In a commercial retail market in full crisis and ever more competitive, Ceragres, a leader in the ceramic industry, chose to stand out by building on design, expertise and innovation and make it its corporate motto.

Design

Simplicity Diversity

Quality Expertise

MOVING FORWARDJust as Ceragres turns 25, it is giving a new direction to its strategic customer service vision for today and tomorrow!

“Tomorrow’s distributor is one that will both ac-commodate the ever-evolving buying behav-iour of customers and stand out by its distinct-ive offering and by providing an unforgettable customer experience.”

Having to adjust to the changes in their person-al situation (age, income, household size, pro-fessional life, etc.) today’s consumers are more educated, more discriminating, get more infor-mation before buying, are pressed for time and they are more price-conscious than they were 15-20 years ago. As a consequence of this, they expect increasingly more from the retailers. At Ceragres, our response is to provide customers a simplified, inspiring and distinct buying experience.

”The retail industry is not what it used to be. And the flooring business, as we know it, is no more!”— Guy Gervais, Ceragres’ Founding President.

. . . M O V I N G F O RWA R D

Simplicity – Efficiency – Quality – Diversity. That’s where our efforts are channelled.

Among our initiatives, the implementation of a new, more selective approach to distribu-tion and an improved sales experience, as well as a wider product offering with countertops, sinks and just recently, with the acquisition of Montréal-Les-Bains, fine plumbing and bath-room accessories.

A NEW APPROACH TORETAIL NETWORKING Today there are six Ceragres Boutique Work-spaces, Ceragres also distributes its products through the Ceragres Tile Shop Partners. A new marketing concept, these Ceragres mini-boutiques, established within stores, offer the whole product range to the gener-al public located in the cities’ outskirts. “The Ceragres Tile Shop Partners concept that was

launched in 2008 is a precursor in ceram-ic tiles retail sale. With our shop-in-a-shop concept, we succeeded in reaching a broad-er customer base and build a solid partner-ship with our network of retailers; all this in the spirit and image of Ceragres”, says Guy Gervais, Ceragres’ Founding President. Ten years later, we’re instilling a breath of fresh air to our Ceragres Tile Shop Partners by high-lighting the distinctive character and offering a buying experience that meets the expecta-tions and needs of today’s customers.

This revitalization coincides with the arrival of Dominique Bouchard as Ceragres’ Vice-Presi-dent of Retail Market. Having served as CEO of Lacoste Canada for more than 15 years, Dominique has a strong background in both the distribution field and the textiles indus-try, and industry that has changed radically in the last 15 years. Her arrival last Novem-ber brought us to completely rethink our ap-proach with the Ceragres Tile Shop Partners by adopting a new entrepreneurial culture based on a solid partnership in sync with Cera-gres’ image and philosophy. “The echo gener-ation are tomorrow’s customers. They are the main targets of retailers for 2020, and they’re ready to pay more for a product that reflects who they are and suits their needs”, says Mrs. Bouchard. “With this in mind, Ceragres decid-ed to reduce the number of sales locations by building on a high quality network that is profitable for us as well as our partners.” In less than four months, the number of retailers has dwindled from 300 to less than a hundred,

Ceragres is celebrating its 25 years, looking toward the future.

Ceragres Boutique Workspace - Toronto

— by Ceragres —

design & expertise

40 of which are Ceragres Tile Shop Partners. This is a major change that can prove to be painful in the short term, but necessary in order to ensure some cohesion with the new direction taken by Ceragres, according to Mrs. Bouchard.

Another initiative: the introduction of a new generation of Ceragres Tile Shop Partners. We improved on the established concept by de-veloping a solid partnership with a number of retailers in Quebec. We have rethought the de-sign and signage of our Tile Shop Partners by displaying inspiring images and by adding large wall panels, product combinations and sev-eral ambience photos. Our complete product range can be presented in physical spaces of either +250 sq. ft., +500 sq. ft. or +1000 sq. ft. “The new concept has been very well received through the province. It allows us to meet with major partners working in fields other than floor covering and raise their interest. These part-nerships will allow us to broaden our product offering and enhance our expertise”, says Mrs. Bouchard. Set up to optimize the market share in Quebec, this new approach will then be ap-plied outside of Quebec.

AN INSPIRING AND DIFFERENT BUYING EXPERIENCELast September, a 6th Ceragres Boutique Work-space opened its doors in the Quartier DIX30 (Brossard) and it faced a new challenge: to re-visit the other corporate stores’ concept while innovating at the customer experience level. This redesigned concept will be introduced in all the Boutique Workspaces by the end of May.

