Ashley Robinson can speak to the power of a brand; his family has been selling Luxaflex blinds for more than 30 years.
The Robinsons have been in the window blinds business since 1976 – first selling Venetian blinds from home, then moving into a showroom in 1988, and running a heating business alongside.
When they snapped up the Luxaflex Window Fashion Gallery license for the Castlemaine area they were only the third Victorian business to embrace a licensee opportunity
Business growth
Once the licensee program was set up, the business grew very quickly, says Ashley, who has worked in the family business for 12 years. “We knew if we wanted to stay the market leader in the area we needed marketing innovation and we knew it would set us apart. It’s an opportunity to showcase the entire range, to get marketing support, displays and support fro m the company.”
Taking on the license meant increasing the showroom size by 50 percent and a boost to the family of three managing the business with two staff members. The business had previously had access to the full ranges but needed a better showcase to take advantage of the 70-odd products to show customers.
“This gave us greater exposure to a bigger market, and it paid for itself in the first 12 months. We had products customers had never seen. We experienced high growth for four or five years.”
Ashley admits the inevitable plateauing of business has meant growth has dropped down but it’s still at a more than respectable 10 percent, given the climate and a more cautious clientele. The $5,000 spend on blinds is still taking place, but less regularly; quality conscious customers are avoiding hurried purchases and waiting until they can afford to buy their pick of the range.
The clientele has changed in the last five years too, he adds, as the town of 8,000 people becomes more of a Melbourne commuting spot, just 90 minutes from the city.
But while there’s another Gallery at Ballarat, one hour away, and other Luxaflex suppliers even closer to Castlemaine, Ashley is unconcerned about competition.
“We don’t look at what others are doing, we just do the best we can and let them catch up.”
As licensees in the system, the Robinsons can offer customers a 20/20 guarantee – if the customer isn’t happy with the blinds they’ve chosen, they wait 20 days after installation and can then change them for a fraction of the cost – and get the new blinds within 20 days.
“It offers peace of mind,” says Ashley.
Licensee support
When it comes to business support, he says the Luxaflex parent company, Hunter Douglas, does its part. “Our sales manager gives us good support and we see him quite often. I’m in constant contact with marketing, and we get good back up from the call centre.”
Ashley has noticed a spike in customer inquiries when he mentions the website in his radio ads – there is a store page within the Luxaflex website that takes customers directly to the Robinsons’ business.