INSPIRATION MOTIVATION ORGANIZATION Alleviate the chaos
Canadian Closet is a locally owned-and-operated company based in Red Deer, Alberta. Since forming in 1997, their goal has been to help customers “alleviate the chaos” in their lives by providing organization and efficient living areas for every space in their home, from “the front door to the garage, the basement to the ceiling.” In pursuit of that goal, they have developed lasting relationships with some of the most reputable brands in the industry; they have learned how to maximize space most efficiently; and they have mastered the art of customization and customer service.
“Our focus has always been, and always will be, to deliver personalized service, high quality products, and customization of our client’s project,” says Terry Hollman, co-owner and co-manager of the company. “That’s one of the reasons why we started Canadian Closet over 25 years ago, because we found the industry to be lacking in these areas.” “We believe each individual that we interact with has their own needs and goals and we will work beside them every step of the way to ensure that you are 100 per cent satisfied with our products and service,” adds Lisa Love, co-owner and comanager. Prior to starting Canadian Closet, Lisa came from a background in teaching and Terry from a background in farming. After getting married and deciding to start a family, they started thinking about getting into business together. “We had just built a brand new home,” Lisa recalls, “and we realized that, in the town we lived in, there was no place that offered custom closets and helped people get organized. We had to go to Calgary and assess another company, and we thought ‘Red Deer could use one of those.’ So we came back home, we found a wire shelving provider, and we started cutting shelving in our garage.” Shortly after that, Terry and Lisa also started a retail store, which they thought that would be a good side business to have for when there downturns in the new construction industry. In the years that followed, both businesses evolved and expanded at a steady rate. In 2006, the company accelerated CANADIAN CLOSET
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that growth by acquiring a cabinet shop in order to add wood cabinetry to their product offering. Around the same time, they also purchased another company, called Phantom Screens, which is a Canadian company that provides retractable screens for doors, windows, and outdoor spaces. Over the years, Canadian Closet has had to upgrades premises several times in order to keep up with their growth. Most recently, in 2018, they purchased a property big enough to bring all the divisions of their business together under one roof. They also built a new showroom on that property. Unfortunately, about a month after completing that showroom the COVID lockdowns began – that slowed the growth of the company considerably, but it also gave Terry and Lisa the opportunity to closely evaluate every facet of the business and consider how they could improve and add efficiency. “There’s still more work to do there – there always is – but we were able to take that slower period and go through our systems and procedures and hone everything,” Lisa explains. “When business started picking up again, we were in really good shape and ready to go.” Canadian Closet now works with a wide variety of clientele – they do a lot of individual consultations with homeowners; they are the preferred cabinetry and shelving provider for a number of local homebuilders, and they are also now getting into more commercial projects, which they see as a growth sector for them. “We’re actually trying to expand in that direction and do more commercial projects,” Lisa says. CANADIAN CLOSET
“The residential sector can be up and down. People are being pinched – interest rates are going up, not everyone can build the homes they want to build or do the renovations that they want to do. So we’re looking more into the commercial sector. We’re more than capable of doing those projects. Our cabinet shop is able to accommodate that scope of work.” No matter who their client is, however, Lisa says that Canadian Closet is set apart by the personal service they provide: “Our specialty is the experienced and knowledgeable service we give to our clients,” she says. “We take the time to get to know our clients, get to know what they want, get to know what they need – and we customize not only their project, but the service we give them. I think that’s what sets us apart. We offer that higher quality of service.” Another important point of difference, Lisa adds, is the higher quality standard of their products: “We don’t want people to invest their money in something and have it break and have to be replaced,” she explains. “Every product we source comes from a really reputable supplier or manufacturer. We only want to provide the best quality products possible. For example, our wire shelving is the highest quality standard in the industry.” “That can be a challenge,” she adds. “Sometimes clients just want something cheaper. But we have always refused to offer a lower quality of product. We strongly feel that it’s worth it to spend a little bit more to get a lot more quality and a lot more THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
CANADIAN CLOSET longevity out of the product.” One more point of difference, according to Terry, is the company’s longevity, and the knowledge and experience that come with that longevity: “We’ve been in business for over 26 years,” he explains. “We have so much experience and knowledge in the field of organization and storage. We know what the best applications are. We know how to meet our clients’ needs. Sometimes clients come in without really knowing what they need to make their spaces efficient, and that’s where we come in. We can guide them. We can make suggestions. We can show them what system is going to be the best for them.” That depth of knowledge and experience – combined with the personalized service they provide, as well as the extremely high quality of their product – has resulted in a lot of repeat business. For example, Terry says they have been working with some of their builder clients for over 20 years now. He says that some of those relationships actually go back all the way to 1997, to the company’s first year of business. “We know the best ways to help clients organize their space, and we sell probably the best quality product on the market,” Terry reiterates. “Those two attributes go a long way with our customers.” Canadian Closet has also formed longstanding relationships with their other key stakeholders, including their suppliers. For example, they have been with their main wire shelving provider out of the United States for 24 years now. They refuse to source from anyone else, Terry says, because their quality is the best and he and Lisa refuse to compromise on quality. “They’re providing us with a great quality product, just like we’re providing our customers,” she says. “And just like with us, that’s led to longevity. So we’ve been able to keep ordering from them and doing business with them for a long time.”
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Making the leap Currently, Terry believes that Canadian Closet is “right on the cusp of taking that next step and becoming a larger company.” He describes that as both exciting and a little daunting. Lisa agrees: “There’s always a precipice where you have to make the decision,” she says. “You have to decide if you want to stay where you are or if you’re ready to jump and make the leap to the next level. You have to decide how brave you feel.” During the pandemic, the company put in a lot of work to refine their systems and processes and they believe the “potential is definitely there for expansion.” In particular, they see a lot of potential in the commercial and multiresidential sectors – moving forward, their goal is to make commercial work a consistently higher percentage of their business. CANADIAN CLOSET
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As for the longer-term, Terry and Lisa’s ultimate goal is for Canadian Closet to live on past their involvement. Though they don’t plan to retire any time soon, they hope that when they do they can pass it on. They have a son who works in the business now as a cabinet and closet designer, and they see a time where he takes over. They have also created a “wonderful family of employees,” Lisa says, and they also see a potential future where one or more of them lead the way. “Our employees are extremely dedicated,” she says. “They have gone through every high and low with us. We wouldn’t be where we are without them. We want to make sure there’s a future for Canadian Closet, not just for us and our son, but also for them.” CANADIAN CLOSET
For more on Canadian Closet, their range of products and services, their latest news, to hear from their past clients – and to get in touch with Terry and Lisa directly – visit https://canadiancloset.ca/ THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
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