Important Annoucements

May 15, 2024

As told by Kelly Specht: 

This amazing story happened after our annual golf tournament in September 2020. At the tournament ‘green rocks’ were handed out with positive sayings on the top and #CarlsCause on the bottom. We encourage people to leave the green rocks out on trails, beaches or anywhere it might be found and make an impact. 

A family friend came in to play from Minnesota, and upon returning home, she left her rock on a golf course there. On October 13, the day of Carl’s birthday, I received an email from a 42-year-old woman from North Dakota, titled, “You Saved My Life”…. a portion of her email is below.

You Saved My Life

I just wanted to reach out to you and extend a great big thank you! I came across this rock at Madden’s Resort in Brainerd, Minnesota. I was taking my final weekend getaway with my best friend and had my suicide planned for Sunday night when we got back from our trip. 

Upon finding your rock, I pulled up your website and read Carl’s story, my heart got heavy and the tears flowed. I couldn’t ignore the obvious signs being sent to me and I couldn’t help but think there may have been some divine intervention. 

I told [my friend] what my plan was and said I needed help and I want to seek it out for the first time in my life. After a long tearful talk, I was admitted for psych treatment for the first time ever after battling severe clinical depression and generalized anxiety for 25 years.

I was discharged from the hospital and I referenced your rock numerous times throughout my stay. I could feel your heartache in telling Carl’s story and only then did I realize I would be eliminating my own heartache and leaving a hole in those who love me. 

I want to tell you thank you for helping eliminate the stigma of mental illness. I want to tell you thank you for allowing your heartache and loss save my family from the same fate. 

I truly feel like I was chosen by Carl to let you know he is still doing amazing things and is able to with peace of mind and without struggle. Maybe he picked me because I was spending my last days alive golfing while having a heavy heart.

I love your Carl although I never met him, because of his story I feel like I knew him, and I most definitely understand him.

I know I have a long road ahead of me and there will be two steps forward and three steps back, but none the less, your rock put my journey back on the long road instead of it ending at the fork in the road.

December 15, 2023

Dear friends,

It feels like I was just getting to the point of remembering to write 2023 on documents, only to find the year is almost over! What happened?! In December of 2022, I professed to our team that 2023 would be a much calmer year given the calamities we faced over the previous three years. In many ways, it has been, yet in so many ways it has not.

The anxiety, uncertainty, divisiveness, suffering we see from wars, and the constant bombardment of negative information is so stressful, especially for our young people who do not have the life experience of simpler times, so many people seem to be on the edge. The impact we are seeing is a deepening mental health crisis.

The KDR culture is one of family first, kindness, and generosity. This year KDR is proud to present our annual Holiday charity check to Carl’s Cause, a charity we have supported in various capacities since its inception. Started by KDR Kansas City’s own Kelly Specht and her husband Bob, after the tragic death by suicide in 2017 of their beloved son Carl. Their mantra is “to promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention.” Carl’s Cause has become an award-winning charity as they have relentlessly promoted awareness, and treatment and created much-needed facilities.

In the spirit of giving this season, please join us in giving love, compassion, and understanding. It costs nothing and the rewards are abundant. Thank you for your partnership. We wish you all the Joys of the Season and a New Year of good health and prosperity.

With love and gratitude,
Kevin Kenney

November 30, 2023

For those of you who contributed to or followed the story of the KDR-sponsored Joye Adamson scholarship to two students at Johnson County Community College, we received this heartwarming thank you from Christi Estrada, one of the recipients. Our criteria for the school was to select students based on passion and need, and Christi was certainly an excellent choice. Passion, commitment and ambition, she will be a tremendous asset to a smart design firm one day.

I often speak of kindness, giving, and the impact of small gestures. The picture of this family and the note talking about the family’s sacrifices for “mom” to chase her dream of becoming an interior designer, well, it doesn’t get any better. During this holiday season, take a step back and show some kindness. It can take you away from the chaotic anxiety we experience in today’s world.

Warm holiday wishes, 

Kevin Kenney

November 2, 2023

We were thrilled with the great response from the Kansas City Design community sharing the impact Joye had and the contributions made to the Joye Adamson Memorial Scholarship. Donations totaled just below $1,000. KDR has matched that amount, to make for $2,000 of scholarship money. The amount was large enough that it allowed for two $1,000 scholarships for two students who embody the spirit and passion towards interior design that Joye exuded. Thank you for your kindness and generosity!

These two young ladies were “Joyefully” surprised in their classrooms by Darla Green, @johnsoncountycommunitycollege Interior Design Department Chair, and KDR’s @kellyspecht_kdr who serves on the JCCC Interior Design Advisory Board, with their $1,000 scholarship! Join us in congratulating BrKya Yancy and Christi Estrada on their scholarships!

September 28, 2023

Rockhouse Farms Brands that include Century, Hickory Chair, Hancock & Moore, Jessica Charles and others, are collectively KDR’s leading and most trusted manufacturers. Their popularity amongst the design trade for outstanding product design and quality can now be reinforced with your clients with restored attractive lead times! Please read the attached letter from Alex that speaks to the challenges they conquered, the trust they value with their customers, their solid financial position, and their extensive investments going forward.

Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

September 19, 2023

Our interior design community is small, and from time to time there are people who dedicate their careers to the betterment and awareness of the positive impact interior design has on everyone’s lives, and helps enhance professionalism for our industry. Joye Adamson was one of those people.⁣
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Joye’s ownership of Designer’s Only and my ownership of KDR Designer Showrooms, made us competitors from the time I opened KDR on the infamous, tragic day of September 11, 2001.⁣
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For several years there was a lot of gossip and innuendo amongst the owners of showrooms in Kansas City. I was a St Louisan, even though I had lived in Kansas City for several years before starting KDR.⁣
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One day in 2009, I called Joye and asked her to meet me for lunch on my next visit to Kanas City. She agreed, and although rather suspicious, she soon lightened up when I lightheartedly told her I wanted her to get to know me first so she could decide in person if she didn’t like me!⁣
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At that lunch we forged a mutual respect as professionals and enjoyed getting together for breakfast, lunches, dinners, and events (with her husband Henry) over the years.⁣
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I was able to spend some nice quality time with Joye on a couple of KC visits once she retired.⁣
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To honor Joye, KDR is sponsoring a one-time memorial scholarship, that will be administered by Johnson County Community College Interior Design Department, financial aid/scholarship office.⁣
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It will go to an outstanding student, who is paying their own tuition and shows the passion for learning interior design just as Joye showed for her chosen profession.⁣
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KDR will be contributing a matching amount. ⁣
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Please bring your donation to our Fall Market this Thursday, September 21, when we will remember Joye fondly.⁣
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Checks should be made out to KDR Joye Adamson Memorial Fund and can be dropped off to KDR Kansas City, or mailed to our St Louis office.⁣
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Sincerely,⁣
Kevin Kenney ⁣
President/CEO⁣

August 18, 2023

I am proud to announce the promotions of two very special women at KDR Designer Showrooms.

These two professionals are valued leaders and senior managers at KDR, but more importantly they are wives, mothers, daughters, aunts, and people many have chosen as friends, a balancing act they perform so well.

Brenda Goudey – Executive Vice President – Chief Financial Officer. Although Brenda has not been highly visible to our customers, Brenda has been my closest collaborator and business confidant for 22 ½ years. Brenda joined KDR shortly after I acquired MMI (Mayer Melnick Interiors.) With a bachelor’s degree in accounting and stellar experience in computer systems analysis, Brenda and I embarked on making KDR an admired, efficient, well-run company . If I could think it Brenda could solve it and together, we built tremendous processes, and systems, ensuring an ease of doing business with KDR for customers and vendors. Brenda also built unparalleled reporting allowing for exceptional sales and financial analytics to manage the business. Please join me in congratulating Brenda.

Kara Wagoner – Vice President Sales. Kara joined KDR 13 years ago as a fledgling sales associate in our St Louis fabric department after moving back to St Louis from Florida where she earned a degree in interior design. Our customers, vendors, and KDR employees quickly connected with Kara and as she became an expert on the products, she showed a passion for what she was doing and ability to lead team members. Kara became a supervisor of one the most extensive fabric and wallcovering departments of any showroom in the country. Over the last 7 years Kara has advanced to sales manager of fabrics and wallcoverings, to KDR sales manager. All KDR salespeople and our Kansas City showroom manager, Jennifer Drake, report to Kara. Kara is assuming more vendor relationship responsibilities and will be involved in business development to ensure KDR maintains great relationships with our valued partners and continues to be a respected leader. Please join me in congratulating Kara.

With continued leadership from Brenda and Kara, our younger team members will grow into leaders as well. The future is very bright for KDR!

Thank you for your continued support of KDR.

Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

 

January 17, 2023

Happy New Year to all!

I wanted to take a few minutes to clarify and re-state the responsibilities and liabilities for any home furnishings product shipping to a receiver.

KDR has great systems in place to help identify reputable receivers across the country and to be able to communicate expectations of them when shipping product purchased through KDR Designer Showrooms.

To see KDR’s Policy For Furniture Shipping To a Receiver and KDR’s Furniture Receiver Requirements in its entirety, please download our PDF here.

Below is a look at how the rules and regulations work for the transportation of home furnishing products. These are governed by tariffs established by the U.S. Department of Transportation for all truck lines.

