Title Change: Fireside Hearth Shops by HHT

[smwilliamson]

You thought perhaps that by having Harman or Quadrafire protected your bottom line. Well, wait until the gigi strip mall near your town gets one of these chain stores.

http://www.fireside.com/consumer/index.asp

 

[Lousyweather]

basically still a Harman or Quad dealer....

 

[smwilliamson]

I guess these stores already exist somewhere. The mega store of hearth, all of the HHT brands under one roof. Anyone ever seen one.

 

[tjnamtiw]

good luck with service!

 

[smwilliamson]

It says that they use all of their own in house employees for all service and installation.

 

[Adabiviak]

I'm not sure how that would change the bottom line for my Quad? By bottom line, do you mean how much it ultimately costs to heat my house?

 

[nate379]

Safe from what?

 

[iron stove]

I guess these stores already exist somewhere. The mega store of hearth, all of the HHT brands under one roof. Anyone ever seen one.

There is one about 30 miles from me on the western side of CT, near Danbury. Havnt been there, traffic out by NY border can be tough.

 

[BrotherBart]

They say they only do fireplaces, not stoves. For now.

 

[Lousyweather]

I guess these stores already exist somewhere. The mega store of hearth, all of the HHT brands under one roof. Anyone ever seen one.

No, havent seen one in New England, but the stores do exist in the midwest. Basically, they are a fill-line HHT dealer. To be so, they need to have repair and sales personnel, a showroom as well. The thing with these kinds of stores is that the dealer cannot sell any other brand of units, so it takes a commitment by the dealer (to HHT) to be one of these stores. Basically, its a full-line HHT dealer. I dont see how this really threatens anyone any more than a regular Quad, harman dealer. I dont beleive its the intention of HHT to flood an already existing market (one which already has a Quad or Harman store) with yet another dealership. Its a fairly new concept for them, so the verdict is still out.

 

[rona]

Probably old news but I was reading their warranties and they have cheapened them quite a bit. One of the big points about Harman was that the warranty followed the stove regardless of whether the stove changed hands.

 

[Fsappo]

Fireside Hearth and Home has been around for a while. If HHT lets them plop one of these chain stores close to an existing HHT dealer, that would be a crime.

 

[Lousyweather]

Probably old news but I was reading their warranties and they have cheapened them quite a bit. One of the big points about Harman was that the warranty followed the stove regardless of whether the stove changed hands.

The warrantee is transferrable......form available at any dealership. I dont beleive its transferrable AT A NEW LOCATION, just the original installation locale.

 

[smwilliamson]

I hope that the store is still independently run. What I meant by nobody is safe...is that if HHT is going to establish their brands through independent dealerships then go out and open their own stores, well, that IS a crime.

I like the concept from a business standpoint...a big business standpoint that is. It's interesting how small businesses grow and become bigger and bigger. HHT is actual owned by another parent company which is a furniture designer/maker. They have made the chairs in the Oval Office for the past 8 Presidents.

 

[Fsappo]

Hon Industries?

 

[smwilliamson]

Hon Industries?

No. HNI Corporation: http://www.hnicorp.com/companies/index.htm

HNI is a group of seven companies, each representing a family of leading brands, products and services for the office and home environments.

HNI Corporation's decentralized “split and focus†philosophy means each company is structured to meet the needs of highly specific marketing channels and end user segments. That way, as a group we can serve, efficiently and effectively, every type of buyer—from a person purchasing a file cabinet to a highly sophisticated corporation with complex office furnishing needs; from a family wanting a new gas fireplace to a large builder seeking to offer the latest technology and features in its homes.

HNI Corporation's brands fulfill many different need sets, representing a tailored mix of products and services to reach each unique market. We give users maximum choice—consumers and businesses can buy HNI Corporation products at more places, through more channels, than any of our competitors. Simply put, our strategy is to build presence wherever buyers go to buy product.

The diverse companies of HNI Corporation share a number of critical common threads, foremost among them leading brands; strong distribution capabilities; excellent design and quality; value-added services; customization capabilities; and an intense focus on achieving industry-leading customer satisfaction.

 

[c_mantle]

I have a Fireside within 10 miles; but they don't carry Harman. The Quadra-Fire w/ install was no less than the Accentra from a Harman dealer (not HHT) that is 20 miles away. I ended up buying a Harman from another indy dealer for $900.00 less then both of them.

Agree that HHT may be light on customer service. The salesman pressured me to make a downpayment same day just to reserve an install date...the indy dealer worked with me every step of the way.

 

[CJ-SR4ever]

Probably old news but I was reading their warranties and they have cheapened them quite a bit. One of the big points about Harman was that the warranty followed the stove regardless of whether the stove changed hands.

The Harman warranty isnt really that different than their old one. The only major change to the Harman warranty is that they now cover the electronics for 2 years instead of 3 years. But they have also upgraded and revised most of the electronics to prevent failures. And also the new warranty will still be transferable by different home owners as long as the stove stays in the home of the origional install. If the stove gets uninstalled from one home and installed into a different home, then the warranty is void. But in my opinion, HHT is a very good company to deal with and give good dealer and customer support.

 

[Fsappo]

Hon Industries?

No. HNI Corporation: http://www.hnicorp.com/companies/index.htm

HNI is a group of seven companies, each representing a family of leading brands, products and services for the office and home environments.

HNI Corporation's decentralized “split and focus†philosophy means each company is structured to meet the needs of highly specific marketing channels and end user segments. That way, as a group we can serve, efficiently and effectively, every type of buyer—from a person purchasing a file cabinet to a highly sophisticated corporation with complex office furnishing needs; from a family wanting a new gas fireplace to a large builder seeking to offer the latest technology and features in its homes.

HNI Corporation's brands fulfill many different need sets, representing a tailored mix of products and services to reach each unique market. We give users maximum choice—consumers and businesses can buy HNI Corporation products at more places, through more channels, than any of our competitors. Simply put, our strategy is to build presence wherever buyers go to buy product.

The diverse companies of HNI Corporation share a number of critical common threads, foremost among them leading brands; strong distribution capabilities; excellent design and quality; value-added services; customization capabilities; and an intense focus on achieving industry-leading customer satisfaction.

I thought at some point Hon industrys was involved with Heatilator and HNG.

 

[Let it Burn]

I belive at one time HNI was called HON Industries Inc.. I think there are 5 or 6 Fireside Hearth and Home stores around the Twin Cities along with the independant dealers (not sure on how many of those there are but seem to be enough business for all of them).

 

[kilbury]

HHT stores have been around for years. They have acquired many company's and names over the years, Dovre, Alladin, etc. If you wanna see what they are check this out, http://www.honi.com/index.htm