If households benefit from higher incomes, they are, however, lacking in time. “Consumers with limited time will choose retailers that will facilitate their buying experience. Therefore, we have recon-sidered the design and signage of our new Boutique Workspace in that perspective”, says Mr. Gervais.

At the entrance of the Boutique Workspaces, the customer has an overall view of the space, understands the configuration and knows where to go. “The idea was not to steal the spot-light from our products, but to identify them well in order to inform the customer in a clear and precise way on the diversity of our prod-uct offering. Simplicity, Clarity and consistency guided our creative process, as much for col-our choices as identification of product cat-egories”, says Geneviève Deslauriers, Artistic Director at Ceragres.

“For the sake of standardizing and harmonizing our tile selection, we have combined them in six main colour themes: white, greige, moka, grey, charcoal and black. The customer can there-fore quickly and easily find all the black tiles in the same space”, says Mrs. Deslauriers.

“Remodeling or renovation work can be com-plex. Quite often, we don’t know where to start or we’re simply short on inspiration. On top of taking advantage of a personalized service offered by our expert advisors, customers can seek inspiration on iPads and specialty publica-tions offered to them on our work tables and by looking at our product applications at recep-tion, around the coffee area, in the restrooms, etc.”, says Mrs. Deslauriers.

And why not combine business with pleasure? Compared to 10 years ago, customers are pressed for time now more than ever. Take a moment and relax while you shop in our Bou-tique Workspaces by enjoying a cup of coffee or a freshly squeezed orange juice.

AN INNOVATING, DISTINCT AND SPECIALIZED OFFERIn addition to ceramic, Ceragres also offers a wide selection of customized stone countertops in its manufacturing workshop. Ceragres pur-chases exclusively from a new stone slab sup-plier, SURFACES by CERAGRES – an independ-ent entity dedicated to the sale of natural and engineered stone slabs. More than a hundred high-quality products of various natural and engineered stone products are being offered.

More recently, Ceragres has acquired Montréal-Les-Bains so that it can offer its customers a range of faucets, sinks and vanities for their kitchen and bathroom projects. “We were se-duced by the aesthetics and the quality of the products offered. But also by their technical support which is consistent with the design and expertise offered by Ceragres”, says Mr. Gervais. Soon to come as well, a full range of sinks will be added to the Ceragres offer.

Time constraints means that people have a ten-dency to search for exactly what they are looking for to cut down on shopping time. By offering a complete range of countertops, sinks and fine plumbing fixtures, on top of a turnkey service, the one stop shop concept really comes togeth-er in our retail locations. The customer can now choose among a wide variety of products and services and all that is needed to complete the remodelling project, all under one roof.

SHARING OUR EXPERTISE

Despite the many issues facing the commercial network, it doesn’t change the fact that just like the general public, design and architecture pro-fessionals are people on the go with a constant desire to further their knowledge in their field of work. To meet these needs, Ceragres offers a wide range of specialized products such as pool systems and ventilated cladding. A true leader in pool project delivery, Ceragres’ reputation is well established. A recognition that allows the com-pany to be awarded major projects such as the Olympic size pool (PEPS) at Université de Laval and the Olympic basin in Toronto for the Pan Am Games scheduled this summer. As for the venti-lated cladding system KeraTwin K20 from Agrob Buchtal, this material distributed exclusively in Canada by Ceragres has become a must in ex-terior cladding. Among our projects: the CCQ head office and the STM transport centre.

Ceragres also has a privileged place in continu-ing the education of architects and interior de-signers in Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes. Three thousand training CEUs were offered in three years.

LEADING THE CHANGEThe importance of entrepreneurial culture for our success has long been recognized at Cera-gres. “We are an efficient organization anchored on solid values and recognized for its leadership and capacity to constantly renew itself to better serve its customers. Not being afraid to venture off the beaten path and take risks has ensured, for the last 25 years, a product and service of-fering that is constantly adapted to the cus-tomers’ needs and expectations. Our goal for the next 25 years remains the same: to offer a range of products and services adapted to the needs and expectations of tomorrow’s custom-er, and this with an outlook guided by change”, says Guy Gervais.

”The message is clear: Ceragres is ready to take risks and do a complete u-turn in order to better meet the needs of tomorrow’s customers.”— Dominique Bouchard Vice-President of Retail Market at Ceragres

Ceragres Tile Shop Partner —Beaulieu Décor d’Astous et Frères

Design and expertise

Ceragres’ Stone Workshop