Last Friday, the Hearth Patio & BBQ Association (HPBA) held their annual trade show and conference in Salt Lake City. The HPBA has thousands of members and is an association that represents retailers, distributors and manufacturers in the fireplace and BBQ industry. The annual conference has a trade show, education sessions, as well as an awards ceremony.
Well – Friendly Fires was nominated this year as Hearth Retailer of the Year. We did not think we had much of a chance of wining because we were the first ever Canadian retail store ever nominated. Also – some of the American finalists where very impressive. One fireplace showroom in the U.S. was 20,000 square feet!
In any event, we won the award. We can’t believe it. In hindsight it would have been great to have our entire team at the ceremony because our company is our team. We have the best sales people, technicians and facilities support anywhere. We won the North American award because of our team.
Brad and I could not be more proud of the amazing group of individuals we get to work with everyday. Forget the 3 P’s (people product price) – we have the 3 G’s.
Great award. Great people. Great company.
We are so glad that specialty retail continues to strive and survive in the world of Big Box Stores.
Thanks Team!