You the designer or your firm are contracting with the receiver, and as such, take the responsibility of enforcing these points below: 

• Once the truckline picks up the goods from the manufacturer, the truckline is responsible until the goods are signed for at the receiving point. The driver signs for the goods being in good condition when picked up, and any damage incurred while on the truck, visible or concealed, is the responsibility of the truckline.
• Once the receiver has signed for the goods and noted they are in good condition, unless otherwise stated on the bill of lading, the receiver is responsible for the product until the point of delivery to the end user.
• The receiver can sign the bill of lading “subject to inspection,” however, all packages must be opened and inspected within five days. Any glass, marble, stone, or mirrors must be inspected immediately by the receiver before the driver leaves. If the receiver chooses not to do this and damage is discovered later, it is the receiver’s responsibility and liability for the cost of repairs or replacement.
• You should ensure that the receiver is capable of doing touch-ups and minor repairs, as there are often minor touch-ups that need to be done.
• If the receiver discovers damages or defects upon opening within the time parameters given above, they should take pictures of the damages, the box, and/or other packaging, and keep the packaging materials. Submit to KDR as indicated on our Receiver Requirement form, and we will handle the claim and assist in repair or replacement.
• Once the product is delivered to the end-user and is signed for in good condition, the receiver/delivery company is no longer responsible for any damage or defects.
• If damage is found after the delivery, it is between the end user and receiver, and possibly the designer. KDR has no leverage in these situations, nor any liability.
• There is a clear distinction between damage before the end user takes possession versus after they take possession.
• Anything deemed to be a manufacturer’s defect will be covered under warranty. Manufacturer’s warranties are generally one year.
• Most damage or defects we see after the product is placed with the end user are usually damages that have occurred in the home by the homeowner, guests, cleaning people, and others. KDR and our manufacturers have excellent experience in evaluating and determining if it is a manufacturer defect or damage. Neither KDR nor the manufacturer will be liable for damage that occurred in the home. We will attempt to set up the client and/or the designer with an appropriate, professional repair person.

KDR WILL NOT ASSUME ANY COSTS OR LIABILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH NON-WARRANTY RELATED DAMAGE OR DEFECTS ON ANY PRODUCT DUE TO THE NEGLIGENCE OF A RECEIVER WHO HAS NOT FOLLOWED THE TARIFF LAWS, OR FOR DAMAGE THAT HAS OCCURRED INSIDE THE HOME THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAD DEEMED NON-WARRANTY RELATED.

Damage Versus Defect

At KDR we have built a reputation for outstanding service before, during, and after the sale. However, we find that every year, the end user’s use and maintenance of high-end luxury furniture are not met with the type of care luxury fabrics and wood finishes require once in the home for optimum life and beauty. We spend many thousands of dollars every year for issues that are those of the end user. In 2023 we will be tightening these controls under my supervision to bring these costs in line.

Children, pets, guests, service providers, moving of furniture and a plethora of other influences can cause damage within the home. I can’t count how many times I have heard, “they never sit on the furniture” or “they never use the dining table”, and if they do, there’s always protection. I often get involved in these issues and I can state with full certainty that less than 1% of the issues that are brought to us, after the product is in the home, are related to manufacturer defects. Scratches, blemishes, moisture and heat marks, broken legs and arms, snagged fabrics, crushed cushions, faded fabrics, separated seams, and more, do not occur by magic. We have a lot of experience in dealing with furniture issues and along with our manufacturers, their engineers, quality control people, finish suppliers, and fabric mills, they have sophisticated technology to determine defect versus misuse. Most of the time we can tell almost immediately by photos if it is damage or defect. At KDR we greatly value our vendor partnerships, we do not hold them liable for problems that are not theirs but in the case of defects, we can achieve fast resolutions. Please be diligent in making sure your clients understand how to care for the luxury furniture they have invested in, we publish a KDR Care Guide that is a great reference tool. 

Thank you. 

Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

 

January 6, 2023

As all costs have escalated over the last 3 years, we find it necessary to revise our pricing and re-state our policy for KDR’s professional receiving and delivery. KDR continues to add exceptional additional value to all of your purchases with KDR.

Updated Standard Delivery Charge:

• Two men + truck: $125/hour 
• Three men: $187.50/hour
• Three men + truck: $225/hour 
• Four men + two trucks: $250/hour 

All levels are billed at a one-hour minimum and will include drive time.

KDR standard receiving and opening of KDR home furnishings product is free of charge.

Any crated product or assembly will be billed at $125/hour with a one-hour minimum. 

KDR stores the product in the climate-controlled warehouse free of charge for up to 90 days.

KDR personnel are employed to deliver and install KDR-purchased product. Any non-KDR sold product, including existing product in the delivery location, asked to be moved or placed must be arranged at the time of scheduling the delivery. 

We require an email listing any product requested to be moved or placed, and it shall be at KDR’s Operations Manager, Russ Lundy’s, sole discretion to decide if KDR personnel can or will be able to move the items requested. 

Our delivery personnel have schedules to maintain and cannot be unexpectedly detained for non-KDR-related moving. All non-KDR moving and placement will be billed as followed:

• Two men: $150/hour
• Three men: $200/hour
• Four men: $250/hour

A one-hour minimum is required. 

If delivery is “free delivery” of KDR product due to a promotion, this does not include moving existing furniture or placement of non KDR product. Anything that is non KDR product will be billed at $150/hour.

KDR will not disassemble any pieces of existing furniture including beds, armoires, or other pieces that would need reassembly, for placement of rugs or furniture, with no exceptions. 

Tipping of KDR delivery personnel for a job well done is very much appreciated by those hard-working men. 

Any questions related to KDR Receiving & Delivery Policies and Charges should be directed to Russ Lundy at russl@kdrshowrooms.com.

 

October 24, 2022

Dear KDR friends and partners,

I cannot believe we will soon be in holiday time and 2022 will be evolving into a new year. It is said the passing of time speeds up the older you get, and I feel it. Let’s pump the brakes, please!

Our industry and KDR have experienced a very wild ride this year. In some respects, not as crazy as when we were in the throes of the COVID pandemic, but the pandemic has left a prolonged impact on almost everything.

Let’s focus on the positive first.

KDR’s partner manufacturers have made great strides in bringing lead times down. Their resourcefulness and great management have secured new suppliers, new equipment, and new automation, and allowed them to fine-tune their systems.

Many of our manufacturers have lead times of 12 weeks and under for certain product categories, and others have quick ship programs for product to be shipped in 8 weeks. These same companies had lead times last year of 36 weeks or more. Click here for a complete list of KDR vendor lead times.

Record inflation has increased prices across all products and services, including luxury products within the interior design industry. This is due to a tremendous demand for products but not enough are able to be made. Supply and demand is still the basic fundamental of economics, including how products are priced.

Hopefully, we are now seeing prices starting to stabilize. I felt we would see demand slow down in the late 3rd quarter, but I’m glad I was wrong. Our new orders coming in exceed last year. I don’t think it’s as much about there being more projects out there, as I think it is the trust KDR has built with our customers for over 30 years representing only the most trusted  design-driven companies, and a KDR team that is exceptional, making KDR the first choice for design professionals. We continue to earn the business we get.

Labor continues to be a huge issue not only for furniture manufacturers but for the entire country. There is no industry able to meet demand right now due to staffing shortages. There are no easy answers on how to change this, but the obvious things are compensation, benefits, environment, and a culture where people feel appreciated.

Something obvious and troublesome is that the design industry has an evaporating number of skilled craftspeople and laborers in everything from delivery personnel to seamstresses, wallcovering, and window covering installers. The baby boomers are aging out, and few younger people are interested in acquiring that kind of skill set. It will become a much bigger problem.

I think it is important to show these craftspeople and the labor personnel that bring design projects to successful completion, appreciation, and that means money.

I have asked numerous installers and delivery people, (including KDR’s), in St. Louis and Kansas City how often they were tipped for a job well done, and I have been shocked to learn that it is seldom. When I asked people in Scottsdale, they answered, “most of the time.”

Many of these tradespeople, delivery personnel, and other laborers, also added that the demands placed on them by designers and clients are much greater than ever before.

We are selling, installing, and delivering luxury products to high-end properties occupied by high-wage earners. We need to keep in mind that all the support people are the final step to whether we have a happy client, or a job gone awry. These people will perform better for you, be more reliable, and make you and your clients a priority when they feel appreciated. My wife and I make sure to tip any service providers who provide professional, reliable service cheerfully, and for those who provide services regularly, such as cleaning people, pool people, and lawn people. We acknowledge them at holiday time, or sometimes I just hand them cash and tell them I’m buying lunch today. If it’s a one-time delivery, repair, or install, we tip just as we would a restaurant server, at the time of service, and just as importantly we make sure they know we appreciate them!

I was overwhelmed with gratitude and surprised at how quickly we were able to put our St. Louis showroom back together after the flood. There is no doubt the laborers, contractors, installers, equipment providers, and material suppliers jumped into action, sometimes working nights and weekends, to get KDR back on our feet due to the way we have treated them over the years.

Be kind, appreciative, and generous so we can continue to attract the best talent we so desperately need.

Thank you for your continued friendship and partnership with KDR!

Warm regards,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

 

July 28, 2022

As most of you know, the St. Louis region suffered terrible record-breaking flooding Monday night and Tuesday morning causing unspeakable tragedy and loss for many people. Unfortunately, the KDR St. Louis showroom, as well as all the businesses at the Interior Design Center of St Louis, which I also own, were flooded.

Please keep all of those impacted by this tragedy in your thoughts and prayers. Many have lost everything and unless you are in a designated flood plain with flood insurance, regular insurance does not cover any of these losses, and our property is not in a flood plain.

It has been a very tough 3 days, but thanks to our amazing KDR team and friends who have procured equipment and labor for us, we are making significant progress.

