FHE: Never stop growing!

OLGA LIVSHIN

It’s not every day that a new company grows its revenues from zero to seven figures in less than a year. Nevertheless, this is exactly what happened with Ontario’s Fresh Home Elements (the FHE Group), a budding company founded in 2009 by two young men, Adam Schachter and Jonathan Levy.

The company designs and manufactures home décor items: bath mats, folding furniture, desk lamps, picture frames and the like. The founders estimate that company growth should exceed 100 percent in the next year.

In a phone interview with the Independent, Schachter and Levy talked about the secret of their success. Truth be told, it was really only Schachter who spoke. Levy, present in the office, sat back after the initial greetings and let his partner do the talking; that’s how the duties are divided in this upwardly mobile company.

Schachter, FHE president, is an extravert, bright and charming, even on the phone, and is the face of the company. He is responsible for sales and marketing. Levy, FHE’s managing partner, is sharp with numbers and highly organized. His duties include financial affairs and the logistics of manufacturing and shipping. “Mine is the flashy part,” said Schachter. “I fly to New York in a spiffy suit and attend trade shows. Jon works in the office, with little glory. If an issue arises back in a warehouse, he goes there, rolls up his sleeves and gets dirty.”

They both know that the other will always get the job done, and their respect for each other’s expertise is one of the key ingredients of their partnership’s success, but that’s not all. “Trust is the most important factor,” said Schachter.

He and Levy have been friends since they were 10 years old. A year ago, they both were at crossroads, contemplating a change in their careers. At that time, Levy worked in his family business and Schachter was employed by a company he now considers competition. One day, they went for coffee together, talked it over, and took the plunge. FHE was born.

Less than a year later, the company already counts among its customers such retailers as Home Outfitters, Homesense, Zellers, Costco and others, and they are expanding to the United States, Mexico and Europe.

Schachter outlined several significant points that contributed to the company’s rapid growth and overall success.

Take calculated risks
“To run a successful business, you have to take calculated risks. Let’s say we make a new prototype product and show it to a customer. During trials, the product sells well. So we bring in a container of it without first getting an order from the customer. We take a calculated risk. When the order comes in, we’re ready.”

Be aggressive
“Starting is always hard, especially in these economic times. You have to be aggressive and passionate about what you do. You should always look for an opportunity, never be idle. You should be living, breathing and sleeping your business. When I was at an amusement park with my wife and son, I bumped into an old customer. We started talking, and he pointed me to someone else who might be interested in our products. I made an appointment and, in the end, we got a new customer out of this.”

Be focused
“Focusing and sticking to your niche is critical. We produce fresh and simple home décor for young, hip customers. Once, someone we knew offered us a shipment of stuffed animals. He promised we would make a profit on those things and he was right. We would have. But we didn’t want to dilute our brand. We have many different products, but stuffed animals do not fit in our line, so we refused.”

Be frugal
“Everything is about the bottom line, especially in the beginning. We do not spend money unless it benefits the business. For example, Jon bought himself a used desk for his office. The money we saved on that went into the business.”

Understand the consumer’s needs
“Knowledge of the marketplace is the key. I go to retailers – in Canada, in the United States – and watch what is selling. I talk to the salespeople and to the customers.”

Be innovative
“Getting a new product in the door is always a challenge. To succeed, you should never be complacent. For example, we sell bath mats in four colors. After several months, we take out the least selling color and introduce two new ones.”

Their innovation strategy goes deeper than that. They use a new approach to marketing. “We never had a paid advertisement in a newspaper or on TV. Not one cent,” said Schachter. “Instead, we employ a PR [public relations] company. An article in a magazine is more effective that an advertisement. We participated in the Toronto [International] Film Festival as one of the sponsors. Afterwards, if some celebrity talks about us during interviews, it’s the best publicity. We also use social media. It’s a huge and growing segment of modern marketing – check out our Facebook page.”

Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She is available for contract work. Contact her at [email protected].

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