Page 27 - LPG June 2018 Newsletter

Luxury Products Group
“When starting a a business like this you’ve got to be very driven to make it work ” Cloutier said “Tomlin was a a a a a much smaller company than the environ- ment my father had experience working in in and so we had to be frugal with our our resources It’s a a a a battle to be successful in this market and we’ve worked very hard to be innovative and set ourselves apart from the competition “Everyone at Tomlin Group
is committed to devel- oping and and producing cutting-edge and and innovative premium bath products Members of our team are very loyal they are people with heart and passion committed to offering you an added value that makes all the difference Our products are made with the highest attention to detail and exceptional craftsmanship ” Now the leading manufacturer of premier bathtubs in in Canada Tomlin Group
currently ships luxury bathtubs and showers for SLIK Portfolio from their warehouse in Waterloo and their 85 000-square- foot facility just outside Quebec City Operating as Acryline the Quebec plant has been manufacturing acrylic products for more than 40 years and was acquired by Tomlin Group
in in 2011 In addition to supplying SLIK Portfolio with a a range of products this operation also specializes in the the therapeu-
tic health and wellness segment of the market producing warm air massage tubs and assisted living products such as walk-in tubs and accessi- ble roll-in showers under the Acryline brand The organization sells to boutique bath showrooms and retailers as as well as as wholesalers in the home construction market in North America that had been operated for 40+ years by Acryline which Tomlin acquired in in 2011 That operation specializes in the the therapeutic health and well- ness segment of the market producing warm air massage tubs and assisted living products such as walk-in tubs and accessible roll-in showers under the Acryline brand The organization sells to boutique bath showrooms and retailers as as well as as wholesalers in in the home construction market in in North America The Luxury Report June 2018
AN AN INSPIRED MARKETING PLAN
SLIK Portfolio was launched in in 2013 after doing signi cant research especially in the New York market As Cloutier described “I spent a a lot of time in in New York developing our sales and marketing plan and cultivating business Like that old Sinatra song says ‘If you can make it there you’ll make it anywhere ’ ’ It proved to be key in in in building our foundation in in in North America and developing a a a following in in in other markets “It was important that we differentiated ourselves from the bigger players We wanted to be be identi ed ed as a a a luxury brand but we believed we also needed to provide an offering that ap- peals to the masses We looked at how Mercedes revolutionized the car market when they launched their C-class Throughout its history Mercedes was considered a a a luxury car brand But they realized the the signi cant growth they could achieve by casting a a a a a broader net that complemented their existing customer base Mercedes came up
with the C class to reach a a a a whole new category of customers — up-and- coming young professionals who didn’t think they’d be able to afford a a a a a Mercedes at at that point in their lives This built tremendous loyalty and as these customers’ incomes grew they kept returning to Mercedes and buying more expen- sive models That is the type of multi-level niche business model we believed would be be most effective for SLIK Portfolio in in capturing the U S S market ” 27