There were several areas of the building that did not get water, including our warehouse, where there was a lot of customer product, including 70 boxes of product that arrived late Monday, for customers who have been waiting 6-12 months. I was sick to my stomach before entering the warehouse Tuesday morning thinking about what to tell those customers, but thank God no water there!

I want to thank everyone for your kindness and concern for all of us at KDR. Your messages of support, prayers, and offers to help are so important to us. There has been such a tremendous outreach we cannot respond to each individually but do know that you are inspirational to us!

I am heartbroken by this tragedy, but we are a determined and resilient team, and we will have our beautiful showroom open again very soon. You may have to excuse some ongoing repairs and renovation, but do know we greatly appreciate your support.

Please excuse us if you have emailed staff and not gotten replies. Many of our computers were damaged, so we now have our staff working from laptops, and some are now back at their desks trying to get caught up. Your patience is much appreciated.

Please watch for updates on our social, eblasts, and kdrshowrooms.com.

Most sincerely,
Kevin Kenney

 

June 17, 2022

I think Father’s Day has always been looked at as a kind of token gesture to give dads some recognition after celebrating the true parental worship day called Mother’s Day. I’m sure it was strategic to make it 5 weeks after Mother’s Day to make sure Dads are kept in check in terms of importance, and I must say, rightfully so!

As I get older, I reminisce more about the days when the kids were young: the chaos, all the activities, school, sports, playgrounds at home, and pretty much everything centered around providing the best we could for our kids. When you talk to moms about those cherished memories they get a little emotional missing all those loving times. You talk to dads and they’re like “yeah I miss those huge credit card bills and the surprises I might be walking into each day when I got home.” Us older empty-nester dads need a little empathy as we adjust to not having to throw anyone out of our chair, determine damages to cars, find our leftover dessert missing, blank stares when dolling out advice tied to our own growing up stories, and now not feeling guilty about being able to stock a fridge with beer and knowing it will stay there, being able to watch a ballgame on any TV in the house, or playing golf whenever we want, and having a garage spot now taken up with a prized sports car. 😊

Dads need little affirmation but yesterday was a big day for me. I wore a bright orange polo shirt to work, and my wife complimented me before I left the house, and at work I had 5 women comment how nice it looked! I am actively looking for more orange apparel.

And then, I was texting with my son in Kansas City who was picking up his new truck he ordered 8 months ago. There was some negotiating to be done on his trade-in since it had been 8 months, and a few other items to be adjusted. He concluded it very fairly and professionally, which I complimented him on, his reply was he learned from the best, and that’s high praise for us dads.

I get a second chance now with a grandson and I hope he turns out as great as our 3 children. He seems genuinely interested in my stories and loves spending time with me. It could be a ploy but I’ll take it, we don’t need much.

Let your dad and grandfather know how important they are to you, that’s all they need.

Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

 

May 4, 2022

I am excited to announce that effective immediately, the Rock House Farms home furnishings brands owned by the Shuford family, consisting of Century, Hickory Chair, Hancock & Moore, and Jessica Charles, are delivering all KDR ordered product on their Century Transportation trucks. Not only to our showrooms in St. Louis and Kansas City but also to other major cities where you may be doing projects, including Florida!

Why is this special? After long lead times of getting product produced, it can take as long as four weeks of transportation to receive it and with common carrier truck lines, furniture can be unloaded and reloaded to other trucks 2 or 3 times, each time the product is handled greatly increases the likelihood of damage. Due to a lack of skilled labor and an overload of the freight system, furniture damages have increased substantially! Our worst nightmare is waiting 6 – 12 months to get a client’s furniture, only to have it damaged when it arrives!

KDR offers tremendous value-added services, such as receiving and delivery in St. Louis, warranty and claim administration, a customer portal that allows you to track orders, invoices, and make payments, and now vendor added transportation!

This is one more example of the significant, mutually profitable partnerships KDR has developed. It is your loyalty that makes this all possible.

Thank you!

Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

January 25, 2022

Happy New Year and thank you for an amazing year of business in 2021!

I had hoped any writing I would do in 2022 would refer to the pandemic in the past tense, but I was wrong.

The current environment we are living in seems like we have a bad sci-fi movie stuck on repeat!

Early in 2020, we all got tired of hearing “unprecedented.” A few new words now come to mind for this virus, relentless, formidable, and unforgiving.

The latest variant Omicron has spread faster than any virus in history.This surge is the last thing our manufacturers and related industries needed. As you can imagine there are further delays due to staffing issues across all segments of the supply chain. It causes a lot of stress and anxiety for everyone. In fact, the U.S. Dept of Labor Statistics tells us that as of last week the U.S. had a record number of people who are employed but off work due to illness. Nearly 9 million people are off work sick, the previous record was 6 million!

Despite all of the disruption that continues to be caused by this virus, I remind all of our employees and our customers, that KDR is a family first company. I want our people to do their best to protect and care for themselves and their families both physically and emotionally. The pressures many have with daycares being closed, schools sending kids home to be quarantined, elderly parents, spouses, kids, other family members combined with many of our employees having contracted COVID, all making people miss work, and others having to take on more of the workload. Put it all together and you have a very high level of stress and anxiety. Our people are told to take care of themselves and their families first, we support that across the company.

I am grateful that our customers understand those things that are out of our control, I know it can be tough to explain to some affluent clients that unfortunately their sofa is taking 9 months to build, and there is nothing that can be done to make it sooner. Our staff fields a lot of calls concerning delays and sometimes they run into rather cynical customers. I remind them to simply take a step back. We sell furniture, fabrics, and other interior products. No one’s life is in peril with production delays, and our manufacturers are working tirelessly to get product produced and out the door. Below is a link to our lead times.

Please click here for our updated list of manufacturer lead times.

Giving people more information upfront helps minimalize angry customers. I urge you to leave your clients a text or an email just to tell them they are not forgotten, that you are watching their orders, and although delays are aggravating, the complexities of custom furniture make it much more difficult to produce,  how long it takes to get it will be forgotten when they experience the end result.

As we enter our 31st year of business, I am grateful for the exceptional team of people we have at KDR and for you to trust us with your business.

Wishing you health and prosperity in 2022!

With warm regards,

Kevin Kenney,
President/CEO

December 17, 2021

Masks are now optional at KDR, although we strongly recommend wearing one for protection when around others, as they help stop respiratory viruses that are spreading rapidly right now.

Our staff is fully vaccinated, getting boosters, and will continue with distancing and disinfecting.

I have given our team the option of continuing to wear masks as long as they want, whether that is working with customers or at any time they would feel more comfortable.

I have been diligent in protecting our employees and customers throughout this pandemic. Knowing that our showroom traffic slows considerably in December and January, combined with the belief we must all be self-accountable now, I am relaxing the requirement after conferring with all of our people.

The data clearly shows those who are unvaccinated are getting sick, spreading the virus, and will most certainly be infected. If you are unvaccinated please be forthright and wear a mask in our showrooms or please do not visit our showrooms until you are.

Our collective ability to stop the mutations of COVID and end this relies on a much higher vaccination rate combined with a huge number of people who will contract it and maybe survive.

I hope to not have to rescind this as Omicron spreads. I hope and pray for the safety of all of our employees, you our customers, and your families!

Be safe, be accountable, be kind and be Merry! Tis the season!

Happy Holidays.

Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

December 8, 2021

As the old saying goes, “all that glitters is not gold,” today that is especially true for home furnishings manufacturers.

Although the industry has experienced record-breaking demand, and orders continue to pile up at the factories, our manufacturers have taken a huge hit on profits.

Orders taken as long as a year ago and still unproduced, cost the manufacturer as much as 30% more to build now versus when the orders were taken, due to dramatic price increases they have experienced with labor, raw materials, and transportation. Of course, furniture isn’t the only industry to watch profits dissipate on top of all the other challenges the pandemic has created.

As predicted when I last wrote, price increase notifications are coming in daily. Beginning January 1, 2022, you can expect price increases in the 5% – 10% range from most manufacturers.

I know we will also soon see price increases for fabrics, wallcoverings, floor covering, lighting, and most any product you can think of. This is economic inflation adding to the pandemic pain with a kick in the pants after nearly 2 years of anxiety and stress. 

I, and I’m sure all of you, want our manufacturers to be profitable. If they are not, they will not be around much longer.

I want to remind you to move your furniture, fabric, wallcovering, and floor covering selections up to the front end of your design project selections and lock in current prices, and get the best place in the production line.

I believe it will be March or April before we see significant improvement in lead times, but I also expect that design professionals will continue to be extremely busy as people have rediscovered spending more time at home isn’t so bad, especially with professionally designed, beautiful interiors!

The expert team at KDR is ready to help you with any selections and can help navigate around certain products that have the most problematic lead times.

We are extremely grateful for your business.

You can trust KDR to be your true partner and fulfill your projects with outstanding products and exceptional service.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

KevinKenney
President/CEO

November 4, 2021

KDR COVID & Supply Chain Update from Kevin Kenney

Wow, can you believe we have been living with a pandemic for 21 months now?!

Words cannot possibly describe the devastation to so many families and businesses. Supply chain issues have worsened across every segment of consumer goods, and yet our industry continues to benefit from the refocus on the home environment, and I believe it will continue for the foreseeable future.

In my 30 plus years in the design industry, I have never seen any type of phenomenon bring such positive awareness to the value of and high demand for professional interior design services. Design professionals have earned a much higher appreciation for their unique skillset in creating sanctuary environments. Our homes have become much more than a place of shelter.

Unfortunately, lead times are not improving. At KDR we are receiving and invoicing furniture at record levels, however, new orders coming in still exceed what we are invoicing and delivering. Demand has not slowed down at KDR! Click here to view our vendor lead times.

