Occupation: President, Luxe Furniture Co. / Luxe BBQ Co.

Special Interests/Hobbies: “Spending time with my wife, daughter, and family, hockey, gym, and trail biking.”

Problems/Issues Facing the Patio Industry: “Un-educated public on Box stores and Wayfair, vs. Specialty Retailers today.

“I believe the best thing that specialty retailers can do today is to support only suppliers and manufacturers that do not sell to this type of retailer. I understand that some manufacturers and suppliers sell under a different name or brand to help grow their business, however, we as independent retailers should stand strong and question our suppliers.

“We should ask if they will stand behind us and support us, either by not selling to Box stores or Wayfair, or by having a strong MAP price policy that would protect us and allow us to sell at a more than competitive rate.”

Key Trends in the Patio Industry Today: “We’re starting to see a lot of ‘alternate’ materials being combined with the traditional metal and wicker – with teak, rope, etc.

“Coffee table height fire tables are selling well; traditional chat-height is almost dead for us. New plush fabrics are starting to really move for us.”

Problems/Issues Facing the Barbecue Industry: “The race has been to the bottom; it’s time to go back to quality over quantity. We would love to start selling six $2,000 barbecues a day, than 12 $1,000 barbecues. The mix is good, however, we are starting to train our staff to move the customer UP in price with education.”

Key Trends in the Barbecue Industry Today: “The biggest growth I have seen in a long time is in ‘pellet’ grills.”

Forecast for Your Overall Business in 2019: “Even or UP, however, we’re focusing on increasing the bottom line this year with better purchasing and less discounting. We hope for a 3-5% increase on the NET.”

Years Reading Hearth & Home: “Twelve.”

Reasons for Reading Hearth & Home: “It’s the best place to gauge the temperature of the industry; there’s nothing better than Hearth & Home for that. I love the ‘new products’ in there as well.”