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Inside Dacor’s Orange County Flagship Showroom

March 31, 2020

At the beginning of this month, Dacor debuted the flagship location of The Dacor Kitchen Theater, the third showroom for the brand at The Boardwalk in Irvine, Calif. The destination is meant to serve as a full-scale showroom, event and product training space to serve consumers and trade.

The showroom draws inspiration from California’s mix of geography and features an open layout with references to indoor-outdoor living. Neutral tones, along with natural materials, make up the showroom’s palette. To echo its location, the space also includes works from local artisans – from custom light fixtures by Siemon & Salazar to custom refrigerator panels designed by LA-based artist Alex Turco.

KBB spoke with Steve Lee, director of retail merchandising and Scott Davies, senior director of marketing at Dacor, to find out more about the showroom itself and how the debut has gone since the coronavirus outbreak.

KBB: Why did you choose this location?
Lee: “Irvine/Costa Mesa is the new hub for luxury appliance brand experience centers. We’re located in The Boardwalk, a new building offering a unique environment that epitomizes the Southern California lifestyle. The space also features a beautifully landscaped courtyard visible from the suite with three-sided glass curtain walls to blend the interior with the exterior. We felt this was the perfect location for a showroom with a design motif to highlight Dacor’s connection to Southern California and allow opportunities for us to hold outdoor events throughout the year.”

KBB: How has your business innovated and changed during this time?
Davies: “Like most businesses, we have needed to pivot and respond quickly to the ever-changing environment. Many of our dealers showrooms are closed or open via appointment only. Additionally, reevaluating our marketing strategy to ensure we are directing focus and investment in the appropriate areas given the environment is critical. The challenge and therefore opportunity lies in how we can continue to remain active with our internal and external partners with a virtual lens. 

Our manufacturing in California remains open as does our logistics team – all while enforcing social distancing policies. Additionally, our customer service, operations, marketing and sales force are all able to work remotely so from this standpoint we are operational and able to remain completely accessible to our customers. Our three showrooms however remain closed in acknowledgment of our employees and our customers’ safety.”

KBB: Explain the layout of your physical space.
Lee: “We placed the kitchen displays and our large branding wall along the street-facing windows to have more visibility to the neighborhood and passersby. In addition, the inner 120-ft. wall consists of three zones that display Dacor products by category in a variety of design and installation applications. We did this not only to show customers and designers product options but also to provide design inspiration and showcase the brand’s versatility for different tastes and styles. Tucked away into the back of the showroom is a large demonstration kitchen with fully functioning products and an audience seating area set up to host hands-on cooking demonstrations as well as product training, equipped with cameras and overhead monitors for seamless close-up viewing and presentations. An open meeting space called the ‘Design Studio’ is provided for designers and clients to use as a working space with a TV for online access and presentations, as well as a Samsung Flip TV that is a versatile digital whiteboard among other functions.”


KBB: What learning opportunities will the showroom offer when the pandemic ends?
Lee: “Training and learning were at the forefront of our mind, as we feel they’re key to driving sales and specifications. As a brand, we have a variety of different options available for all channels, dealers, specifiers (designers/builder/architect) and consumers. Every few weeks we would eventually like to host our Dacor Live training, where key dealers and specifiers are invited out to the Flagship Showroom to participate in an immersive, hands-on style training covering all the unique features and key benefits of the product line. In conjunction, we’ll conduct cooking classes to cover all the basics of Dacor’s steam technology, induction and even a hands-on cooking class for consumers (both pre-purchase and post) to learn more about the products.”

KBB: Do you think your future clients will come into the showroom with different goals than before the virus? How will you change with them?
Davies:Given the fact many employers have advised a ‘stay at home’ policy, potential customers are now in their home all day and are likely spending some of that time researching remodeling opportunities therefore the digital experience become critical. In regards to the showrooms – potentially customers will perform even greater research online prior to beginning their in-store experience. As we fit in the luxury end of the market, customers will generally want to touch, feel and use the products prior to purchasing.”