We will not see significant improvement until countries around the world reopen. We tend to believe what happens in the U.S. is the entire picture, but the pandemic has proven how dependent we became on foreign manufacturing. We are the largest consuming nation and have the largest trade deficit to show for it. It’s a good thing we produce most of our own food! The pandemic will create a return to U.S manufacturing for many segments of consumer products.

Support of our manufacturers/partners is crucial, and we must continue to exert patience with all of the orders in process. The efficiencies of our manufacturers and their ability to improve their processes and supply chains are dependent on the orders awaiting production. Their systems have created the demand based on all these orders for componentry, tooling, factory space, labor, etc., therefore please reinforce with your clients that custom orders are non-cancellable, unless the manufacturer informs us they will not be able to produce the product any longer. KDR is not canceling orders.

Our KDR sales associates can tell you what is in stock at our various manufacturers and can also advise you on vendors who are having the greatest supply chain issues. I suggest to avoid special ordering anywhere, from manufacturers that are strictly imported if the item is not in stock. Manufacturers of foreign-produced goods cannot target production dates at this time due to still being shut down or not being able to adequately staff their factories. Many off shore manufacturers will be negatively impacted for years because so many small producers of parts and components in southeast Asia are out of business. Adding to that, the transportation times and costs have quadrupled. Imagine having wood furniture sitting in shipping containers on huge container ships for three months or more; the humid saltwater vapor and heat takes a toll on the product.

As of Monday, there were nearly 150 container ships with thousands of containers waiting to unload at the Port of Los Angeles. This is in stark comparison to an average day in 2019 where there would only be three or four. 

Retailers of commodity home furnishings are having a very difficult time getting any product, which makes the lead times for custom designer home furnishings much more palatable.

There will be significant quality issues ahead for commodity products sold by retailers and online vendors. To get a product produced these manufacturers must take the raw materials they can get and make them work. You can bet there are plenty of corners being cut!

Design professionals need to reiterate that their clients can count on KDR to diligently handle their orders with follow-up updates, and most importantly, excellent service after delivery. 

Design professionals should move all furniture purchasing well into the front end of the design cycle not only because of lead times, but because price increases are coming and they will be substantial. Get your clients to commit now!

As we near the holidays please keep in mind that between our two showrooms, we have nearly $6,000,000 at retail of home furnishing products in our inventory and ready for immediate purchase and delivery!

Our COVID protocol remains unchanged for now, and we respectfully ask that masks be worn in our showrooms. Over recent weeks we have had a few employees who contracted COVID, even though vaccinated, and I believe our mask policy prevented any further spread, as no one else they worked near got it.

I hope we can change things soon, but in the meantime please know that we are so grateful to be trusted with your business. Thank you!

Wishing you good health and contagious kindness.

With warm regards,

Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

August 31 2021

KDR COVID & Supply Chain Update from Kevin Kenney

Greetings,

I am very grateful for all the well wishes extended to me after sharing my COVID Delta story a few weeks ago. Thank you for your kindness!

I had never missed three consecutive days of work due to illness in forty-plus years, so to miss nine days was very tough for me! This is a unique, horrible virus that I hate to admit, completely leveled me. Had I been unvaccinated, the docs say my prognosis would not have been good the way my immune system got hit.

I am grateful that other than having lost a lot of weight, I am back 100% and despite all of the continued industry challenges we face, I am just happy to be back at work to face them. All of our employees were glad to see me, even if some faked it! 😊

The Delta variant has quickly reversed much of the progress that has been made all across the world. It has once again decimated much of the foreign supply chain channels and is now spreading rapidly through domestic factories, shutting down valuable production time. It frustrates me that it didn’t have to be this way.

Please click here to read a letter from my friend and esteemed industry executive, Alex Shuford III, president of Rock House Farms brands. I believe he speaks not just for the brands he manages but for the entire home furnishings industry for what we currently face and the crazy historical timeline of the last 18 months, compounded today by Hurricane Ida that just pounded the Louisiana coast, including the petrochemical industry offshore drilling platforms. Think foam, synthetic fabrics, plastics, etc.

Our challenges are now compounded by extreme anxiety and frustration in all walks of our lives, so we must continue to keep things in perspective. KDR customers are in very good hands. Our professional people and the systems we have in place can be trusted, and we are dedicated to giving you truthful, good information. You can reassure your clients that KDR has been around for 30 years, and we are debt-free with an impeccable reputation. We have the highest level of trust in our manufacturer partners, whom we know are very sound and trustworthy. Every order will be fulfilled. Some things are worth waiting for, like custom furniture!

Most everyone is now aware there are issues in getting consumer products across virtually every category. Wealth and affluence have no leverage in getting products sooner.

Vaccination rates in all areas of the US have escalated in the last ten days; it’s the only way out. Delta is scaring people into vaccination, and I can attest, rightfully so. Let’s hope this trend continues!

At KDR you can be assured we continue to protect our staff and customers, and I am so pleased to report that every KDR employee is vaccinated!

Please be safe, and please be kind.

Thank you for your continued patronage of KDR Designer Showrooms!

Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

August 17, 2021

KDR COVID Update from Kevin Kenney

Greetings,

I wanted to share with you that unfortunately, I can give you a firsthand account of a breakthrough virus infection with the COVID-19 Delta variant. Even though being fully vaccinated, I and several family members contracted the virus while at a family wedding in Colorado.

There were only a few people at the wedding who were not vaccinated, and they turned up sick first, but it’s impossible to say who transmitted the virus.

There were numerous physicians at the wedding, including the bride and groom, and the stories they had to tell about the devastation that continues with this Delta strain were gut-wrenching. I remember thinking, thank God I’m vaccinated so I won’t get it, and two days later I was sick! It is not fun, I feel like I was body-slammed against the ground.

I had symptoms similar to a sinus infection for three days while visiting friends in Western Colorado after the wedding in Estes Park, but unbeknownst to me, the unvaccinated were seriously symptomatic two days after the wedding who did not let others know. I regretfully exposed our friends, one who has health issues, and I feel terrible about that. So far so good, they are testing negative.

I waited for 5 hours to be tested again today at Urgent Care. These people are overwhelmed across the entire health system. The doc told me that most of their staff are now on round two of COVID despite being fully vaccinated but none have had to be hospitalized. If you have symptoms get checked right away and protect others.

This has reinforced my decision to reinstate our mask policy for all employees and customers while shopping in our showrooms. I thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

We have had only one person who randomly stopped in our St. Louis showroom looking for a battle. She refused to wear a mask, and handed my staff a printed piece of paper with several bullet points of why masks are useless, then stated she would not be shopping our showroom. My staff did not recognize her, and I’m sure you can imagine just how much we will miss her.

A sidenote; surgeons, nurses and many dentists started wearing masks in the 1920s to prevent infection.

Your safety and that of all KDR employees has been my priority throughout this pandemic. I pray we turn the corner very soon!

I sincerely thank you for your continued support of KDR.

Warm regards,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

July 29, 2021

KDR COVID Update from Kevin Kenney

Dear friends,

It is with great frustration, disbelief, and some risk that I write this update.

Since day one, I have followed the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) mandates and guidelines rather than trying to negotiate with the three states, eight counties, and other forms of government where we had showrooms, whose emphasis was on politicizing the worst pandemic of modern times.

My priority has been to protect our employees, their families, our valued customers and avoid the political rhetoric at the expense of my maybe unpopular opinion, but that hasn’t deterred me.

Effective immediately, KDR will temporarily require all visitors to our showrooms to wear facial protection when visiting our buildings regardless of vaccination status. We have expectant mothers, people with chronic illness, and people in other risks groups.

When working privately at KDR in conference rooms or separated from other people, you can remove your mask if you are vaccinated.

With several physicians in my family, a sister in biotech, and many medical professionals in my life who are once again reliving the nightmare that is proving to be worse due to the durability of the Delta variant, it is incomprehensible to me why people wouldn’t follow rule number one to end this pandemic and get vaccinated. Yesterday one of my family members, a doctor in pediatrics, had twenty-four kids admitted to the children’s hospital with COVID. Seven were placed in the ICU, and four are on ventilators. The numbers now in Missouri, Kansas, and surrounding states are worse than a year ago.

With 2 million posts to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram having been deemed virus misinformation by fictitious characters, voluntarily removed by those companies, hopefully, people will rely on their own trusted physician for advice, or, maybe a world-renowned infectious disease expert like Dr. Anthony Fauci who has been kept in the lead role of infectious disease by seven presidents regardless of political affiliation! I respect experts in any field who have the education, experience, and credentials to be considered an expert. People who have no education or experience in public health, virology, microbiology, or infectious disease have no business arguing these vaccines.

There has been one path out of this all along, just like any past pandemic, a vaccine, which we have three highly effective versions that have been administered over 4 billion times across the world with very few side effects.

We can all be part of the solution quickly because if we aren’t, our factories will shut down again, and we get dangerously close to another lockdown that will destroy many more small businesses that barely survived the last 18 months.

Please be a patriot and do your part.

Sincerely,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

July 22, 2021

Pandemic Price Increases

You will notice we are trying to keep our customer base abreast of manufacturer price increases that seem to be coming in every day now. In addition to supply chain issues affecting thousands of consumer products, high demand and low supply have created rapid cost escalation of virtually all components, and when combined with higher labor cost, we are seeing manufacturer price increases across most of our product categories. Furniture manufacturers have been especially hard hit, and you can expect all furniture manufacturers to increase prices.

I urge you to inform your clients that prices will start going up on August 1st and getting your orders in now is the smart thing to do.

We continue to be so grateful for all of your business you continue to trust KDR to fulfill!

