Signature HomeStyles
Company: Signature HomeStyles, Glendale Heights, Illinois
Company Description: Signature HomeStyles offers an exclusive line of hundreds of versatile and beautiful organizing and decorating essentials including baskets, linens, dishes, wall décor and holiday decorations. The products are available exclusively through more than 6,000 trusted sales representatives throughout the U.S. and Canada who have built successful businesses.
Nomination Category: Team Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Product Development Team
Nomination Title: Signature HomeStyles Product Development Team
1. Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
The Signature HomeStyles Product Development Team develops thousands of new products annually to ensure its independent sales Representatives have the absolute best products to sell to its customers.
In 2005, the two-person team made up of a Merchandising Manager Dawn Bodine and Product Development Coordinator Wendy Lake combined developed more than 2,000 products for the company’s two catalogs—the Annual Idea Book and Holiday Idea Book. Although only about 700 products made it into the catalogs, this team knows that to get a great product line they have to over develop the line to ensure customers receive the best quality merchandise at a competitive price. It is not uncommon for this team to drop a product because a vendor can’t deliver on quality or price.
This team, which is led by Signature HomeStyles Founder and President Madolyn Johnson, plays a crucial role in the company’s success. The catalogs are the lifeblood of the company’s more than 6,000 United States and Canada Representatives who sell its exclusive line of stylish decorating and organizing essentials at in-home product demonstrations. In 2005, this team took on a huge challenge when they were asked to come up with a 2006 line that would project a new image for the company’s new name and brand identity—Signature HomeStyles—Ideas for Everyday Living. To make this happen they held endless brainstorming sessions, attended gift shows across the country, met with vendors overseas, reviewed current home décor and trend magazines and even took trips to the mall to research home décor trends.
“We had to update the look of the catalog and product line to give customers versatile products with a “signature” style,” Dawn said. “When we get on roll, we order in a pizza and work as late as 9:30 p.m. We all keep idea folders so we are always following the trends. Madolyn gives us great ideas and then let’s us go.”
One of the team’s ideas for the new line was the Wall Wizard™ system, which gives customers an easy and versatile way to create instant wall décor through the use of frames and interchangeable inserts. To date, this product has become one of the hottest selling items in the company’s history.
When the 2006 Idea Book premiered on Jan. 1, 2006, customers, Representatives and even “Trading Spaces” Designer Frank Bielec, who introduced the line to Representatives at the company’s 2005 Fall Conference took notice. Following are only a few examples of the accolades this team received.
• The Wall Wizard! What a product! What an idea! What a concept!— Frank Bielec
• I have had customers tell me this is the best catalog ever.
• I truly believe this is the best product line I have ever seen with a home-based business.
• I will say that I have never been more excited about a product and company as I am about Signature HomeStyles. I work two jobs and will soon quit my job in the mall.
2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated team:
Celebrating 35 years at the helm of this one-stop home organizing and decorating resource, and catalyst for thousands of successful female entrepreneurs, Madolyn Johnson, who leads the Product Development Team, is frequently recognized as one of the top woman business owners in the nation. Merchandising Manager Dawn Bodine, who will celebrate her second anniversary with Signature HomeStyles, has more than 22 years experience in the interior design industry. Product Development Coordinator Wendy Lake will celebrate her fourth anniversary with Signature HomeStyles this April.