“We found that during our off season, we needed to keep busy,” he said. Because I started at the bottom - from stockboy to installer to salesperson to general manager - it’s been a gradual path to where I’m confident, and the employees feel confident that I can lead them, and my father feels that way as well.”ĭuring his tenure, Fireside saw a major shift to outdoor grills as a significant part of the inventory because people weren’t seeking out home-heating products during the warmer months of the year. My father was very hard on me, but 14 years later, I can say it was worth it. “I wasn’t treated with kid gloves by any means. Go stock the shelves,’” Peloquin recalled.
“When my father brought me in, he said, ‘go sweep the warehouse.
But he had a long path to his leadership role of today. In 2004, Jay came on board, and has seen the store grow consistently since then. So that was when we got into the grills, which keeps us busy during the spring and summer.” “We found that during our off season, we needed to keep busy. From there, around the mid-’80s, he moved into selling and installing stoves, before relocating to Riverdale Street in West Springfield, not far from the store’s current location on that same road.
When Peloquin’s father, Jean, launched the company 40 years ago, its product line was a far cry from what it is today.īack then, the elder Peloquin sold tool sets, which evolved into a small retail store on Brookdale Street in Springfield, mainly focusing on tools and glass doors. Whether a large wall unit or a smaller fireplace installed above the TV, he said, there are plenty of options for customers who want to bring the heat home. Some higher-end builders do tend to spec in some of the fireplaces we carry, because we definitely are on the higher end.” “So that’s when they come to us and see what’s available for their budget and the style they want, whether they want contemporary, traditional, or something in between. “A lot of times, builders will spec in a fireplace for a customer, and if they’re building, say, a $400,000 house and putting in a $1,000 fireplace, something doesn’t add up,” Peloquin said. In addition, “if you have an existing brick-and-mortar fireplace used for wood, and if you want to convert it to gas to make it more efficient and get more heat out of it, you can do a gas fireplace insert, because natural gas is one of the cheapest ways to heat right now.”Īs for new construction, Fireside receives a number of calls from consumers who want a higher-end fireplace rather than the one that came with the house. In the realm of fireplaces, that tends to be gas-burning units, in addition to pellet stoves. But more important has been a continual focus on what products - in the categories of fireplaces, heating equipment, and grills - customers want most. “For people in the right situation, it’s still a great investment - it pays for itself within a few years, and you’re using a clean energy source.”įor Fireside Designs, a family business that dates back 40 years, those economic trends have occasionally impacted sales, said Peloquin, the West Springfield store’s general manager. Oil prices have come down significantly since then, he said, but pellet stoves remain popular, particularly for people who otherwise heat their house with electricity or propane. “We had people lining up out the door just to order stoves because it would save them so much money over their regular heating bills.” “When oil prices were skyrocketing, we couldn’t keep these things in stock,” he recalled.
Jay Peloquin remembers the heady days for pellet stoves, back in 2008, when oil surged to more than $100 a barrel. Jay Peloquin says gas fireplaces are especially popular at a time when natural gas is inexpensive.
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