the entire building, and the site is also set up to use solar energy in the future.
The Sanicolas fell into the outdoor casual business in 2001, after purchasing an existing patio-shop business, called Cathy's Cottage, that consisted of two buildings located on a prime two-acre site. Sanicola had recently sold his insurance/lending company—which he had built from three employees to 540—and was retired for all of six weeks before looking for his next business opportunity.
“One of the main reasons I purchased the business was because of a lease option to buy the property,” Sanicola says. The new owners changed the name of the business to Outdoor Elegance, and after some very successful years, the Sanicolas embarked on their ambitious remodeling project.
 |
| Furniture, fountains, statuary, and planters are among the many items displayed in Outdoor Elegance's 12,000–square-foot courtyard. |
Site construction took almost all of 2008, with a VIP party held in December. During construction, operations moved into temporary accommodations on the property. Sanicola says, “We actually worked out of a tent and two trailers for 8.5 months. It was a challenge, but we were still able to maintain a decent business level.” The Sanicolas have 14 employees and receive key assistance from Tom Kay, general manager, and Rob Decker, sales manager.
Sanicola is a true marketing genius, employing a variety of strategies to spread the word about Outdoor Elegance to a target audience. His new building, itself, may be his best form of advertisement yet. Located in the San Gabriel Valley, approximately 35 miles east of Los Angeles, Outdoor Elegance is situated just off a major Southern California freeway.
“We have great exposure,” Sanicola says. “As you come off the freeway exit, our building is literally on the ramp, so we have excellent access.” He adds, “It took one year of planning, with many renderings and concepts, looking at different ways to use the property. We wanted to use the property in a manner that would get the building as much exposure as possible.”
In addition, the maximum height allowance for a commercial property in the city of La Verne is 50 feet. Outdoor Elegance came in just under the limit at 49.6 feet tall, making it one of the most prominent buildings in the area. To increase Outdoor Elegance's presence to the public further, signs on the building are backlit. “They are just beautiful at night,” Sanicola says. The building has already won two design awards from the city of La Verne.
Sanicola does not believe in waiting for customers to walk through the doors; instead, he seeks them aggressively. For example, Outdoor Elegance draws many customers from the upscale communities of Pasadena and San Marino (located just minutes away), and Sanicola focuses much of his marketing on that area.
The retailer is a member of numerous Pasadena professional associations and advertises in The Magazine, a luxury-lifestyle publication with a circulation of 25,000 sent to households (with incomes of $150,000 or more) located in the Pasadena and Foothills region. This area is a growing economic hub in Southern California.
Sanicola has had great success in advertising on a Los Angeles talk radio show, “Food News With Melinda Lee.” The weekend program—devoted to all things relating to fine food, entertainment, and how to achieve a dream California lifestyle—is the perfect fit for Outdoor Elegance's target market. Sanicola is currently taking a break from advertising with the show, but has plans to return to it sometime this year. While he has done some newspaper advertising, he has no future plans to continue using that medium.
 |
| With a 13,000–square-foot showroom, Outdoor Elegance is one of the largest outdoor casual retailers in Southern California. |
Sanicola also makes Outdoor Elegance a strong visible presence in the community through its support for many events and organizations, including local colleges, charities, and the 2009 Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts. Approximately 40,000 visitors per year tour the showcase home, which is open for one month each spring. Outdoor Elegance is involved in four areas of this year's home (a 1917 mansion built in Italian renaissance-revival style) by providing furniture for the pool, barbecue, and pond areas and by restoring and servicing the estate's 12-foot fountain.
Outdoor Elegance was also chosen to furnish the backyard space for the Pasadena EcoHouse, which aspires to be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum-status home in the United States using structural concrete insulated panels. “This is the most eco-friendly house being built in the United States,” Sanicola says. Outdoor Elegance was selected from among seven different outdoor retailers to provide products for the home's exterior. Sanicola adds, “We were very pleased.”
The Outdoor Elegance showroom features a complete design center, with professional consultants available to help customers create a designer look for their outdoor spaces. The company holds an American Society of Interior Designers Industry Partners membership and also works with many designers, architects, and landscapers, as well as the contract-hospitality market. The company also holds memberships in the International Casual Furnishings Association, the Pacific Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, and the California Hotel & Lodging Association.
In addition to its furniture and hearth lines, Outdoor Elegance builds and installs complete outdoor kitchens. It has seen an increase in sales in this area due to the closing of two nearby Barbeques Galore stores. With the exception of any work that requires a builder's license, the company will design an outdoor room from top to bottom. “Our goal is to put the kitchen in place, along with the grill, furniture, fountains, and lighting,” Sanicola says. Certified technicians are on staff to install (and provide regular service and maintenance for) all grills that the company sells.
Despite the current state of the economy, Outdoor Elegance is doing well. Sanicola says that he is running operations conservatively and keeping inventory levels lean. He also attributes his success to the remodeled site. “Curiosity about our new building is striking a lot of interest in everybody,” he says. “People tell us they were just driving by the building and had to come in and see it, because it is so beautiful—and that is creating sales.”
PHPR May/June 2009
|
|
