Dear ProSales Business Update Subscriber:

Welcome to ProSales Business Update Showroom Report, a new e-newsletter for showroom managers and buyers at America's pro-oriented building material dealers. Each month, we'll bring you news and ideas designed to help you boost sales and get the most from your showroom operation.

Please forward this newsletter to your showroom managers and product buyers and suggest they subscribe--it's free, and there's no further obligation.

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Got a story idea? Want us to write about something? Contact this newsletter's editor, Victoria Markovitz.

In this issue...

• Roundup of Products Eligible for the Tax Credit or Energy Star
• Two Trends To Watch in Bathroom Cabinetry
• Memorable Showrooms: Franklin Building Supply
• Asphalt and Metal Reign on our Roofs, but Some New Products Are Gaining Popularity
• Window Industry Poised for a Comeback, WDMA Says
• Survey: Consumers Unhappy with Replacement Window and Door Purchases
• Make a Custom Counter for $8 Per Square Foot
• Black Is Back: A Slideshow of Products on the Ebony Side for Kitchen and Bath

American Standard Water Efficient Products Help You Go Green Without Sacrificing Performance

American Standard's design-savvy water efficient products deliver industry-leading performance, save water and money. All of our residential bathroom faucets are WaterSense® certified and our HETs deliver superior flush performance using 20 percent less water than standard 1.6 gpf models. Visit www.americanstandard-us.com/bathroom-products/flowise/.

Roundup of Products Eligible for the Tax Credit or Energy Star

Builder recently published a special section on Windows and Doors (and related items such as hardware) features products that are designed with energy efficiency in mind. It includes high-performance windows and doors that are at least Energy Star rated or eligible for the stimulus bill tax credit. It also includes windows and doors that exceed the bill's requirement that eligible products have a U-factor rating of .30 and a solar heat gain coefficient rating of .30.
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Two Trends To Watch in Bathroom Cabinetry

Two major trends are dominating bathroom cabinetry: a casual modern aesthetic and, on the other end, furniture-like designs. The modern look features sparse details and doors in simple styles, such as Shaker. Not only does this style tend to cost less than more adorned products, but it makes cabinets easier to clean and keeps a bath looking fresh.
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ON TIME AND COMPLETE, THAT’S THE REAL BEAUTY

As the #3 supplier to the builder market, Timberlake understands when you're in the home stretch on a building project, every day counts. That's why our business is to make your business easier.

Experience more than beautiful cabinets.
For more information, call 1-800-967-9674, or visit TIMBERLAKE.com.

Memorable Showrooms: Franklin Building Supply

Franklin Building Supply of Idaho's Treasure Valley won a ProSales Excellence Award last year for its showroom, a 20,000-square-foot, professionally-designed property called Design Innovations that's located in a business park a mile from Franklin's largest facility. Franklin's $4 million investment has helped it increase sales to the higher-spending custom home crowd, even as it kept hold on its traditional small-builder customer base. Read more about the project, and see a slideshow of the facility
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Asphalt and Metal Reign on our Roofs, but Some New Products Are Gaining Popularity

Dealers report that two roofing products have started to attract particular interest among their customers, even though they do not bring in as much sales as the roofing industry leaders, asphalt and metal. Synthetic slate offers a high-end look without the price tag or structural requirements of natural slate, and cool roofing brings energy-saving benefits to homes in hot areas.
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White River Launches 275 New Products & Design Binder

White River launches 275 New Products and introduces: Elaboration: Illustrative Millwork for the Design Professional, a new design resource for the Design Professional. Visit www.whiteriver.com/i-catalog-elaboration.shtml.

Window Industry Poised for a Comeback, WDMA Says

The Window and Door Manufacturers Association projects that the market will bottom out in 2009, then resume growing. After that, the report's authors say, the market will "show marked improvement from 2010 to 2012." For instance, sales of windows to the remodeling and replacement segment are expected to grow from 26.3 million units shipped this year to 28.6 million units in 2010 and 35 million units in 2012. That would put manufacturers of those products roughly back where they were in 2004, when 35.7 million windows were shipped to the remodeling and replacement market.
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Survey: Consumers Unhappy with Replacement Window and Door Purchases

A study by J.D. Power and Associates reveals that overall customer satisfaction with replacement windows and patio doors decreased in the last year. Based on a 1,000-point-scale, satisfaction in 2009 fell to 769 from 781 in 2008. In addition to declining customer satisfaction, the study finds that Iowa-based Pella Windows and Doors ranks highest among consumers in overall satisfaction with windows and patio doors for the third year in a row.
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Make a Custom Counter for $8 Per Square Foot

The market is slow, and you're trying to cut costs while differentiating your homes. You're also probably searching for new revenue streams. One of the country's top architectural designers has a simple way that will help you do all of the above without spending a lot of money. Concrete countertops, more specifically, do-it-yourself concrete countertops.
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Black Is Back: A Slideshow of Products on the Ebony Side for Kitchen and Bath

Thoughout the home, black is increasing in popularity as a color choice, stylists believe. Certainly, a flurry of ebony-hued new products suggest that product manufacturers see gold in black. In this slide show, Lauren Hunter surveys some of those offerings.
View Slide Show

Do you have a question, a tip, or a sage piece of wisdom? Feel free to contact ProSales' products editor, Victoria Markovitz, at vmarkovitz@hanleywood.com.