Tough & Tenacious
By Bill Sendelback
Photos: ©2016 Dave Adams Photography. www.daveadamsphotography.com.
Recent times have not been kind to many hearth products retailers, particularly those in California. Some didn’t make it through the tough times, and some did what they had to do to survive and came out stronger and ready for the future. One such survivor is Eleanor Butchart, owner of On Fire in Santa Rosa, California.
 |
|
| Eleanor Butchart, owner of On Fire in Santa Rosa, California. | |
“We lost a few dealers in our area,” she says, “and I might have been one of them. I was astonished to see the number of hearth and patio stores that fell out of the California marketplace. It was tough, and at one point I thought I was going to lose everything.”
On Fire began in 1966, 50 years ago this March, created by Butchart’s parents who had just lost the lease for their hardware store. A California manufacturers representative, the late John Ullman, convinced them to open a fireplace accessory store. With Ullman’s help and friendship, they reinvented themselves, found a new location, added other product lines, and On Fire was born.
Eleanor Butchart is now carrying the family torch for the second generation, but the recent recession took a heavy toll on the business.
“Many times I was on my knees trying to make it through another day,” says Butchart. “Thankfully my vendors and my landlord worked with me, for which I always will be grateful.
“I also have three exceptional employees who stuck it out with me. Sometimes they went without paychecks for a few extra days or they accepted reduced hours. We all just pulled together. Sometimes I don’t know how we did it. I put myself in personal financial peril to do it. We stuck it through and came out with increasing sales and an opportunity to recover.”
And recover they have. With the much-improved economy in Butchart’s market area, On Fire’s sales have nearly reached pre-recession levels. “I think this year we’ll meet it or beat it,” she says after a 5.5 percent sales increase in 2015.
Butchart describes On Fire as “Sonoma County’s fireplace and outdoor luxury store like no other in the Bay Area, focusing on beautiful fireplaces and outdoor spaces.” The company’s extensive list of product lines includes wood, gas and electric fireplaces, wood, gas and pellet stoves and inserts, gas logs, mantels, fireplace accessories, grills and accessories, patio heaters and outdoor furnishings. Hearth products are 85 percent of On Fire’s sales; outdoor furnishings represent 12 percent and grills three percent.
 |
|
| Stoves and inserts are displayed against a brightly-painted wall. | |
On Fire’s market is the North Bay area north of San Francisco known as Wine Country. Although the area has a relatively small population base – 180,000 for Santa Rosa and 500,000 for the entire county – the area draws many affluent people from the Bay Area who purchase second homes in Sonoma County.
In addition, Sonoma County is enjoying strong tourism because of its many wineries. This has given On Fire sales opportunities with the many hospitality operations such as hotels, resorts and restaurants. “We are enjoying a good, affluent clientele year-round,” says Butchart. That affluent clientele also includes high-end custom home builders.
With such an affluent clientele, it’s no surprise that On Fire is enjoying increased sales of higher-priced products. Home sales in Sonoma County hit $3.4 billion in 2015, the highest total since the 2005 record of $4.4 billion. “Affordable housing is a problem in our area,” says Butchart, “so these home sales are leading to upgrades and remodels – and only the best items.”
On Fire is not alone competing for this upscale business in its market area. “Santa Rosa has an inordinate number of hearth shops,” says Butchart. “Currently there are four after one recently dropped out of this market. At one time, there were seven! But somehow we each managed to carve out a living.”
Butchart, however, doesn’t dwell much on her competition. “I just concentrate on our operation, striving to be the best we can be,” she says, and mass merchants are not the competition they once were.
“People understand there is a difference, and if they want what the mass merchant has, they know where to go. But if they want service, better products and a knowledgeable sales staff to assist them, they know to come to a specialty store.”
 |
|
| Butchart calls it Gallery Style: All of the hearth products are displayed against a wall, leaving the center for changes in the product mix. | |
 |
|
| On Fire displays a number of outdoor products, but indoor hearth products represent the lion’s share of business. | |
Butchart had to relocate On Fire in 2009, right in the middle of the recession. She was lucky enough to find an excellent location on a freeway frontage road, but it has limited display space with only 3,000 sq. ft. to display On Fire’s many, many products. So she combined her 23 years of experience at previous locations with the skill of an employee with an eye for design to develop a unique new showroom.
