2013 has been a crazy year for EthoSource. Since last January, so much has changed for us, from completely new company branding to tripling our number of locations with new retail stores! I’ve decided to dedicate this blog to a year in review for the EthoSource team, so that all of our returning and future customers can see the different things we have done to try and make their experience with us better than ever! We’re looking forward to continuing this philosophy into 2014, and hope you’re as excited as we are!
[wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]10. Top 50 Again!
Starting out at number 10, I guess I can already say this entire list won’t be all new things for the company since this is the 9th year in a row for this achievement. Once again, EthoSource has made Greater Reading’s Top 50 Businesses list. There are very few businesses on the list joining EthoSource in such a strong consecutive showing, so we’re proud of the progress that has made us such a strong candidate over the years and continued to grow our EthoSource family to what it is today. Our work extends far beyond the Greater Reading area, but it’s very important to us to be an influential business in our own community as well.
[/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””][/wpcol_1half_end] [wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]9. Keen on Sustainability
Each year, EthoSource travels to the International Facility Managers Association’s annual trade show, building a large, customized Ethospace cubicle to serve as our one-of-a-kind booth for the event. This year’s show was luckily held in our backyard of Philadelphia, so many of our team members were able to attend. At the show’s end, we were honored with IFMA’s top 10 Sustainability Award, recognizing the top exhibitors who display innovative, environmentally conscious exhibition practices and products. With an entire business focused on and dedicated to the recycling of office furniture to create like-new workplaces with little to no raw materials, EthoSource was thrilled to be recognized for these efforts among thousands of IFMA exhibitors in 2013.
[/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””][/wpcol_1half_end] [wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]8. Hittin’ the Big Screen!
EthoSource has made their big screen debut this year in a couple different ways. For the first time ever, we worked with a production company to create and air EthoSource TV commercials to be broadcasted to our local Reading and Philadelphia areas. If you’re a sports fan, you could be sure to see us during Monday Night Football, the College Bowl games, and the upcoming Winter Olympics. If not, just take a drive through Reading and King of Prussia’s major business thruways to see us on a different type of big screen: the billboard! Another first for us has been advertising on poster and digital bulletin billboards, which were all designed in-house by our Marketing Department. If you’re out for a drive, keep your eyes open. You can’t miss us! And check out our commercial: click here
[/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””][/wpcol_1half_end] [wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]7. Happy Birthday!2013 marks EthoSource’s 12th Birthday! Our owner and president, John Gallen, started EthoSource back in 2001 with the help of our VP of Sales, Bryon Kauffman, working from a single office and classified solely as an Ethospace provider. Since that first year, we have grown to 55 employees, 3 locations, and 200,000 combined sq. ft. of all types of office furniture you can imagine, including cubicles, chairs desks, tables, filing, and more from all the top names in the industry. We’ve come a long way since our first birthday, so there was lots to be thankful for as we celebrated the 12th!
[/wpcol_1half][wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””][/wpcol_1half_end] [wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]6. EthoSource Gets a New Look
Notice anything different about our image this past year? One of the biggest changes is staring everyone right in the face! Try checking out the top left corner of your screen. That’s right, a new logo! EthoSource got a branding makeover, completely switching up our company logo and introducing new colors, switching from blue and green to grey, green, and orange. We couldn’t part with the green which embraces our sustainable impact on the workplace, but our new color combination has taken our ads and signage to a whole new level! Our fresh look has spearheaded our various changes this year and has kept our marketing department very busy!
[/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””][/wpcol_1half_end] [wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]5. & 4. Hello Retail!
These next two parts of our top 10 go hand in hand as EthoSource took the leap this year to open up two new retail stores & showrooms within about a month of one another. This past summer was a busy one as we officially opened the doors to our King of Prussia showroom on June 11th, followed quickly by our Reading opening on July 8th. Our venture to King of Prussia has been a fun and exciting experience for EthoSource as a new business to the Greater Philadelphia area, while our Reading location has been a great addition for our local customers and friends that know EthoSource very well. Both stores were opened with the intent to provide our customers the ability to view and test out our expansive and ever-changing inventory selection with mock-ups and displays that recreate various office settings. It has also given us the opportunity to present individual furniture options to customers looking to furnish a home office or smaller space. If you haven’t visited us yet, stop by either location to take a look at 50,000 sq. ft. of office furniture possibilities. This past year, we’ve enjoyed watching customer reactions when we open the door to our store’s massive warehouses, so come see what you’ve been missing in 2014!
[/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””][/wpcol_1half_end] [wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]3. Dealers on Board
With such close relationships to our dealer partners, we wanted to do something above and beyond to improve the way they work with us. The best way for us to do this was make their experience with their own customers easier than ever! We created a Dealer Program which aims to eliminate unnecessary hassle and lead time of the past methods of presenting EthoSource product and services through the creation and use of a straightforward guide. Compiled in this guide, created back in June, is a clear explanation of our capabilities and the most effective way to work with us. This includes descriptions of product levels, outlines of our services, and a vast presentation of our fabrics and finishes. Since its launch, our dealers have been able to more efficiently present all the important information that their customers are looking for without the additional lead time caused by not having all the necessary resources right at their finger tips. We’ve built even stronger relationships with our dealer partners through the creation of our Dealer Guide, and we’re looking forward to continuing to improve its content and layout in the upcoming year.
[/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””][/wpcol_1half_end] [wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]2. Website Makeover
It’s hardly just a makeover considering we’ve created a completely new company website, but we did make sure to keep the various layout components and content that our customers have always appreciated from our last site. We’ve kept the clean layout and easy to navigate office furniture category tool bar on every page, but we’ve made getting the information you need even more simple to follow and find. Sort through products by color, manufacturer, finish, and more, or save your products in a shopping cart to view at any time. If you have a product inquiry, you can submit this to us with the click of a button from each product’s page, and we can even reply with a full detailed list of suggestions and product info if you’re not quite sure what you’re looking for. The new look incorporates our brand new logo, and in addition to displaying all of our inventory, our site provides information on all of our services, past projects, and company locations. No matter where in the US you are located, make sure to check it out, and let us know what you think!
[/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””][/wpcol_1half_end] [wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]1. Reaching New Heights
Our number one was a no brainer, and actually does not necessarily reflect a company achievement, but our company philosophy. The recognition goes to our owner and president, John Gallen, but more significantly, his son, Nat Gallen. This past July, at the age of 15, Nat conquered a feat that many in their lifetime will never be able to do. After 5 long days of climbing, he and his father reached the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest freestanding mountain in the world. At 19,340 ft., the altitude raises extreme challenges for any avid climber, but for Nat, the challenges were even greater, however, little was going to stop him from achieving this long term goal of his. A lot of this motivation derived from the fact that Nat wasn’t just climbing for himself, but for an incredible cause. This past year, with this remarkable climb, Nat has become the youngest person with Cystic Fibrosis to ever make it to the top. His goal for the climb was to spread awareness while encouraging others with medical conditions to embrace their goals, and go after any dreams they have, no matter what challenges face them. The Gallen family has always been very active in the CF Foundation community, and EthoSource has embraced this same devotion to various organizations and charities over the years. John has always promoted the philosophy to “give where you live,” and it’s become a way of life for our company. Nat has surely led the way for an amazing year for the company and has only inspired us all at EthoSource to see what bigger and better things we can accomplish in 2014!
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