Warm regards,
Kevin KenneyPresident/CEO

June 22, 2021

We would like to update you with the latest lead times.

Demand remains at record levels, and even though some supply chain issues persist, labor issues continue, the component status is improving. Some upholstery fabrics, especially outdoor fabrics, are experiencing long lead times.

Our other product categories including, rugs, carpet, and drapery hardware, have challenges of their own which include COVID shutdowns due to outbreaks in their country of origin.

It is imperative to inform your clients now that unless there is some unforeseen production turn-around our manufacturers and KDR will not be giving any cut-off dates for holiday orders. Assume that the sooner you place your orders the better your place in line with the best possibility of receiving by the holidays. Nobody will guarantee holiday delivery this year.

Please remember that KDR has over $5 million at retail pricing of home furnishings in inventory between our two showrooms. A KDR sales associate can assist you with previewing the inventory in either showroom location remotely as well as in person. Get those orders in — we are holding your place in line! Thank you for your continued support of KDR!

Estimated Lead Times For Brands Exclusively Represented By KDR Showrooms

FURNITURE

KDR has great home furnishings inventory available for immediate purchase!

DRAPERY HARDWARE

KIRSCH AND SELECT  
In-stock drapery hardware is experiencing supply chain issues that are creating backorders of 4-6 weeks, especially on Kirsch and Select Metals. Contact a KDR windows sales associate for in-stock positions and lead times.

CUSTOM MADE TO ORDER DRAPERY HARDWARE

KDR CUSTOM SHADE PROGRAMS

KDR CUSTOM RUGS & CARPETS

KDR has rugs in our inventory for immediate purchase!

June 1, 2021

Dear Friends,

Thanks to the vaccines now taking hold, the pandemic has slowed significantly in the United States. What hasn’t slowed are all of the orders coming into KDR and our vendor partners — thank you!

Furniture lead times are consistently 14 to 24 weeks, and we are not seeing much improvement in reducing those lead times yet. We do have some in-stock programs that have generated substantial interest. 

The reasons for extended lead times are simple: there are still some supply chain issues, there have been numerous foreign parts manufacturers who have “disappeared.” Countries such as Viet Nam, the Philippines, Japan, and India still have COVID-19 running rampant, and finally, demand continues to outpace production. In other words, there continue to be more orders coming in than orders going out the doors.

Many of the furniture factories are running as close to maximum capacity as they can and to increase that they need more employees, those are very difficult to find right now.

Our vendor/partners cannot simply throw random people into a production line, we are providing luxury home furnishings, and the last thing we want is to wait five months and get an inferior product.

To help give your clients credible information on the extended lead times, we have compiled industry news and communications in one location on our website, kdrshowrooms.com/blog/resources-home-furniture-industry-lead-times/. Easily send this link to any clients who need some proof of what’s going on in our industry.
Still encourage your clients to make their furniture selections immediately to get in the production line and avoid upcoming surcharges. More manufacturers are announcing new tariffs to offset dramatic price increases in materials and transportation. I just received a notice from Baker Furniture of a 5% surcharge beginning June 15, 2021 — more will follow.

At KDR, our accounting staff is working relentlessly at keeping order updates current on the Trade Portal it is a daunting task with 400% more orders in our system than at any peak previously.

All of us at KDR are grateful for your business and will do everything we can to keep you and your clients informed.

Sincerely,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

May 17, 2021

In accordance with the latest guidance from the CDC, and state and local government agencies, I am modifying the KDR mask policy for our employees and customers immediately.

Fully vaccinated employees and customers are no longer required to wear facial protection while inside a KDR building, however, our employees and customers may continue to wear masks if they wish, those who are unvaccinated must still wear facial protection. Masks will still be provided in the showroom.

The distancing requirement no longer applies to those fully vaccinated, we respectfully ask all who are not fully vaccinated to wear facial protection in our showrooms or if you are experiencing symptoms of COVID or any communicable disease to not visit our showrooms until you are non-symptomatic. 

This is a message of partial victory that I have been so anxious to write, and I can only say I look forward to seeing your faces again!

This is not some natural transition or waving of a magic wand, it is purely attributable to brilliant scientists, American ingenuity, and tremendous investment into vaccines that are modern medical genius.

To date, there have been 1.1 billion doses administered, 267 million in the U.S. It is the vaccines that are bringing the pandemic to a manageable level and the science is indisputable.

If we truly want our factories and our industry as well as our country to get back to normal we must push for vaccination. Please do your part.

I have focused on the safety, health, and well being of our employees and valued customers since March of 2020 with no idea of what the future would hold, but I have been extremely confident in our approach to doing the right thing, I and all of our KDR team are so grateful you have rewarded us with your confidence and record-breaking business, thank you!

We look forward to seeing your faces again soon as we plan events to celebrate 30 years of business.

 Sincerely,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

April 14, 2021

Dear Patient, Compassionate, Valued Friends and Customers! 😊

The good news is, no bad news!

There have been no natural disasters in the last few weeks, no container ships tipped over or blocking canals, petro chemicals are flowing and the foam is pouring! Fortunately, furniture does not use computer chips; computer chip demand is estimated to be 40% greater than production capabilities right now! Think phones, computers, sophisticated equipment, cars, trucks, etc., sitting and unable to be completed. Clearly, our dependence on technology comes at a price! Since misery loves company, know we are not alone with delivery issues!

My updates this week from 7 top industry executives are all tinged with cautious optimism! Although components within the supply chain are beginning to become more readily available, demand for product has maintained record levels. Most executives are estimating to be at 100% operating capacity over the next 4 – 5 weeks. New orders coming in continue to outpace production, and manpower continues to be problematic. Simply put, domestic home furnishings manufacturing could use hundreds of new workers.

The massive vaccination campaign is really gaining traction and positively impacting factories in all industries.

We will not see pre-pandemic lead times until demand slows. I must admit, though, I really like it when business is too good!

Please read below, our newly updated list of our manufacturers’ lead times. Upholstery factories are up and running at 65% – 80% capacity, a few at 100% but backlogs of orders at record levels due to demand.

Please note: Many manufacturers have implemented temporary surcharges due to temporary price increases on various components. You will see those costs on KDR quotes. Please inquire with our sales associates for more information.

KDR has a huge advantage due to the great systems we have in place and our ability to keep the order information current. The KDR Trade Portal gives you current information on order statuses. I strongly encourage you to register your account today and use it, if you have not already.

Because our relationships are with the industry’s best manufacturers, I believe they will be the most likely to end up on top of all this. Many manufacturers do not have the demand that better manufacturers do right now and that comes down to quality, reliability and leading designs. Do not be fooled by anyone offering 3 – 4 week delivery on custom furniture — as they say, you will get what you pay for.

With current lengthy lead times it is wise to move furnishing selections up towards the top of your project flow charts, and make those selections much earlier than in the past.

A reminder that KDR has extensive inventory in our showrooms, several of our vendors haveIn-Stock Programs and Quick-Ship programs. Please inquire with a KDR sales associate.

Please feel free to reach out to me anytime with concerns you may have.

Thank you for your partnership, we are grateful for your confidence in us.

Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

Estimated Lead Times For Brands Exclusively Represented By KDR Showrooms

March 30, 2021

Dear Patient, Compassionate, Valued Friends and Customers! 😊

The good news is that Spring has Sprung! Our weather is improving and the beauty of spring is everywhere, except in anything home furnishings manufacturing-related!

The latest is the Ever Given container ship carrying 20,000 containers, was stuck and blocking the Suez Canal for nearly a week. It has been freed but there are 450 ships backed up and delayed now by as much as 2 weeks, and yes you guessed it, hundreds of containers carrying components for our industry! This on top of the foam shortage that has been previously conveyed due to the ice storms that destroyed the petrochemical industry infrastructure off the Texas coast, and on the heels of all the pandemic-created supply chain issues, it is all stress producing indeed.

Please read below, our newly updated list of our manufacturer’s lead times. Most upholstery factories will shut down for 2 weeks at the end of this week since they have no foam to complete orders, but most are optimistic their inventories will begin building back up by mid-April.

I still believe laughter and empathy are the best medicine in times like this, so I wanted to share a story published in the Wall Street Journal and forwarded to me by Kelly Specht, our showroom manager in Kansas City. We all know New Yorkers can be a little abrasive and impatient, so I hope you enjoy a story related to the industry delays that takes on a little lighter side. Read the story here >

I will continue to update you with our best information and be transparent with that. For 30 years, you have counted on KDR Designer Showrooms and we are not about to let you down now. Your clients can be assured their orders and their money accompanying those orders is safe and sound and our industry-leading vendors are relentless in their pursuit to get your products to you.

In the meantime for those very impatient clients, KDR has extensive inventory in our showrooms and several of our vendors have In-Stock Programs, please inquire with a KDR sales associate.

Please feel free to reach out to me anytime with concerns you may have.

Thank you for your partnership!

Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

March 22, 2021

Please read this important update from Alex Shuford III, CEO of Rock House Farm Brands: Century, Hancock & Moore, Hickory Chair, Highland House and Maitland Smith.

To Our Friends & Valued Partners,

I believe we can all agree that we would prefer to not be operating in “unprecedented times”… an often overused but unquestionably appropriate description of our current environment.

