master craft annual report
DESCRIPTION
This is the Annual Report we designed for the upscale retail store Mastercraft Interiors.TRANSCRIPT
Selected as Retailer for the Official Reproductions for Mount Vernon
Award-Winning Contributor,National Trust for Historic Preservation
BLUE CHIP CUSTOMERS
President George Bush
Executive Office of the President
The White House
The White House Historical Association
The United States Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
Office of the Architect of the Capitol
Marriott Corporation
National Security Council
Department of Agriculture
Embassy of Canada
Embassy of Russia
Embassy of Italy
U.S. Naval Academy
The Pentagon
The World Bank
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
The Ritz Carlton Hotel
Governor Parris Glendenning
Governor George Allen, Jr.
General Colin Powell
General Norman Schwart z ko p f
Justice Clarence Thomas
Surgeon General C. Edward Koop
Sen. George Mitchell
Ms. Mohamed Mubarak (Egypt)
Sam Donaldson
Gordon Peterson
Roger Mudd
Arch Campbell
Lea Thompson
Willard Scott
Bob Ryan
William Saffire
Tom Clancy
Ted Koppel
Lynda Carter
Joe Jacoby
Mark Rypien
Odonna Matthews
Mic Fleetwood
Q u a l i ty. Among the top tenmarkets in the United States, one market –Washington, D.C. –leads all the others in furn i t u resales per household.
In that market, one name stands out as the leading retailer of high quality furn i t u re and home furnishings.
M a s t e rcraft Interiors, Ltd.
To some, becoming the leader in one of the country ’s stro n g e s tf u rn i t u re markets would be amission statement come true.
But at Mastercraft Interiors, i t ’s only the beginning.
O N T H E C OV E R :C l e a r ly and majestically, M a s t e rcraft Interiors’ new 51,000 square foot show ro o m
anchors the center pavilion at Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, V i r g i n i a , with an imposing 2-level design,
c re a ting an unusual third tier for shoppers who view the store from ground leve l .
THE YEAR 1999 HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT YEAR FOR MASTERCRAFT INTERIORS — AND IT IS INDEED A YEAR OF CHANGE. IN FAC T, A S
A N A LYSTS AND EDUCATORS OF THE FUTURE WILL PRO BA B LY NOT E , IN 1997, THE FAMED “ BABY BOOMER” G E N E R ATION BEGAN ITS PEAK
EARNING AND BUYING Y E A R S . U N D E R S TANDING HOW, W H E R E , AND WHY THIS MARKETING PHENOMENON MOVES A L O N G T H E
SALES CHARTS IS W H AT WILL INSPIRE THE TRUE V I S I O N A R I E S , AND THE GROWTH OF MASTERCRAFT INTERIORS, LT D. OVER T H E
PAST 20 Y E A R S , MASTERCRAFT INTERIORS HAS RESPONDED SUCCESSFULLY TO DIFFICULT CHALLENGES — INCLUDING T WO S E R IOUS NAT I O N A L
RECESSIONS AND SEVERAL LOCA LIZED D OW N T U R N S . ALL REPRESENTED PERIODS WHEN WORRIED CONSUMERS COULD E A S I LY HAV E
DEFERRED HIGH END F U R N ITURE P U R C H A S E S . ALONG THE WAY, MASTERCRAFT MANAGEMENT MADE CREAT I V E , AGGRESSIVE DECISIONS
WHICH NOT ONLY HELPED THE COMPANY P RO S P E R — BUT ALSO SPURRED ITS GROW T H . BY VIEWING DOWNTURNS AS OPPORT U N I T I E S ,T H E
C O M PANY AC QUIRED T WO KEY C O M P E T I TO R S IN THE 1980’S AND EARLY 90’S — KIMELS AND W E L L I N G TON HOUSE. MEANWHILE MANY
OT H E R S , INCLUDING M A Z O R , WO O DWARD & LOT H ROP DEPA RTMENT STORES AND PREVIOUS HIGH END LEADER W. & J . S L OA N E ,
WITHDREW FROM THE M A R K E T AS WE BUILD ON THIS EXPERIENCE, WE BELIEVE MASTERCRAFT INTERIORS’ O R I G I N A L , F O U N D-
I N G COMMITMENT TO QUALITY IS MORE COMPELLING THAN E V E R . AND WE’RE V E RY PROUD T H AT WITH ALL THE CHANGES GOING O N
IN OUR BUSINESS, THE MASTERCRAFT REPUTATION FOR FINE QUA LITY WILL BE A ROUND FOR A LONG, LONG T I M E .
