DDi - November/December 2012 - (Page 44)

A d v e r t o r i A l with Ken Stolls, President, Lifestyle/ Trimco Q Q How would you describe your business in one sentence? Lifestyle/Trimco is a true turnkey visual merchandising manufacturer and supplier. How different does your company look today from five years ago? A A Q What is your company’s philosophy toward customization? Five years ago, we were two separate companies, and we merged in 2009. We each had a different core competency—trim and decorative versus mannequins and forms, with some crossover of fixtures. This was a strategic merge, because people were asking for more products to streamline their vendor base. It was an easy transition, and we took the best of the best and put it under one roof. Now our product offering is much more robust. Every retailer and brand wants to have their own thumbprint. Visual merchandising has to be customized to create that differentiated experience. You have to be able to customize and meet the demands of your clients, and you have to be an extension of them and a partner. Decorative changes just as fast as fashion, while mannequins have a little more longevity—but you have to be able to maneuver as trends change. A Q What does “partnership” mean to your company today? Q What differentiates your company from other competitors in the marketplace? www.lfs-trimco.com http://lfs-trimco.com/lfs-trimcoblog There’s no other company that offers the range of visual merchandising product solutions that we offer. What we have the ability to produce far exceeds everyone else, and we are constantly looking for new ways to develop innovative products. We want to be the ones that are leading the way. We see what the trends are and come up with solutions that meet those needs. Additionally, we are direct manufacturers and direct importers. We have our own personnel abroad and do not rely on agents. One of our many competitive advantages is that we have a 100,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing plant here in Brooklyn, N.Y., in addition to factories abroad. A Partnership means everything. We understand the visual departments are getting smaller and smaller, and retailers are relying more on vendor partners. It’s our responsibility to help get them to the finish line together. We have to be responsible and honest with our customer partners—don’t “yes” them to death! We’re in it together, whether it’s good or bad. It’s not us versus them; and a partnership must go both ways. With open communication and sharing of parameters, we can better help them. A Q What else should we know about your company? Viaggio—an iconic fashion textile display house—is now part of our company. We’re keeping the same team in place and all their members are still there, so the transition for customers will be seamless. It’s another component of our company now, and they’ll have better infrastructure to do more and offer more. We always continue to look for new ways to offer more product and services to our client-partners...stay tuned; more is to come. A http://www.lfs-trimco.com http://www.lfs-trimco.com http://www.lfs-trimco.com/lfs-trimcoblog

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - November/December 2012

DDi - November/December 2012
Contents
From the Editor
From the Show Director
Retail Design Collective
RDC Showroom Map
RDC Products
Retail to see in NYC
Company Listing
Product Category Index
Product Listing
Advertisers
Calendar
Classifieds
Founder’s Letter

DDi - November/December 2012