Design on Tap kitchen and bath showroom in Greenville, South Carolina is the newest and most uniquely run division of Cregger Company, Inc., a leading South Carolina plumbing supply distributor. Cregger, with four other South Carolina Design On Tap showrooms and locations in North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and Illinois, has been in business since 1978 and prides itself on a core value proposition that reflects its tagline: Expect the Exceptional.

Prelude to the quick foothold Design On Tap would secure in the Greenville business community was the aggressively advertised April 23, 2009 grand opening that drew attendance of 200-plus. It was there that Design On Tap business development manager, Lori Bagwell-Burnett, first noted the local common desire for professionally designed interiors. The seed was planted. But before the idea could take root and sprout, there was much to plan and execute. Showroom Manager, Jay Kimbel, began laying the groundwork for what was to become the sole premier American Standard® showroom in South Carolina. Paramount to the success of the showroom in Kimbel’s playbook was not only the breadth and focus of product on display, but also the consumer operability of the product.

I’ll have what she’s having

Showroom manager Jay Kimbel’s background was in outside sales for Cregger Company before he began managing their wholesale facility – and this was the well of knowledge from which he drew ideas for the Design On Tap showroom. Combining knowledge gleaned from experience at separate ends of the business has equipped Kimbel with multidimensional decision-making tools that he has capitalized on when ordering product for the showroom. "We’re a Level-3 American Standard showroom," says Kimbel, "which is a designation based on the amount of product we order."

But when ordering, Kimbel takes more into consideration than product display range; he considers a key component and arguably the best marketing mechanism available in the game of sales: Usability in his showroom. "Seventy percent of the products on our showroom floor are operational," Kimbel points out. "We offer a hands-on experience for our customers with running water, functioning full-steam showers, working lavatory faucets, and flushing toilets."

Another reason for the success of the young showroom is having the most extensive showcase and full range of American Standard, Jado® and Porcher® brand products in the Southeast, according to Kimbel. "It allows us to focus attention on one product line," he explains. "With this breadth of offering, we are better able to service customers with a mass-appeal product as opposed to small samplings from multiple, lesser-known manufacturers." But Kimbel quickly points out it is new ideas that make things happen, ideas like the one Design On Tap business development manager Lori Bagwell-Burnett dreamed up.

One on the house

"The idea came to me in the middle of the night," explains Bagwell-Burnett. "I’ve always had this theory that interior designers can play an important role in the success of a showroom. ‘I’m going to do this,’ I told myself." The plan Bagwell-Burnett dreamed up late one night was to allow interior designers use of showroom displays to create vignettes to showcase their designs.

Most of the vignettes are either modern or transitional in their styling. One such design involved the modern, spa-inspired Tetsu® Suite from American Standard’s Porcher brand. "We had the designer come in and accent the display," says Bagwell-Burnett. "She styled it with towels, soaps, decorative candles and accessories, not overdone, just enough to give it the feel of a real bath. And she left her business cards. It’s free advertising for her." In addition, Design On Tap posts signage spotlighting the interior designer who accessorized the display. Another designer recently created an Asian-inspired display around Porcher’s Kyomi® Collection that Design On Tap enhanced with a chandelier. Also professionally spruced up with a designer’s touch are the huge rectangular showroom’s more traditional American Standard Town Square® Collection and Studio® Collection displays.

But the favor is a two-way street. "The designer then sends her clients to our showroom to check out the display," she continues. "Currently we have three regular designers who keep the showroom updated." Designers are permitted to maintain their displays up to a year, after which they have the opportunity to create a redesign. "They do the painting," says Bagwell-Burnett, "and add accessories from candles to art, at no expense to the showroom. So they have an investment in our showroom; their display is here. Why would they send their clients to any other showroom in town? It’s a win-win for us both, and ultimately the customer benefits."

In the spirit of things

The most artfully designed of vignettes wouldn’t have the intended inspiring effect if the overall showroom environment didn’t deliver the right mood, in Bagwell-Burnett’s estimation. So another integral part of her vision involved the backdrop design of the showroom in its entirety. She visualized the look of the showroom and the mood it must exude down to great degrees of detail and specificity.

She points out, "When you walk into our downtown Greenville showroom, you feel like you’ve walked into a New York showroom with its very high-end, sleek, clean lines." Stark white walls with accents of black, including black floors, exposed pipes and HVAC units on the ceiling highlight the showroom’s chic urban atmosphere. "The black and white together with the exposed plumbing and ventilation works for the art-gallery-like urban loft feel I had in mind," she continues. "One of our competitors has a Shabby Chic showroom, which is very 90s. I wanted a more current, cutting edge feel surrounding our fresh, new designer vignettes," she concludes, adding, "I don’t profess to be a designer. I’m in business development. But I had a vision."

Another round

It is evident that Design On Tap has mixed a cocktail of success judging by showroom traffic and sales that have doubled since opening day. "With the help of a broad range of product offering from American Standard, Jado and Porcher, the right showroom aesthetics, and a little help from our designer friends," says Kimbel, "business continues to increase by the month." Indeed, "last call" is a phrase not uttered at this tap.