From The Principals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DOUGLAS GOMEZ, P R E S I D E N T DAN GOMEZ, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
St artwithav ısıonM a s t e rc r a f t ’s success in the past two decades
was not built just from good instincts. It was estab-
lished according to plan. The company ’s pre s i d e n t
and exe c u t i ve vice pre s i d e n t , Douglas and Dan
G o m e z , a re both MBA ’s , and Dan’s background as an
examiner for the Comptroller of The Tre a s u ry
p rovides the company additional financial expert i s e
— vital to any enterprise, but especially important in
managing heavy asset and inventory control businesses
such as high end retail furniture.
Financial Vice President Dean Nelson has
established state-of-the-art intranet commu n i c a-
t i o n s , b a rc o d i n g , and inve n t o ry control systems
designed to minimize warehousing and accelerate
m a n a g e m e n t ’s ability to make smart day - t o - d ay
b u y i n g , m e rc h a n d i s i n g , and marketing decisions.
F i n a l ly, advanced human re s o u rce systems and
a family - owned atmosphere of positive employe e
morale has resulted in reducing employee turnove r.
The company ’s managers average in excess of 15
years’ experience — much of it at Masterc r a f t .
Customer serv i c e, n o r m a l ly a re t a i l e r ’s stiffe s t
c h a ll e n g e, is re l i a b ly high. M a s t e rcraft engenders
e m p l oyee loy a l t y, which in turn results in lowe r
t u r n over and higher service pro d u c t i v i t y.
Aneyefor bril l i anc e
E a r ly in its growth the company re c r u i t e d
interior designers and home furnishings experts whose
brilliance in selecting and accessorizing products estab-
lished M a s t e rcraft as more than a furniture store.
One of them, Carolyn Gomez, brought to the
company a special talent in attracting the country’s top
m a nu f a c t u rers — among them Kindel,S t i c k l ey,T h o m a s-
ville, Pennsylvania House, H e n ke l - H a rr i s , H i c ko ry
C h a i r, D re xel Heritage, Brown Jordan, and more.
She and her staff of talented buyers and design-
ers inspired these prized vendors to create traditional
furnishings with just the right flair for a changing
market.Ms.Gomez’ eye for color, style, and upholstery
design turned Mastercraft’s showrooms into idea
centers — where savvy customers could bring their
designers and their friends to see the latest in home
f a s h i o n . This “ wo rd-of-mouth” marketing campaign
earned Mastercraft its current reputation as “ t h e
place to shop” for a long list of celebrities and
h i s t o rical icons, including The White House, George
Wa s h i n g t o n ’s Mount Vernon Plantation, and T h e
National Trust for Historic Pre s e rv a t i o n .
Using i n s i g h tas fo re s i g h t
As a market leader with imagination and vision,
M a s t e rcraft Interiors understands the dynamics of
t o d ay ’s changing consumer. C o m p a ny president Douglas
Gomez has primary responsibility for marketing and
brings to the furniture industry experience that serve d
him well during his years with United Brands and
Nashua Corporation, t wo Fo rtune 500 companies.
H aving studied Scarboro u g h , Ya n ke l ov i c h , a n d
other consumer re s e a rch pro j e c t i o n s , the company is
taking bold and exciting steps. In Janu a ry of 1998,
M a s t e rcraft Interiors opened the first “anchor” size
f u r n i t u re store in a major shopping mall — a 51,000
s q u a re foot 2-level show room at Fair Oaks Mall in
F a i r f a x ,V i r g i n i a .The decision to appeal to a broader and
younger mall shopper market was care f u l ly considere d
— and heralded by the trade press as a truly innov a t i ve
m ove for a “ t r a d i t i o n a l , c o n s e rv a t i ve” re t a i l e r.
The impact on sales was tremendous — not
o n ly in the new and beautifully appointed mall store but
in all six stores across the chain — encouraging manage-
ment to plan a similar opening at Lake Fo rest Mall
in M a ry l a n d ’s affluent Montgo m e ry County.
O p p o rt u n i t y. The challengesahead are formidable. Customerlifestyles are changing, and thati n fluences the way homes are built,f u rnished, remodeled, and re d e c o-rated. An entirely new generation,driven by quality (including morequality time at home) is looking for stores that share their feelings.
I t ’s a world of opportunity for Mastercraft.
L O C A T I O N S
MARYLAND
ROCKVILLE
1428 Rockville Pike
301 770-0400
ANNAPOLIS
1405 Forest Drive
410 269-5530
LAKE FOREST MALL
701 Russell Street
Gaithersburg
VIRGINIA
FAIR OAKS MALL
Intersection I-66 & Rt. 50
703 385-8822
ALEXANDRIA
615 N.Washington Street
703 684-1776
FAIRFAX
Thomasville Gallery
10390 Lee Highway
703 273-7800
CORPORATE
HEADQUARTERS
6800 Distribution Drive
Beltsville, MD
301-595-4422