By now, all of you are certainly familiar with the acute shortage of flexible foam caused by the late February weather and power disaster in Texas. For those of you who have not had a chance to dig into this topic in detail, I would like to provide a few key data points below: 

• Our industry’s foam is dependent on key chemical components primarily sourced from a small number of companies (count 3-4) who possess between them only a small number of facilities dedicated to these chemicals (count 5-6). Most of those facilities are located in Texas and Louisiana.
• The Ice Storm and subsequent freezing weather coupled with the loss of power from the February 13-17^th storm caused all of the Texas facilities to close… many stayed closed for 3-4 weeks.
• As these facilities began to re-start, damage from the freezing event surfaced and complicated the re-starting process.
• Most are now in some diminished state of production, but nearly none are back to full production.
• Coupled with the issues above, there exists a constraint in the rail tanker cars used to move these chemicals to the foam production facilities.
• Most foam production facilities (foam “bun” pouring companies) had some buffer inventory of chemicals on hand at the start of this crisis, but nearly all have now depleted their inventory reserves.
• Most cushion and foam “fabricators” (companies that convert buns into usable foam parts) also had a buffer of foam “bun” inventory on hand which is now nearly completely depleted.
• Many of the foam production facilities have been working to source the necessary chemicals from other countries (as far away as Asia) but the global supply chain for these chemicals was already stressed by Covid disruptions and historical demand surges with very little relief expected in the near term from these work-around solutions.
• For the last 5-6 weeks the various “reserves” of inventory within the supply-chain have allowed many furniture producers to continue operations at reduced capacity from 40% to 60% of normal.
• Unfortunately, the inventory reserves present in the supply chain are rapidly depleting to zero and various links in that chain are having to shut down.
• We expect the worst to crest in the last week of March and the first two weeks of April. By mid-April, we expect a slow and steady “ramping back up” of the supply availability that may not achieve pre-crisis levels until late May.

Here are a few links to articles and information you might find illustrative if researching this situation further (note that the automotive industry is also impacted as with many plastics industries):

Seat-Foam Shortage May Force Car Production Cuts; Texas …
Furniture industry ‘decimated’ by foam shortage after Texas
Foam shortage affecting furniture, automotive industries

My goal in providing these details is to better arm you in communicating with your clients so that they might better understand our industry’s situation. The production lead times for my companies and the industry in general are currently extended beyond what most of us have ever experienced nor find comfortable. Prior to this Foam Crisis, nearly every industry factory was working overtime in order to try and provide our consumers with better deliveries. We don’t take their orders for granted and, as an industry, we know that patience is not infinite.

This is why the Foam Crisis is particularly onerous. We now are forced to stand idle much of the production capacity that is so sorely needed by you, our partners, and your clients. There will be a desire by many of our partners to push for better delivery date promises because your clients are demanding the same from you… unfortunately, with a supply shortage such as we are facing, there is just no ability to produce such promises. An added insult to this injury is the fact that many upholstery production employees and those from supporting suppliers, will face short work weeks and lost hours because of the crisis.

It is too often said that we are “all in this together”, but this truth is very evident today. Know that very many are working hard to get the industry back to stable footing and that our company, as with many others, is preparing to work holidays and overtime to satisfy the consumer orders that we have been fortunate to have received during this Covid recovery. 

Your friend and partner,
Alex Shuford III, CEO RHF

March 9, 2021

Please take some time to read this and the related information contained herein. It is very important in gaining an understanding of what is impacting all home furnishing products. Being better informed allows you to be a more astute business person in meeting your clients’ needs. 

All of us are seeking information daily for status on orders placed with luxury home furnishings manufacturers. As much as possible, we keep our communication to a minimum by using daily digital updates to update our systems thus allowing our vendor customer service people to focus on customer service in getting products specified and ordered. Unfortunately, furniture manufacturers will not be caught up any time soon, nor will the appliance, lighting, flooring, or any number of home-related manufacturers. 

All previously stated pandemic disruptions ranging from plant closings to COVID protocols in the factories, supply chain issues on virtually every component, transportation issues in getting components from overseas, finished product getting delivered from the manufacturer, and the recent ice storms causing the inability to produce foam, all have created challenges never seen before, and all at a time of a 25% to 40% increase in demand created by people staying at home. Certainly the craziest 12 months in my 40-year career in business!

I will strive to send out a brief recap every two weeks of where we see things. Please see below for a list of our major manufacturers and their current lead times. 

Enclosed is a link to download recent correspondence from our valued partner Lee Industries, a letter from their President, and my longtime friend Russ Towner. Included with his letter is a recent Wall Street Journal article that does an excellent job of explaining the overall impact the pandemic has had on many consumer goods. It is an easy article to forward on to clients growing impatient, and please note in Russ’ letter there is also a link to a video clip done by Bruce Birnbach, CEO of American Leather and subsidiary Lee Industries, that further explains more of the economic impact on furniture manufacturers and consumer good manufacturers in general.

Clients balking at delivery times on luxury products will only be faced with big price increases by putting off their purchases and even the commodity manufacturers for low and mid-price products are struggling as well. At KDR we are trying to free up our sales and support staff’s time from answering calls and emails for status updates so they can concentrate on serving you on product specification and order.

While my wife and I were getting our COVID vaccine on Sunday at a Walgreens pharmacy, the phone did not stop ringing the entire one and half hours we were there. The staff was stressed, they haven’t been able to fulfill their job of filling prescriptions and serving their customers due to all the people seeking better information on getting the vaccine, when in fact there was no better information than what is on the website. It occurred to me that our people are in a similar situation. 

I ask if you haven’t already, to please sign up for and utilize the KDR Trade Portal. The information on your orders is updated with the most current status from our manufacturers. It is a simple and great tool for you! We will soon have a new report we can send you with the status of all your orders! 

I am very excited for all the positive signs we have that we are emerging from the terrible pandemic and hopefully 5 or 6 months from now it will be in the rearview mirror. All of us at KDR are extremely grateful for your business, please be patient and kind, we will all continue to get through this together! 

Most sincerely,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

Estimated Lead Times For Brands Exclusively Represented By KDR Showrooms

Updated April 14, 2021

March 1, 2021

Please see below for a letter from Alex Shuford III President/CEO of the Rock House Farms family of luxury home furnishing brands. Alex’s letter informs us of another major obstacle the industry now faces on top of the pandemic-related supply chain issues. Factories have been able to ramp up production and were starting to get caught up, but yet another unexpected issue. It is important for you to know that KDR and our manufacturing partners are strong leaders who are best equipped to meet and overcome all obstacles presented. Although it takes a little longer to get custom home furnishings the value of a quality product to fulfill outstanding design has never been more apparent and is worth the wait! Thank you for your partnership.

Sincerely,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

These last months have seen us riding an unbelievable wave of business demand. None of us could have predicted this incredible surge nor what it would do to our supply chains. Recently, our factories had regained much of the efficiencies which had previously been lost from Covid-19 illnesses and quarantines. Unfortunately, we have just learned of a serious supply chain issue impacting the industry’s foam and cushion fabricators. 

This supply chain disruption is a repercussion of the recent ice storms and power outages in Texas which took much of the country’s petrochemical capacity offline. In most cases these facilities are still unable to produce and may be slow to return to full capacity even after they restart.  

Because of this “upstream disruption” and effective immediately, our cushion suppliers have notified us of a significant reduction in their ability to fulfill our normal weekly foam and cushion orders. Century has analyzed our backlog and forecasted how this will impact orders already in our system.  

Please see below for how we expect order cycle times to be impacted given current information:

1. Any Acknowledged Order “In Production” (released and on the production floor) should be unaffected. The required foam should already be in-house for your order. No additional cycle time calculated.

2. Orders Acknowledged but “Not Released into Production” can expect an additional 10-day cycle time from the original completion date acknowledged. The updated cycle time will be calculated and reflected for each order on “Designer Studio” by 3/1/21.

3. “New Orders” received on 3/1/21 and later will incorporate the adjusted cycle time in the estimated ship date acknowledged on the order.

 We have been told this supply chain shortage could persist for up to two months. We are of course considering all methods to improve this delay. Our focus, as always, is to provide timely and accurate information to our community.  

We remain grateful for your support of our companies and industry. These times continue to be unprecedented.  Rest assured, we are agile and vigilant and are working hard to overcome these obstacles. Century, Hancock & Moore, Hickory Chair, Highland House, Jessica Charles, Maitland Smith, and Cabot Wrenn are built on a foundation of the world’s finest associates and customers. This is just one more step in our journey together. 

Most sincerely,
Alex Shuford III
President/CEO

November 16, 2020

With new local restrictions being imposed, our showrooms in St. Louis and Kansas City will be open for business the same as they are now, with regular hours and facial coverings required.
Our showrooms are large and enjoy high ceilings with open spaces and zoned HVAC air handling. Because of the size of our showrooms and the fact we are not retail, our maximum occupancy never exceeds 25% of allowable capacity, so our customers and their clients can be assured we operate well within any new maximum capacity requirements. KDR continues to enforce our stringent prevention policy and protocol to keep our staff, customers and anyone who visits KDR Designer Showrooms, safe. We have had tremendous success having facial protection of our staff and guests required in our showrooms, and supplementing that with disinfecting, hand sanitizing and safe distancing. 
For our staff, KDR requires anyone who has had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID 19 to quarantine, be tested right away, then after 5 – 7 days, depending on if they have any symptoms, they must be tested again. There must be a minimum of 7 days with no symptoms and a negative test before returning to work at KDR. Any KDR team member who is sick or shows signs of being sick is not allowed to come to work, and if any of those symptoms are considered COVID symptoms, they must quarantine at home, get tested and await results.
We respectfully ask our customers and potential guests to abide by the same standards and do not visit our showrooms if you are sick, have been in recent close contact with someone who is positive for COVID 19 or if you are unable or unwilling to wear facial protection.
We are grateful for your continued patronage and pledge to uphold our outstanding service, safely!

