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A generation of young Canadians have bought their first furniture from The Brick, lured by the promise of low prices with no payments until some distant future date and free delivery just about anywhere.
If those same Canadians went into a Brick store today, they might not believe their eyes. Gone are the cluttered warehouse look and voracious salesmen. In their place are well-lit and spacious stores divided into boutique areas and staffed by helpful, low-key sales associates.
This is the "all-new Brick," an updated, more upmarket look that has evolved over the last three years. This is The Brick that president Kim Yost describes as "a total-concept furniture store, not just an item store." It is also, he concedes, "Canada's best-kept secret."
Sharing that secret not only with former customers of the old cheap and cheerful discount Brick, but also with potential new customers, is the challenge facing Edmonton-based The Brick Warehouse, Canada's largest-volume retailer of home furnishings. And it's a challenge that Yost, a born salesman with over a quartercentury of experience in the furniture business, accepts with zest.
Brick chairman and founder Bill Comrie brought Yost, who previously worked with two Vancouver-based retailers-Woodward's, a major regional department store chain that closed in 1992, and Wosk's, a furniture store chain-into The Brick organization four years ago. He did so, says Yost, because "Bill realized the market is changing, and in retail if you don't change with it, you will be left behind."
Yost began by conducting extensive surveys to determine the "all-new Brick's" target demographic. "We found that our primary customer, making up 60% of our demographic, is someone we call Super Mom. She has a family of younger children, probably a job, has a busy life and is time- and budget-conscious."
A further 25% were identified as The Brick's former young customers, who've now evolved into more-affluent baby boomers. Another 10% were what Yost calls a "tertiary opportunity customer" aged 20 to 30, with the remaining 5% falling into various categories.
Based on this survey and his own instincts, Yost began to change The Brick's image, starting with its physical look and the products it sold. In so doing, he was following a trail blazed by Toronto-based Sears...