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DMonday, October 29, 2012 Assistant City Editor JOHN RYAN • 519-667-4502 • [email protected]
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Windsor native finds success with quality and friendship
STEVE GILBOE
either/or
HANK DANISZEWSKIThe London Free Press
Kicking back on a chaise lounge while the aroma of grilling steaks wafts from
your barbecue.It’s the perfect afternoon scenario that
Steve Gilboe has been successfully selling for 30 years.
For Gilboe, co-owner of four Patio Palace locations in London and Windsor, it all started with a marketing class project he dreamed up as a business student at the University of Windsor.
He came up with an idea for a store focused on barbecues and other outdoor products.
Back then, many suburban backyards were equipped with little more than a char-coal grill and a few folding lawn chairs.
“I thought people would want to get out of their basement rec rooms eventually and get outside. I got thinking that backyards could be a pretty sophisticated oasis.”
But Gilboe said even he couldn’t imagine today’s evolution of patios and decks into elaborate “outdoor rooms” with huge gas grills, suites of wicker furniture, kitchens and fireplaces.
Gilboe was born and raised in Windsor. He inherited some entrepreneurial spirit from his father who sold insurance and cars for years before becoming a locksmith.
Gilboe studied business at the University of Windsor after winning a scholarship.
It was there he met his wife Marilyn, a nursing student.
He launched Patio Palace in Windsor in 1982, in partnership with Paul Fanson, a fellow business student and his best friend since they met in Grade 5.
Both were still students at the time and juggled their studies with their business.
After paying first and last month’s rent on a 1,200-square-foot store, they had just $600 left over.
“Honestly. I thought we were going to fail. I just thought it would be a great learning experience,” Gilboe said.
The Windsor economy was on the ropes in 1982.
“It was probably the worst time to open a business. I guess we had more bravado than brains because we reasoned it couldn’t get much worse,” Gilboe said.
They sold many barbecues that summer, offering free delivery and assembly. The store cleared $10,000 in its first year.
“We didn’t have a truck so I put the barbecues in my hatchback and then asked my customer if I could assemble it on their kitchen floor.”
Offering free assembly was a way of get-ting a leg up on their competitor in those days — chains such as Woolco, K-Mart, Consumers Distributing and Eatons.
He notes with satisfaction that all those chains are gone and Patio Palace is still thriving.
In 1984, Gilboe and Fanson broadened their product line by adding patio furniture and doubled their sales.
A year later, they expanded by opening a store on Adelaide St. S. in London and another in St. Catharines.
Gilboe moved to London to take over
the new store while Fanson stayed at the original Windsor outlet.
The St. Catharines store proved to be a geographic stretch and was sold for a profit a few years later.
Gilboe used proceeds from the sale to buy the building housing the London store and steadily expanded the size over the years.
The company added a location in Hyde Park and a clearance centre on Exeter Rd.
These days Patio Palace is still challenged by the new generations of big box chains.
Gilboe said its almost impossible for a small independent to compete on price with retail giants such as Wal-Mart. Instead, Patio Palace focuses on better quality stock that costs more but is more reliable and durable.
Gilboe said it’s gratifying to hear custom-ers tell him about barbecues and patio chairs that have lasted for many years.
His customers also appreciate supporting a local retailer and he tries to keep dollars in the community as well.
“We try to buy local,” he said. “We try to buy from a shop where we know the money is going to stay in town.”
The business is vulnerable to poor weather and recessions and has always been seasonal, Gilboe said. To keep busy through the winter months, Patio Palace added gas fireplaces to its product line in 1993.
Over the years, both Gilboe and Fanson have also overcome health problems.
Fanson underwent a liver transplant at University Hospital about 10 years ago.
“We almost lost him. He’s very lucky to be alive and every day is a blessing,” Gilboe said.
Fanson said he’s grateful Gilboe stood by him and his family during his health crisis.
Fanson said he and Gilboe have enjoyed a great friendship and partnership that has lasted for decades.
Gilboe has a remarkable ability to take in and retain information, which served him well in his student days, Fanson said.
“He got the highest marks with least amount of effort.”
Fanson said there has always been mutual respect and autonomy in running the London and Windsor ends of the business.
“We are still best friends. . . . He doesn’t say ‘Do it my way”. He says ‘This is the way I would do it.’ ”
Gilboe has faced his own health issues because of chronic back problems and has undergone three spinal operations.
He and his wife have also had to juggle their careers and family responsibilities. Marilyn went on to earn a doctorate in nursing and has been a professor at Western University since 1998. The couple have two children, Sarah 18, a first-year student at Western, and 13 year-old Matthew.
Matthew also is a budding entrepreneur. In partnership with a friend he started a business last summe building and selling longboard skateboards.
Gilboe said his business doesn’t allow for weekend trips to a cottage so he spend a lots of time in his own backyard equipped with a hot tub, pool and cabana.
“We practise what we preach.”
[email protected]/HankatLFPress
Born: WindsorAge: 51Family: wife Marilyn, a nursing professor at Western University; daughter Sarah, 18; son Matthew 13Education: BA business 1982, MBA University of Windsor 1988 Other jobs: painter, park-ing lot attendant, camp counsellor
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It was probably the worst time to open a business. I guess we had more bravado than brains . . .
the quote
Steve Gilboe, co-owner of Patio Palace, started his business with his best friend Paul Fanson in Windsor back in 1982.
CRAIG GLOVER The London Free Press
Co-owner of Patio Palace
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