Sincerely,
Kevin KenneyPresident/CEO

September 29, 2020

KDR continues to abide by and enforce best practices as endorsed by the CDC.

Our showrooms require all visitors and employees to be covered with face protection, maintain social distancing and we continue with various disinfecting protocols including, hand sanitizer throughout our showrooms.

KDR employees in private offices can remove their face protection if desired unless within 6 feet of another employee or person.

Even as we begin to conduct our first events of the year in October, we have taken time to develop a plan that allows our customers to preview new product showings and enjoy a lunch from a food truck, all while controlling the number of visitors and with our safety protocol in place and enforced.

We are grateful for the well-trusted confidence you have put in us, we take yours and our staff’s safety very seriously.

July 2, 2020

KDR is abiding by CDC guidelines for the COVID-19 and we would like to notify you about an update to our showroom policy. Effective Monday, July 6, face masks are required to be worn in our showrooms. Our staff will be happy to provide a mask if you find yourself without.

Please observe our safe distancing policy and maintain 6 feet distance between yourself and individuals while in the showroom.

We are happy to have you at KDR and take our obligation to protect yours and our staff’s safety very seriously.

May 18, 2020

We are happy to announce our three showrooms will be completely open for business Monday, May 18!

We have carefully monitored our “by appointment business” for the last 2 weeks and analyzed our average daily traffic counts for the last 2 years.

Our showrooms have never had more than 25% allowable capacity per our occupancy permits and even then, it would have been for events.

Therefore, effective May 18 please note the following changes:

• No appointment is necessary for design professionals to shop our showrooms.
• An appointment is necessary to bring a client to the showroom, sorry, no children at this time.
• Our managers will maintain only the allowable number of customers in our showrooms at any one time.
• Our managers will reinforce the KDR Safe Distancing Policy for all customers and employees.
• All of our showrooms have disposable medical masks if you need one when working in our showrooms.
• We have disinfectant and hand sanitizer available throughout our showrooms.
• Our staff is monitored and checked with no contact forehead thermometers and we would be happy to check you if requested.
• Our staff are happy to wear a mask when working with you if you would like, simply request.
• Our sales team continues to be available to do product pulls and Zoom presentations for you anytime.

We have reinforced best practices for precautions to the entire KDR team since mid-March in order for them to keep themselves and their families safe.

There have not been any instances of any of our people being infected with COVID-19 and we are confident they all will continue to use common sense and best practices outside of the workday.

KDR’s Showroom Safe Distancing Policy 

KDR is abiding by CDC guidelines for the novel Coronavirus/COVID-19. Our staff may politely ask you to observe our policy when necessary. If you have had any of the following symptoms in the past 2 weeks, please refrain from visiting until you are symptom-free for 2 weeks.

• Fever
• Cough
• Chills
• Repeated shaking with chills
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Sore throat
• New loss of smell or taste

Please maintain a minimum of 6 feet distance between yourself and any individual while in the showroom.

Feel free to wear a mask and use our disinfectant products.

When working with a member of our staff you may ask them to wear a mask.

We are disinfecting work surfaces and restrooms throughout the day. 

We are happy to have you at KDR and take our obligation to protect yours and our staff’s safety very seriously.

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VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS

If you are working from home, our sales staff are available for video or web-based presentations – please contact us to set up your virtual showing.

Very truly yours,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

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May 14, 2020

KDR Minneapolis

In addition to the precautionary measures being taken by KDR we wanted you to know the additional measures taken by the International Market Square Building.

The International Market Square remains open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. They assure all tenants and guests that they are committed to providing a safe and healthy environment, following guidelines from the state government.

In addition to regular daily cleaning practices, the IMS is:

• Frequently disinfecting high-touch surfaces in all common areas

• Using fogging techniques with Mediclean, a disinfectant for an additional layer of cleansing the building environment

• Regularly changing all building HVAC filters

• HVAC operations are being monitored to exchange building air 4 times per hour

• IMS guests are registered at the Front Desk to facilitate contact tracing, if necessary

• Tenants and guests are encouraged to wear face masks and gloves while within IMS

• Their building management is available to address any questions/concerns that may arise as we adapt to ongoing changes

The KDR showroom will continue to maintain a maximum number of customers in our showroom to maintain maximum space and safety for our staff and customers.

If you plan on bringing a client for a visit you must schedule an appointment after answering questions posed by our staff.

View our Directory page for staff contact information by showroom location.

Read KDR’s Showroom Safe Distancing Policy that will be posted throughout our showrooms and communicated by our staff.

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May 11, 2020

Our Reopening – So Far So Good!

This week we continue our same program as last week. Designers had very positive feedback for us on how we are conducting business with the precautions we have taken, and as we continue to advance our showrooms’ opening we will keep you informed.

Our people working remotely are available by simply calling their KDR direct dial number and any of our sales associates can schedule your showroom appointment for you while ensuring we are staying within our maximum number of people in our showrooms.

Showrooms hours will be 9:00 am – 4:30 pm

Please keep in mind, KDR Designer Showrooms do not have the exposure created in retail locations with high traffic.

Our showrooms are large and spacious and although based on current guidance we could allow more we are limiting the number of designers in each of our showrooms at one time as follows:

• Minneapolis (6,500 sq. ft. showroom) – 3 designers

• Kansas City (17,000 sq. ft. showroom) – 4 designers

• St Louis (60,000 sq. ft. showroom) – 5 designers

We are working by appointment this week and blocking off time for designers this week in order to maintain the number of people in the showroom. We have allowed for a couple of unexpected walk-ins in our formula.

Please call a KDR Sales Associate to block off time in our showrooms. View our Directory page for staff contact information by showroom location. kdrshowrooms.com/directory 

Review KDR’s Showroom Safe Distancing Policy that will be posted throughout our showrooms and communicated by our staff.

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May 5, 2020

Fist bumps to getting back to work! 👊👊

We are excited to see you soon. 
😀🥂👊👏

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May 4, 2020

Commitment to yours and our safety.

KDR is following CDC guidelines for the novel Coronavirus/COVID-19 as well as navigating 4 different states and 7 different municipal orders in opening our showrooms for business. KDR is limiting the number of customers and employees in each showroom at one time.

Showrooms hours will be 9:00 am – 4:30 pm

Please keep in mind, KDR Designer Showrooms do not have the exposure created in retail locations with high traffic.

Our showrooms are large and spacious and although based on current guidance we could allow more we are limiting the number of designers in each of our showrooms at one time as follows:

• Minneapolis (6,500 sq. ft. showroom) – 3 designers

• Kansas City (17,000 sq. ft. showroom) – 4 designers

• St Louis (60,000 sq. ft. showroom) – 5 designers

 We are working by appointment this week and blocking off time for designers this week in order to maintain the number of people in the showroom. We have allowed for a couple of unexpected walk-ins in our formula.

Please call a KDR Sales Associate to block off time in our showrooms. View our Directory page for staff contact information by showroom location. kdrshowrooms.com/directory 

Here is KDR’s Showroom Safe Distancing Policy that will be posted throughout our showrooms and communicated by our staff.

KDR’s Showroom Safe Distancing Policy 

KDR is abiding by CDC guidelines for the novel Coronavirus/COVID-19. Our staff may politely ask you to observe our policy when necessary. If you have had any of the following symptoms in the past 2 weeks, please refrain from visiting until you are symptom-free for 2 weeks.

• Fever
• Cough
• Chills
• Repeated shaking with chills
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Sore throat
• New loss of smell or taste

Please maintain a minimum of 6 feet distance between yourself and any individual while in the showroom. Feel free to wear a mask and use our disinfectant products. When working with a member of our staff you may ask them to wear a mask. We are disinfecting work surfaces and restrooms throughout the day. We are happy to have you at KDR and take our obligation to protect yours and our staff’s safety very seriously.

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May 4, 2020

Getting Back to Business with KDR – Safely

Dear Friends,

It has been 6 weeks that seems like 6 months, all of us caught physically and emotionally on a roller coaster of worry, concern, hope and optimism.

I don’t know about you, but I’m worn out by these new terms that have become prevalent in our everyday life, social distancing, uncertain times, the new normal and so on.

I know this will not be the new normal, because it’s not normal. I prefer safe distance over social distancing. We are social creatures and we can’t wait to be social again, but we might have to stay a few feet apart, I prefer to think we are certain to conquer this virus because we have the greatest scientists in history.

I am tired of Coronavirus and COVID-19 continual news – I would almost welcome political advertising that we would normally be inundated with during an election year, well almost.

With genuine optimism and excitement, KDR will be reopening all three showrooms Monday, May 4 with restrictions, to allow our staff and customers to ease back into the workday.

We will still have some employees working from home for a few weeks primarily our moms with young children, with daycare and schools closed many of our moms have become teaching assistants. I want our moms to be able to be moms first and balancing their KDR duties in between.

I am grateful that KDR was financially sound and we were able to keep all of our employees at full pay and benefits. I am so proud of the entire KDR team for how they have conducted business while our showrooms have been closed.

Immediately following this message our marketing department will be sending an outline explaining KDR’s policy for the week of May 4. We will continue to update weekly to keep you informed.

On behalf of everyone at KDR, I cannot adequately express our sincere gratitude for the continued support you and our business partners have shown us.

You have my promise that our facilities and team will be held to the highest standards to safeguard you when doing business at KDR.

Thank you,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

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April 24, 2020

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April 17, 2020

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April 10, 2020

KDR Business Continuation Advantages – Safe & Secure

Although many states in the U.S. and other countries are under stay-at-home and quarantine orders, KDR and our trusted vendors are operational as follows.

KDR showrooms are OPEN by appointment. One customer, one sales associate at a time.

