Fireside Designs Continues to Bring the Heat

Sparking Success

 

Jay Peloquin remembers the heady days for pellet stoves, back in 2008, when oil surged to more than $100 a barrel.

“When oil prices were skyrocketing, we couldn’t keep these things in stock,” he recalled. “We had people lining up out the door just to order stoves because it would save them so much money over their regular heating bills.”

Oil prices have come down significantly since then, he said, but pellet stoves remain popular, particularly for people who otherwise heat their house with electricity or propane. “For people in the right situation, it’s still a great investment — it pays for itself within a few years, and you’re using a clean energy source.”

For Fireside Designs, a family business that dates back 40 years, those economic trends have occasionally impacted sales, said Peloquin, the West Springfield store’s general manager. But more important has been a continual focus on what products — in the categories of fireplaces, heating equipment, and grills — customers want most.

In the realm of fireplaces, that tends to be gas-burning units, in addition to pellet stoves. In addition, “if you have an existing brick-and-mortar fireplace used for wood, and if you want to convert it to gas to make it more efficient and get more heat out of it, you can do a gas fireplace insert, because natural gas is one of the cheapest ways to heat right now.”

As for new construction, Fireside receives a number of calls from consumers who want a higher-end fireplace rather than the one that came with the house.

“A lot of times, builders will spec in a fireplace for a customer, and if they’re building, say, a $400,000 house and putting in a $1,000 fireplace, something doesn’t add up,” Peloquin said. “So that’s when they come to us and see what’s available for their budget and the style they want, whether they want contemporary, traditional, or something in between. Some higher-end builders do tend to spec in some of the fireplaces we carry, because we definitely are on the higher end.”

Whether a large wall unit or a smaller fireplace installed above the TV, he said, there are plenty of options for customers who want to bring the heat home.

Tools of the Trade

When Peloquin’s father, Jean, launched the company 40 years ago, its product line was a far cry from what it is today.

Back then, the elder Peloquin sold tool sets, which evolved into a small retail store on Brookdale Street in Springfield, mainly focusing on tools and glass doors. From there, around the mid-’80s, he moved into selling and installing stoves, before relocating to Riverdale Street in West Springfield, not far from the store’s current location on that same road.

“We found that during our off season, we needed to keep busy. So that was when we got into the grills, which keeps us busy during the spring and summer.”

In 2004, Jay came on board, and has seen the store grow consistently since then. But he had a long path to his leadership role of today.

“When my father brought me in, he said, ‘go sweep the warehouse. Go stock the shelves,’” Peloquin recalled. “I wasn’t treated with kid gloves by any means. My father was very hard on me, but 14 years later, I can say it was worth it. Because I started at the bottom — from stockboy to installer to salesperson to general manager — it’s been a gradual path to where I’m confident, and the employees feel confident that I can lead them, and my father feels that way as well.”

During his tenure, Fireside saw a major shift to outdoor grills as a significant part of the inventory because people weren’t seeking out home-heating products during the warmer months of the year.

“We found that during our off season, we needed to keep busy,” he said. “So that was when we got into the grills, which keeps us busy during the spring and summer, even though during that time we’re still putting in fireplaces for new constructions and additions.”

Besides the Napoleon line of grills, Fireside sells the Big Green Egg, a versatile charcoal grill that does anything a regular grill or oven does, in addition to its capabilities as a smoker, he explained.

“Those are very popular as well. They have more of a cult following, whereas they don’t advertise nationally, but if you try the food off of them once, you’ve got to have one. It’s that good,” Peloquin said. “On the internet and YouTube, you’ll find people cooking new recipes, and we have customers who come in and say, ‘this is one of the best things I’ve ever bought,’ and they use it every day.”

Grill islands are becoming more popular as well, he noted, due to the growing prevalence of outdoor entertaining spaces. “Napoleon makes modular products, and you can put in, say, a sink or some cabinets for an outdoor kitchen. It’s something that’s relatively new for us, but something we’re definitely moving toward doing more of.”

As for the wintertime work, that’s the prime season for pellet stoves — Fireside is the number-two Harman dealer in the country — and gas fireplaces and inserts. “We’re starting to expand and getting into the commercial side of fireplaces as well, and we’re working with builders that are building senior citizens’ homes and resorts,” he said.

“There are things in my father’s 40 years of experience that I haven’t experienced, so I still need to learn from him. But also with all the new products that come out, we learn together,” he went on. “Every day, it’s a new thing — it’s learning, it’s evolving, not just in terms of products, but your advertising and who you’re marketing to.”

Take social media, for instance; Fireside has a robust Facebook presence, and highlights not only products, but informational links like safety tips.

“That’s the thing about social media — it isn’t necessarily about ‘come in and see our sale and buy this,’” Peloquin told BusinessWest. “If you engage people enough to where they want to read about something that goes on in their everyday lives, I feel like that’s brand building.”

Hot Takes

Because Fireside Designs has been around a long time, there aren’t many companies with the Peloquins’ experience in the field, he noted. That’s also a long time to develop good word of mouth and repeat business, which is something the team relies on.

“We can advertise all we want, but especially in this day of social media, if you’re not treating your customer right from A to Z, you’re not going to survive,” he said. “I’m taking over [leadership] gradually, and I want to make that a priority.”

Part of that reputation is shouldered by Fireside’s in-house technicians, he noted. “If you buy something from us, you don’t have to go somewhere else if something breaks. That’s the advantage of buying from a company like ours, a fireplace specialty store, as opposed to buying fireplaces online. People go to Home Depot and buy a fireplace, and then when something happens, they come to us for service. When you buy something from us, if anything goes wrong, we take care of our customers, and we service everything we sell.”

That’s just part of being a small business with deep community roots, he added.

“As a family business, we do appreciate when customers keep their business local. That’s helped us get to where we are today. Hopefully consumers realize that when you keep your business local, it supports the community.”

If Jean Peloquin set his son to sweeping floors 14 years ago instead of a cushy job he hadn’t earned, perhaps it was a way to determine whether he had a passion for this business. As it turned out, a fire was lit — both literally and figuratively.

“I don’t really consider this a job; I consider it what I do,” Jay said. “I consider this my future. I work every day not as a 9-to-5 thing, but to improve the business as a whole. I enjoy what I do, and I enjoy the fact that my experiences — from sweeping the floors to being an installer to what I do now — all of that together has made me a leader here. And I have employees that trust me — great employees that I look forward to keeping around for a long time.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]