Keep Up With Appliance Trends and Grow Gallons

Staying current with fast-changing trends in the appliance industry is a must when a propane marketer goes into the appliance or hearth business. One current trend is that people are willing to spend more money for quality rather than buying a “big-box store” appliance that they will have to replace in a few years.

Those higher-quality items might include linear-burning fireplaces, or fireplaces that burn decorative colored glass beads. Brian Brooks, who runs an appliance store for Brooks Gas (Marshfield, Mo.), said rather than going to a big-box store and buying the cheapest appliance available there, people are more often deciding to go to a specialty hearth retailer, such as Brooks Gas’ appliance store named Top of the Ozarks Hearth and Grill, to buy higher-quality products.

A six- to eight-burner grill at a big-box store might cost $400 to $500, for example, but the grill will most likely need new burners and replacement parts about two years later, and those parts might cost more than the entire grill itself.

“I get a lot of people who want to buy a quality barbecue grill that has an excellent warranty and customer service behind it,” said Brooks, who noted that his company has sold appliances since it opened the Brooks Furniture Store in the early 1930s. Gas appliances were also offered in the back of the store. As demand grew, the company determined that it needed a supplier to provide the gas to power the appliances, and that’s how Brooks Gas got started. It entered the hearth business in 2007 with the opening of Top of the Ozarks. Brian Brooks estimates the appliance business brings in an additional 2000 to 4000 gallons of propane sales per year and has increased the company’s gallons sold by 10,000 to 15,000 gallons total since it opened. “They’re wanting something that’s going to last, and they’re not afraid to pay a little more for it. They may spend a little more upfront, but they are in some cases buying the last grill or barbecue they will ever buy.”

Brooks explained that the average “appliance only” customer will use around 250 to 300 gallons per year; marketers who start an appliance business should not expect to grow their in-house gallons by significant amounts. Existing customers who install an appliance for space heating will reduce their furnace use, so it usually evens out, or offers very little growth for existing business. Increased appliance sales and off-season revenue is the main benefit of owning an appliance business.

That has been the result for Brooks Gas. The appliance business has been picking up as of late, along with the local economy in Marshfield. The hearth division is established enough that it is holding its own as a business, and it is getting a lot of walk-in traffic from people who are not existing Brooks Gas customers, including competitors’ propane customers, natural gas customers, and wood users.

About 85% of its grills operate on propane, and the other 15% are charcoal. In the hearth category, the business sells gas logs and fireplaces that run on natural gas and propane. The company carries vented and vent-free stoves and carries wood stoves as well.

The business carries many of the same brands it has sold since it opened its doors in the 1940s, including fireplaces, room heaters, and hearth products from Empire Comfort Systems (Belleville, Ill.). Brooks Gas services what it sells, and it buys appliances from Gas Equipment Distributors (Nashville, Tenn.) and Bergquist Inc. (Toledo, Ohio). Brooks’ appliance business is dealer-licensed, insured, and state-certified for service and repair of gas stoves, fireplaces, and grills.

Vent-free fireplaces are the hot product as of late. “They’re efficient, they burn very little gas, and they put out a lot of heat,” Brooks said. “They require little maintenance, and aesthetically they’re just like the real thing.” Empire continues to be a hot seller in that area, with its White Mountain Hearth brand. “They make a quality, well-built product,” Brooks added. Gas grills from Weber (Palatine, Ill.) are also best-sellers year-round.

An increase in customer requests for back-up or supplemental heat is another trend, particularly when cold weather approaches in Missouri.

“That’s the No. 1 question I get: What do you have to run after the power is out?” Brooks noted. He answers the question by showing all of the company’s vent-free logs, vent-free fireplaces, vent-free heaters, and even vented room heaters in Brooks Gas’ inventory.

Dedication is necessary to stay on top of all of the product trends and keep an appliance business current with the times. Hearth trends change every couple of years and in some cases every year, and Brian Brooks has seen the popularity of various products go up and down quickly. To keep up with those trends, he and other members of his family business — his father Joe runs the company, and various other family members are involved — attend appliance industry meetings and trade shows, which helps ensure the business is not full of inventory that is no longer popular. In addition to the propane industry’s Southeastern Convention, Brooks attends the Hearth Patio and Barbecue Association Expo, and his company is a member of the Midwest Hearth Patio and Barbeque Association and the Missouri Propane Gas Association.

For the hearth category, customers primarily buy propane, unless they use natural gas service at their homes. In the area of grills, propane is popular, but charcoal is still a good seller as well. The Big Green Egg charcoal grill gets consistently good sales numbers and is growing.

“I never thought I’d sell charcoal at a gas company, but we sell more charcoal than I ever thought,” Brooks noted.

His business sells spices and rubs to go along with the cooking products, as well as fireplace accessories. Selling all the products a customer needs for a nice cooking or fireplace experience and going the extra mile for customers is an important part of running a successful propane appliance business, he contends.

“If there’s something that’s gas-burning and the customer wants it, I’m not afraid to try and find it. In this day and age, it’s all about customer service, and if I don’t have it, I’ll at least attempt to try and find it.” A recent customer was building a new house and wanted a gas cooktop, which Brooks Gas no longer carries, but Brian Brooks found a supplier to get one for her.

He believes appliances will continue to become more efficient, noting efforts by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environment Protection Agency to mandate increased efficiency in gas- and wood-burning appliances. “They tried earlier to severely limit decorative gas-burning appliances and systems that had pilots, and then they backed off on that, but they’re going to try again,” he contends. “Increased efficiency I think is where everything is headed.”

The Brooks family plans to continue establishing and growing the barbecue and hearth side of the business as well as maintaining a consistent product line-up of quality appliances. “I want someone to come in and know that if you buy something from me today, I’m going to have that brand in 10 years.” He admits that is a challenge with the fast-changing product trends that take place in the hearth and appliance business. “But we’re trying to maintain a quality and consistent brand offering for hearth and barbecue so people know that whatever they buy, they can still have service, and there will always be someone here to help them if they need it.” —Daryl Lubinsky