She calls it a “gallery style,” and all of the fireplaces and other hearth products are installed against the perimeter walls, leaving the center of the showroom free for changes in its product mix depending on the season.
During the hearth season, the area is filled with hearth accessories and wood and gas stoves. “But in early spring,” she says, “we will transition this area to feature outdoor furniture, fire pits, umbrellas, outdoor kitchens and grills. Having the center of our showroom free of structures allows us to easily change things around even though we are severely space-challenged.”
Butchart laid out her limited space by fuel category. One side of the showroom is for wood-burning products. On the other side of the showroom gas inserts and gas logs are on display, and the back of the store is devoted to built-in gas fireplaces.
Despite offering many outdoor living products, On Fire displays outside only what can be carried out on a daily basis because of the vulnerable freeway exposure. “But we would love to have an outdoor display space,” she says.
Butchart purchases many lines in her hearth and outdoor offerings, either dealer-direct or from distributors. “But I don’t see us cutting down on any lines,” she says. “We are really very comfortable with our three major vendors in gas and wood products, and barbecue is on a growth pattern for us after we dropped it during the recession. We just gave up. But with this new sales growth in outdoor furniture and barbecues, particularly outdoor kitchens, it’s too good to give these up, so we brought them back.”
Space to display all these products is a concern for Butchart. “I’ve moved twice in 23 years,” she says, “and I don’t see us moving again. Our current location is excellent. But we’re limited on space, so if there is an opportunity to get more neighboring showroom space, I would look at it.”
She finds that displaying outdoor furniture is a real challenge. “That takes a lot of real estate to properly show these products,” she says. “I don’t have that much floor space, yet our vendors are happy with our sales.”
 |
|
| L to R: Linc McNamee, Lynne Smith, Eleanor Butchart and Linda Rodriguez. | |
Until the recession hit, On Fire did its own service and installations with its employees. Fortunately, during the cut back, these employees obtained their own contractor’s licenses and became independent installers that Butchart now uses. “They are very familiar with our products,’ she says, “and this gave them the opportunity to start their own businesses. They are very loyal to us.”
She did hire a new employee in mid-2015 with the intent of training him for service and warranty work. “But this is a tough business to learn, so we’re still in the training phase,” she says. Butchart’s other employees came with experience from other hearth businesses, and three full-time employees were key to keeping On Fire going during the tough times of the recession.
Linda Rodriguez has been with Butchart for 24 years, and Linc McNamee and Lynne Smith each have 20 years at On Fire. All three are primarily sales people, but Butchart says, “We all wear a lot of hats here.”
Butchart advertises regularly in daily newspapers, local magazines and on the radio. She maintains an online presence with On Fire’s website and has been giving much more attention to the company’s Facebook exposure. Late in 2015, Butchart added television advertising, something she plans to continue.
“I look at our advertising as keeping our name out there, keeping us at the top of the consumer’s mind. Every year we spend more on advertising, but then our sales keep going up, too.”
Environmental regulations are a challenge for most hearth products retailers and manufacturers, particularly those in California. “We’re in the Bay Area Air Quality Management District that just ‘proudly’ announced it will not allow any wood-burning products to be installed in new construction regardless of the new 2015 EPA NSPS,” she says. “We all are constantly frustrated with this board that will talk to anyone and everyone except the people who know the products. They focus their attention on health groups, the real estate industry and everyone else except the hearth industry, which really has important input about the integrity and clean-burning technology of our products.
“Unfortunately, their efforts have convinced most people that they cannot burn wood anymore. But that has generated more sales of gas products.”
After surviving the tough times and orchestrating a strong comeback, Butchart says her secret to success is to “operate with integrity, know your products, treat your employees well, make your customers your priority to give them an outstanding experience, and express gratitude to your employees, your customers and your vendors.
“Yes, it has been tough, but this is an exciting time to enjoy the hearth business and all of its potential.”
SNAPSHOT |
|---|
Store Name: On Fire! Location: 3181-A Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa, California, 95403 Number of Stores: One Owners: Eleanor Butchart Year Established: 1966 Web Site: www.onfiresantarosa.com E-mail: eleanor@onfiresantarosa.com Phone: (707) 526-3322 Fax: (707) 526-7963 Number of Employees: % of Sales by Product Category: Square Footage: Brands Carried: % of Sales for Advertising: 5% |
