LaMarche catalog

Lori Drugan

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Sep 8, 2004
Posts
1,431
Loc
Fairlawn, OH
OK, What's up?
Everyone is saying LaMarche is down the tubes, and to be extremely cautious if I choose to order from them, and today I received a beautiful, very Roma-esque moulding catalog.
It has some very cool, unique moulding styles. Has anyone's opinion changed of them, or is it pretty much statis quo from the grumblers?
Thanks,
Lori
 
Almost every other day there are posts asking if anyone has a LaMarche moulding cause they can't get it.

I have talked to a few people in the industry and they warned me off of LM.

I would hold off for a while until there are rants from other Grumblers.
 
I used to have a hundred or so samples on my wall. Dropped them a couple of years ago. Last week a new Rep showed up. He was very sincere. I decided to "try" them again, since I really liked some of their stuff. Ordered small quatities of 5 mouldings & around a dozen samples. They provide access to their database, on the web where you can check stock on any sample. Kind of nice.
To make a long story short, I received 2 of the 5 mouldings that I ordered. Let's see, thats 40% instock?
shrug.gif
kaffeetrinker_2.gif
 
Business reputation is hard to build and so much easier to destroy. LM was in a long, self-destructive mode till now and will take more than a Roma-nesque catalog to regain framers confidence, I'd say. We'll live and see, but Randy's story is quite telling and oughta be remembered.
 
I changed my store name in 1990 and today I too received the "beautiful" catalog, sent to the old store name. I have never seen a LM rep nor have I ordered LM in 15 years but I have a very unique catalog!

Lynn
 
I use LaMarche, because they do have some very nice and unique mouldings. The only thing I do, before I order is check availability and also have a second choice if possible. While they are not my first choice for picks because of the availability issue, they fit a niche of mouldings that I have a hard time finding and sometimes its their moulding that fits the design.

They will be further in the tubes if we continue to bash them, and it will limit our choices even more - we discussed this on another thread - the whole monopoly in the industry issue. Family businesses and famiy dynamics are a struggle to begin with, and it doesn't take much to throw one off center (death of a leader or a family feud) and into a crisis. Given some time, they may pull out, but not without continued support from the family of framers. I would like to suggest everyone give them another shot - let them prove themselves again.

Its costly to produce a catalog, I would see that as a sign of a vested interest and possibly a renewal in sales & service.

my 2 cents

Elaine
 
Well when in Atlanta stop in thier booth and lets ask!~ What the deal is!~ If they are not in Atlanta that may tell you something also!~
 
Well James not all companies are in Atlanta. However I do think with the ad campaign and all the other stuff it would be a smart step for them to get infront of the people who question them. Give everyone a chance to see what is going on with them.

I agree with Elaine to a certain point...they are unique and stand out, they always have. But how many people have to have issues with a company before they wake up? This is not overnight, this is years in the making. They did it to themselves and they are scrambling to get back to what they used to be. Personally I do not see this happening.

I don't want one company to dominate the entire industry. Now saying that there are many companies out there with great products that may not be nationally known. Use who you wish, put whatever logic in it that you choose. Just use the vendors that treat you well and have what you like-that is makes life easier.

I am not trying or will ever change opinions on these topics. Just throwing out my thoughts.
Patrick Leeland
 
Originally posted by GUMBY, GCF:
Well when in Atlanta stop in thier booth and lets ask!~ What the deal is!~ If they are not in Atlanta that may tell you something also!~
Good suggestion Gumby. Found myself saying ~What the deal is!~ to the folks at Decor Mldg.
 
I still had a few samples on the wall, even though they haven't been able to fill my orders for many months. Then saw the magazine add for their new catalog;... ordered one in July;... never came;... called again;... was told that I had to call my rep;... would cost $40!

I think not.

Now those last few samples are in the dumpster. And I'm waiting on my samples from Gryphon.
 
Hopefully Gryphon is insult-blind and will grab your account anyway, despite your very rude invitation to doing business together. Here’s what you’ve just said to Griphon:
Dear Gryphon,
It’s been long time I’ve known and chosen to fully ignore your competitive product and wonderful service to the trade because in my book LaMarche was all that it counted. Despite their notorious unreliability, I was keeping their samples on my wall and was going to give them my business regardless.
But five minutes ago I got mad on them for asking ME, their long time client, to pay $40 (fortyusdollars!!!) for their worthless new catalog that left “bouche-bee” every single grumbler that received it for free, just like that Frame Lady who doesn’t even do business with them. I tossed their samples right into the dumpster and I got looking for a substitute.
Well, Gryphon, here is your chance at me. Send all your samples and catalogs over for free, SH included, and better do nice to me for, as insignificant as you really are, you won’t live to see a second chance to my doing business with you if you let me down this time. Hurry up!
 
Wow, Whynot... You have a fanciful way of reading between the lines. Having a bad day?

Actually I had never heard of Gryphon until their rep stopped by last month. I was very impressed with their selection. And since I was now without a higher-end line, they fit right in on my wall.

Regarding La Marche, I AM upset that the company has been mismanaged. It was (is?) a beautiful, beautiful line. We had bought from them for years. I sincerely hope they can make a recovery. As for the new catalog, I can't comment on whether or not it is "useless", as you quip. I have never seen it.
 