Product Receiving Continues: KDR St. Louis is receiving products at our warehouse, daily and will continue to do so. Kansas City & Minneapolis; KDR’s designated receivers are accepting product daily. The continuation of receiving product will allow for much faster completion of projects once deliveries resume! 

Customers are able to pick up merchandise from the KDR St. Louis Warehouse by appointment only. Contact Russ Lundy, operations manager to coordinate at 314.791.9047, russl@kdrshowrooms.com. 

KDR systems track all orders to ensure they get to the right place, so you do not have to worry about product being stored in a random warehouse, being returned or being moved truck to truck with a great risk of getting lost or damaged!

Textile & Wallcovering

ALL KDR textile and wallcovering vendors are processing memo and cut yardage orders. Many memo requests are still being filled directly by KDR!

Stock Availability: It is important to check stock right now. If there are back orders, there could be delays due to temporary mill closures. Selecting in-stock product is best right now.

Fabric Receiving Services: KDR will gladly receive your fabric orders at our facilities. Those orders would have to be placed through KDR on your KDR account, not directly with the fabric vendor, allowing KDR to track the orders and keep in our system for smooth delivery or pick up when ready. KDR prints delivery and will call tickets from our system to eliminate mistakes or product getting lost.

Furniture

ALL KDR upholstery vendors are still receiving COM fabrics. Once fabric is received at the factory your order is placed in the production schedule so your orders will be fulfilled promptly when production opens back up.

ALL KDR furniture vendors have temporarily stopped production. Although furniture production has temporarily ceased, KDR continues to submit completed orders to be first in the que when production resumes.

CLIMATE CONTROLLED WAREHOUSING: Your furniture orders are safe and sound at KDR’s Warehouse and our approved receiver’s temperature controlled warehouses.

Rugs

All KDR rug vendors continue to produce and ship!

Drapery Hardware

KDR is still shipping in-stock drapery hardware orders for Kirsch and Select or available for pick up by appointment in St. Louis only.

The KDR BUSINESS ADVANTAGE

KDR Designer Showrooms has not changed any of our company policies on collecting deposits and payments from our customers. Our vendors have not changed terms for KDR purchases, as has happened with many firms across the country.

Remember to choose carefully who you do business with right now. If a company cannot pay its bills you will not get your product. The deposits you place are unsecured if a company goes out of business; your deposits are lost. KDR is a debt-free company that has earned 100% trust and respect from all our vendors – your deposits are safe and secure.

Need Assistance. Ask the Experts.

REMEMBER our outstanding remote capabilities: phone, video, text or email with our sales associates. View the team directory for contact information.

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April 7, 2020

Letter from our President

At KDR, we have always closed for Good Friday, this year it is purely symbolic due to the COVID-19 crisis.

As we enter the Holy Week, whether you celebrate Easter or Passover, it is said that “Both festivals are about delivery from a state of despair.”

How ironic a worldwide pandemic crisis has rendered so many people defenseless, in despair and clinging to faith and hope, at its pinnacle during the most religious week of the year.

Please support and pray for those who are desperate without resources to sustain basic necessities and all of the heroes who are bravely fighting on the front lines every day to save lives while putting their own in peril.

May God’s blessings be upon you and your families and may He empower our brilliant scientists to conquer the novel COVID-19 virus.

Happy Easter and a Happy Passover Holiday.

Sincerely,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

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March 28, 2020

We’re here for you. This is KDR.

Thank you for your continued support of KDR Designer Showrooms as we all navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. KDR is fully operational to support you in selecting product, providing sampling and placing orders. Access team contact information for all three showroom locations and the latest showroom updates regarding the continuation of business with KDR. 

We’re here to help! Our experts are working remotely and able to assist you with all your design needs. To reach a sales member directly by phone, text (new) or email, please reference the team directory for contact information.

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March 27, 2020

Dear valued KDR customers,

As cities, counties and countries continue to impose Stay At Home restrictions and closings of non-essential businesses, we are seeing many of our suppliers closing down for 1 – 2 week stints.

Because it is changing every day, please know at KDR, our people are updating all information as it becomes available and is reflected in your order status on the KDR Trade Portal or on our agent vendors websites where you have your own accounts.

All three of our showrooms are continuing to accept shipments, so as not to disturb the flow of goods. They will accumulate at our receivers or the KDR warehouse in St Louis and will get delivered ASAP, once restrictions begin to ease.

Stay healthy, stay safe and remain optimistic!

Sincerely,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

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March 24, 2020

Thank you! We need each other!

On behalf of the entire KDR family, we are grateful for your continued support during this difficult time. We have been surprisingly successful in continuing to do business by having quickly made decisions to switch our business to our excellent remote capabilities. Our customers are continuing to source product for their projects and we are grateful orders are coming in as usual! Continuation of business is important for all of us and you can be confident in the infrastructure of KDR and our financial stability as a 30-year-old debt-free company. Your deposits, your product that has shipped and orders we have placed for you with our vendors are safe and secure.

SHOWROOM ACCESS FROM HOME

As an alternative to visiting your local KDR Designer Showrooms, there are many ways to reach us. Our wonderful sales associates in fabric, wallcovering, furniture, drapery hardware and shades are available by email, phone, text and video chat if you need assistance. Please see our team directory. Our experts are excellent in specifying and selecting product for all your design projects.

SHOWROOM HOURS

All three KDR showrooms will be operating with our remote staff; our warehouse in St. Louis continues to be operational for receiving and shipping of drapery hardware and our designated receivers in Kansas City and Minneapolis continue to receive shipments. Our showrooms are open by appointment only. Contact us to schedule an appointment.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & SAMPLING

Members of our staff will be working remotely and can provide you memo samples, tear sheets, pricing and product availability, they can also help you navigate our vendors’ websites. Please note: To reach a sales member directly by phone, text (new) or email, please reference the team directory for contact information. The numbers shown are direct dial numbers that will ring through to mobile phones for our people working remotely, and you may also text to these numbers as well!

the Trade Portal

IMPORTANT: The KDR Trade Portal is an excellent tool to not only manage your KDR business but also to directly connect with our agent vendors, if you have not registered, this is the perfect time to begin. kdrshowrooms.com/trade-portal/register

Here is a preview of what the menu of your direct accounts looks like.

KDR’s Agent Vendor List:

Please note: You must have a direct account with our agent vendors to use this feature, (we can set you up with a direct account with any of these agent vendors if you wish) which will take you directly to their website where you can order memos, CFAs, check stock, do reserves and places orders! KDR  will still receive credit for the sale, or of course, we are happy to provide all of those services for you.

 

VIRTUAL SHOWINGS

If you are working from home, we’re happy to give a virtual tour of the showroom via FaceTime or video call. Our outside sales representatives are available for video or web-based presentations – please contact us to schedule an appointment.

My days have been filled with conversations with vendors, service providers, customers, employees and many others, and my advice has been consistent, stay positive, appreciative, generous and kind and together we will all pull through this even stronger. On behalf of all of us at KDR, we pray for your health, safety and sanity during these unprecedented times. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly if I can assist you with anything.

Very truly yours,

Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

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March 18, 2020

 

Dear Valued KDR Customers, 

We continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely relative to the health and safety of our employees and customers and what business continuation looks like right now.

Our sales manager, Kara Wagoner, has brought our outside sales team into our showrooms and the highly experienced textile and wallcovering experts are on call and available to assist you with product selections as you work remotely.

SHOWROOM HOURS

All three KDR showrooms will be operating with reduced staff and operating hours, effective Thursday, March 19 through Friday, March 27. Our showrooms will be open 9:30 am – 4 pm, daily or by appointment.

SHOWROOM SUPPORT

You may call or text our team members at the numbers provided below. Our outside sales team is available in our showrooms to provide product sourcing and sample pulls for your design projects and will transmit photos and mail memos directly to your home.

VIRTUAL SHOWINGS

If you are working from home, we’re happy to give a virtual tour of the showroom via FaceTime or video call.

the TRADE PORTAL

The Trade Portal is an excellent way to manage all of your KDR business, if you have not registered, visit kdrshowrooms.com/trade-portal. Our continual investment in technology allows us to assist you and with that keep our respective businesses running and supporting our people.

KDR is a designer’s best resource. Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

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March 13, 2020

Dear valued KDR customers,

All of us at KDR are navigating this unprecedented crisis with you. KDR has always been a family-first company, that is the very heart of our KDR culture and environment. Our number one priority is the health and safety of our employees, their families, our valued customers and their families and anyone in our communities. At the beginning of every flu season we offer all employees flu shots and very strongly encourage them to take advantage of those. 

Our long-standing policy has always been for any of our employees who exhibit signs of a contagious illness, such as fevers, coughs and other related symptoms, to seek medical treatment and not come to work where they could expose others. We have been adamant in enforcing this to the point of sending people home who may have come to work with symptoms. We anticipate and hope that everyone who visits our showrooms is abiding by these same guidelines. We have adamantly reiterated and reinforced these rules during the present COVID-19 pandemic. Our showrooms’ staff has always been diligent about continually disinfecting their work areas and surrounding surfaces, especially during the flu season, and are reinforced with all of the proper products to do so. Please know our showroom sales associates are available by phone and email and are excellent at assisting designers in specifying and selecting product if you need that assistance while working from your home or office. The KDR Trade Portal is an excellent way to manage all of your KDR business, if you have not registered, visit kdrshowrooms.com/trade-portal.

All of us at KDR value you and your business and promise our first priority is to protect ourselves, customers, friends and families. Stay healthy and let’s hope for a speedy resolution.

Sincerely,
Kevin Kenney
President/CEO

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