Howard Elliott reveals its hospitable side

By Susan Dickenson

In 2001, Brian Berk launched the Howard Elliott Collection of mirrors and decorative accessories. Since then, the Chicago-based company has grown into a successful manufacturing operation that ships to nearly 3,500 retailers and is on track to become a major supplier to the hospitality industry.

“That’s been my pet project for about the last 18 months -- working on the hospitality and developing that business,” Berk told Home Accents Today. “Thankfully we’re really doing well, even in this climate.”

On the company’s Web site, Howard Elliott attributes its success to “innovative designs, a broad variety of styles and sizes, unique combinations of raw materials, extremely competitive pricing and a world class sales organization.” Berk describes it as understanding that customers buy because of two things -- you have a solid relationship, or you have something they can’t live without. “My job is to tap into those relationships, and to provide the looks that people can’t live without,” he said. “You can’t be everything to everybody, but I want to be unique – if we can’t do something and put our own flair into it, it’s not worth doing.”

One of the things that make Howard Elliott unique is the way in which Berk is leveraging his resources to fuel his new project, Event Products by Howard Elliott. The division is overseen by his brother, company vice president Seth Berk, and deals with a different customer base – one made up of caterers, event planners and party rental companies, and one that the Berk brothers are very familiar with.  

In 1982, their parents, Michael and Marcia Berk, started M&M – The Events Company, a major player in the special events planning and rentals market. Operating out of offices in Chicago and Dallas, M&M has a history of success that ranges from social and corporate events to parties to weddings. This past spring, M&M’s crews worked under intense scrutiny and security to pull off the “low key but elegant event for 250 guests” that celebrated the marriage of Jenna Bush to Henry Hager at the First Family’s Crawford, Texas, ranch. 

Before he launched Howard Elliott, Berk imported products for M&M’s extensive rental inventory. “This stuff never changes; this is easy,” he said, referring to a cafe chair in Howard Elliott’s Las Vegas showroom. “Where we have changes is in tabletop and silverware patterns. People don’t realize party rental companies have more buying power than hotels. If you’re having a wedding for 500 people, you need pretty extensive inventories and have to offer a selection, just like the tabletop side of things in this business. You can do 80% of the business with 20% of the inventory, but you need the upscale to entice the Bushes to do business with you.”

From a sourcing perspective, doing things this way was a big trend about 10 years ago, but Berk said there’s been a lot of consolidation. “A big company out of California, for example, went on a big acquisition march and they now reach from coast to coast and have several hundred million dollars worth of business. But they outsource the sourcing of their products. They use a company like Howard Elliott to go and do that for them. When they bought companies in the past with that sourcing arm built in, they divested that -- which I never understood.”

In May, Howard Elliott exhibited at the Hospitality Design Expo in Las Vegas. “It really worked out well,” Berk said. “I’m getting calls from specifiers and designers that read the advertorial (in Home Accents Today’s HD issue) or saw us at the show.”

In July, Berk cut the ribbon on a new showroom in Las Vegas. “This is my flagship showroom and I think this market will be the most sustainable in the long run for an international market. My international customers have no desire to go to High Point, and we weren’t getting the West Coast people in High Point, so when we came out here it was a bonanza.”

Trend wise, Berk said his mirrors and accessories are gravitating a little from ornate and he’s doing more transitional and contemporary. “Designers have been the best customers lately, so I’m testing the water each market, gradually adding either accessories or mirrors that are a little bit higher end.”

He also remains confident that Howard Elliott will weather the soft economy and is positioning the company for when things turn around. “There are so many possibilities and opportunities, even in this bad economy… that’s what drives us to get up every morning, go to work and see what we can create.”