Question: Isn't Gryphon an off-shoot of the Original LaMarche famiy?? A grandson??

just curious

Elaine
 
Originally posted by MerpsMom:
I didn't see LaMarche in Atlanta? Were they?
No
 
Matoaka,

I learned of Gryphon on The Grumbler and even checked up on their website although I am not a framer per say. But then I was roaming abot TG for my last 5 years, 2 more than you, and that may count for somehing. ;)
 
Elaine, Philip LaMarche is Peter LaMarche's grandson by blood. The "grandchildren who run (if you can call it that) and control LaMarche Moulding are "step" grandkids.

John
 
How do I get in touch with Gryphon? I have never had a rep call on me and don't know if they service my area (not many do!) I'll search for a website, but a phone number in the interim would be great

thanks

Elaine

p.s. why is it that the stepchildren win out?? Never have gotten that one...
 
Older fella gets married, he dies, she gets all his stuff. Just the way it is.

John
 
Gryphon is on The Grumble sometimes.

I have seen the samples. They are unique and drop-dead gorgeous. If I still had a store front, they would be on my walls. By all accounts, they are reliable and nice to work with.

I am leery and weary of public complaints about isolated service fumbles (when no attempt has been made to resolve them privately) but LaMarche is a very different case. The complaints have been so nearly universal here that I cannot believe there is no basis for them.

Here is the Gryphon website:

http://www.royal-gryphon.com/gryphon/
 
Originally posted by Ron Eggers:
I am leery and weary of public complaints about isolated service fumbles (when no attempt has been made to resolve them privately) but LaMarche is a very different case.
Is it possibly that LaMarche dossier is comprised of many such isolated public complaints? What's wrong with complaining? One never knows what comes out of it. Maybe things get corrected or may be that in time more complaints would add and back up that first, isolated voice. Don't be getting leery.
 
Oh, okay. If you don't want me to be leery, I won't.

Can I be weary, at least?

I'm talking about Grumblers who make no attempt to resolve a problem with a vendor before spouting off about it here. I think that's irresponsible. You are free to disagree. I won't close the thread if you do.

Most people having problems with LaMarche are still trying to buy their product, which means they believe the company is worth saving and they've probably made some attempt to get answers directly from LaMarche and have failed.

At some point, you just have to say, "Get rid of the samples and quit your whining."

Of course, I would say it much more diplomatically.

Sorry, I'm cranky because a high percentage of the people I deal with in my new job are/were in the Houston area and we're all a little stressed out.
 
Every sample was removed and evaluated today. EVERY sample.

(note: every sample has a date on it. next to the date we put a hash mark when we sell it the first five times. If there were no hash marks or only 1 or 2 and it's been up 5+ years....it's gone)

Results:

There are no more LaMarsh, Williamson, or Bendix samples.

Roma and Arquati are down to less than 40 samples.

LJ is getting 187 samples back.

Garrett (whom I rep) is getting 3 samples back....

40 Gryphons went up, and we will probably get more.

Studios presence was reduced by 50%

25 Omegas went up.

12 Diadilus went up (closed corner)

10 new Portland Bungalow went up.

and we now have 4 1/2 feet of rows open to think about.

We will be looking at some Polystyrene in Oct.

Both of us were very surprised by how our voting and choices went. It has been a very interesting year of changes....

One interesting change was that the JoAnne's that has been in our neighborhood for over 23 years, is closing and they are building a Super Center about 6 miles away. Right across the street from Fabric World.
faintthud.gif
:D

My they beat each other bloody.
thumbsup.gif
 
Ron,

Yup, you can be weary, at last. But don't rush to it. Take it slowly.

Baer,

That's quite an evaluation system presuming you are passively helping your costumers without persuading them one way or the other. Now you know in what type of market YOUR shop REALLY is. I needed to stress the word "your" in order to warn against taking that data and blindly applying it to other locations which are certain to present their own specificities and, consequently, lead to different diagrams.
 
That's one of the unique perspectives that I enjoy about being a territory rep, an internet rep, and a retail framer.

What I have learned is that there is a core right down the middle that is pretty much constant universal bread and butter. Coast to coast, I see a standard framing going on.

It's when the shops drift off that core that they begin to set themself apart and establish their "Personality" that draws in their repeat customers.

I say repeat as a generalization because I think there are many more factors that drive the customers in the first time (location, ads, referal, etc) but it's the personality and "clicking" with the framer that brings them back. And that is the wonderful part that I love walking into 500 other shops and soaking up those unique and creative personalities.

What others do, may or may not work for me in my location, but it's great to be exposed to lots of other shops and maybe discover a little thing here and another thing there that will work for you in your shop.

And I think Bob C. will back me up on this when I say, going to all of the meetings in a Chapter, takes you to 11 other stores that also work. And THAT is one of the big reasons for joining your local PPFA chapter. The simple little things that you can learn during a fun evening, can really blow your mind. And they aren't even the things that you went to learn.
thumbsup.gif
 
I like Baer get to see the inside of many different shops. I think I have grown a great deal because of this. If you can absorb what you see and ask questions from other professionals in your field....that is priceless.
Patrick Leeland
 
I don't understand why other moulding companies haven't taken La Marche's top sellers and adopted them for their lines.

Secondly, does Roma Moulding have a competitive moulding company with styles and designs as unique and quality as theirs? I'm in Florida and don't always see what goes on in the rest of the country.
 
A short trip to the Atlanta show would have shown you much of what else is out there, Items4sail.

But it you missed that, there is always the Big Show in Las Vegas. (January--WCAF).

After all, that is what the shows are about...along with the classes and commradory and a dinner.
thumbsup.gif
 
Back
Top