SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE MAY 2016
TheRTAStore.com
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS • MAY 2016
To fit The RTA Store, Inc. into the niche of this month’s magazine – Putting the Spotlight on the Fastest Growing North American Retailers – may not do “America’s largest online Kitchen & Bathroom dealer” justice. In seven short years, TheRTAStore.com, based in Hopewell Junction, N.Y., has set the standard of growth for its competitors. Along its path – first forged by Founder and C.E.O. Tyler Ackerman and his four siblings including Co-founder and President, Samantha Rougeux, as a modest family business – The RTA Store has become synonymous with unparalleled customer service – both online and in brick and mortar – and prices on big brands that go beyond competitive, ranging anywhere from 20-50 percent lower than the Big-box stores. Their vision for and their application of an online Ready to Assemble (RTA) kitchen and bathroom business model has since garnered Ackerman, Rougeux, and company an impressive A+, or 4.34 out of 5 for the numerically-inclined, from the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and, what’s more, the gratitude of an ever- growing consumer base that has come to rely on the professional free design service that makes TheRTAStore.com a one-stop shop. 3 MAY 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
By David MacDonald F or most home owners and contractors, there are two major fear factors involved in the modelling or remodelling of kitchens and bathrooms: the bottom line and the “scary or daunting task” of buying your kitchen or bathroom online to save money. For Ackerman, Rougeux, and the folks at TheRTAStore.com “educating consum- ers” is a major factor in the success of their business. “First of all,” Ackerman stresses, “we have to be able to convey to customers that you no longer need a minimum of 20k to remodel your bathroom or kitchen. Customers no longer have to wait in line at a brick and mortar store to receive their design; it can all be done from the comfort of their own home on their schedule, with no high pressure sales people involved.” That is not to say that a customer service experience is lost at TheRTAStore.com; in fact, it’s quite the opposite as Ackerman and Rougeux can corroborate. As a largely online company, The RTA Store spent its early days fighting the customer service stigma that haunts Ecommerce. “We’re built on customer service. We always put the customer first and constantly keep lines of communication open,” Rougeux attests .In the litany of for instances Rougeux recollected with a palpable pride, her proof was in the Thanksgiving pudding. “It’s Thanksgiving and a customer emails in,” Rougeux explains, “detail- ing how frustrated they are with waiting for one of their cabinets that happens to be on backorder. Within minutes, they receive a response (not an automated response – an actual response from an owner) apol- ogizing for the long wait time and that we will check on the status again
with the manufacturer first thing in the morning.” A visit to TheRTAS- tore.com quickly verifies Rougeux’s claims; there are no stock photo avatars serving late-night customers with algorithmic consumer clichés in an inconveniently small pop-up window. “We’ve had customers ask when we sleep and are amazed at the level of service they’re receiving from an online business. Just because we’re an online business, does not mean that we don’t want to give each and every customer the most personalized and unique shopping experience they’ve ever had.” “We’ve had customers ask when we sleep and are amazed at the level of service they’re receiving from an online business. Just because we’re an online business, does not mean that we don’t want to give each and every customer the most personalized and unique shopping experience they’ve ever had.” As The RTA Store has grown from a fledgling company that totaled $110, 000 in sales in 2009 to an industry juggernaut that is on track to surpass $17 million in sales in 2016, so too has the TheRTAStore.com evolved. But, as with anything, the more it changes, the more it stays
Tyler Ackerman Founder and CEO
Samantha Rougeux
the same. “We’ve redesigned our website four times and our logo two times. We are actually in the process of another logo redesign,” Ackerman explains. “It’s important to adapt to trends and keep a fresh new look, but also maintain the same reliability that our customers have come to know and expect.” “We haven’t and never will become complacent – we understand we’re a small fish in a big pond and if we aren’t careful we could be eaten at any time. That’s why we’re always trying new things, testing new pages, polling our customers, etc.”
The company website is a triumph of form and function not simply because it is Ackerman and Rougeux’s headlining platform, but rather
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for the same reason that their customer service experience is so well-received by independent consumer advocates like the BBB and resellerrat- ings.com: it is designed from a bottom-up perspective with the customer’s needs as the foundation. “We’ve streamlined the online bathroom and kitchen shopping experience,” Rougeux stresses, “to make it easy and intuitive for customers to shop and purchase their new bathroom or kitchen. We’re constantly thinking of ways to make it easier for our customers to purchase – always performing A/B tests to better our site and service.” And their shopper-centric vision for TheRTAStore.com doesn’t peak there. Ackerman adds that his team is “currently embarking on an initiative to modify our website to give each customer a unique and personalized experience tailored specifically towards them.” This aggressive foray into the online market is not solely a result of the bent toward Ecommerce in the confident and optimistic post-recession U.S. economy. The RTA Store is, ultimately, a business owned and operated by a think-tank that assembled as a result of public demand. “When you venture into a big box store it can be difficult to find a knowledgeable employee who is specifically trained on kitchen and bathroom cabinets – even though this is a very important remodel,” Ackerman says. “Our employees are knowledgeable, professional, and are trained specifically to not try and upsell the customer, but instead to get to know them and really understand what they want their dream bathroom or kitchen to look and function like.”
Not surprisingly, the team at The RTA Store is always walking their path with eyes and ears on full alert. Ackerman is quick to point out that “Big-box
stores are slowly responding – that’s the bureaucracy of large publicly traded companies; they take a very long time to make and implement decisions. We have seen them start to go after some of the same keywords we do for RTA cabinetry though – so they are seeing and reacting to the online movement.” “Customers no longer have to wait in line at a brick and mortar store to receive their design, it can all be done from the comfort of their own home on their schedule, with no high pressure sales people involved.” Moving forward with the force of exponential growth is one thing; bal- ancing a business during this surge enough to glance clearly into – and through – the looking glass is another. But even with Big-box stores standing behind them and responding in kind, Rougeux insists that “We have a rare dynamic where everyone is always thinking and trying to be innovative with the business’ best interest at heart – all while being able to trust each other fully. Strategic growth is our number one goal and the sky is the limit in our eyes.” Ackerman ardently adds that “We haven’t and never will become complacent – we understand we’re a small fish in a big pond and if we aren’t careful we could be eaten at any time. That’s why we’re always trying new things, testing new pages, polling our customers – the online bathroom and kitchen cabinet business hasn’t even scratched the surface yet.” At the very least, Ackerman, Rougeux, and their family business have scuffed the surface. And maybe, just maybe, their latest venture will go a little deeper. “We just launched a semi-custom cabinetry site called Willow Lane Cabinetry. This site specializes in Pre-Assembled cabin- etry only. We fully expect the same success we’ve seen with The RTA Store and will continue with growth and innovation on both fronts.”
many thanks to our advertisers
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THERTASTORE.COM
2345 RT. 52, Suite 1A Hopewell Junction, NY 12533 877-992-2246
www.thertastore.com
Mention Spotlight on Business to activate your account for 50% off your Showroom Display!
High Quality Ready to Assemble Cabinets Stocked in 10+ Styles!
Phone: 1-844-660-9889 Email: info@uscabinetdepot.com
as spotlighted in the MAY 2015 issue of SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
www.spotlightonbusinessmagazine.com
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