When you consider the number of businesses that participate, in some form or fashion, in the remodeling industry (well over half a million nationwide), it might come as some surprise that a company headquartered in Boise, Idaho could be among the top 500. Once again, however, two leading trade magazines, Qualified Remodeler and Remodeling, have included STRITE in their respective lists of the top companies in the remodeling market for 2013.
In the case of Qualified Remodeler, whose Top 500 list encompasses all remodelers, irrespective of category, STRITE was ranked number 437 — the only Idaho-based, full-service remodeling company to earn this distinction. STRITE moved up nearly 40 slots from last year’s ranking, propelled by revenue of approximately $1.6 million, earned from 51 remodeling jobs in 2012.
Remodeling magazine’s list of the top 550 remodelers drills down into categories that include the niche that STRITE occupies: full-service remodelers. According to the magazine, “These companies offer the range of services, in-house or subcontracted, that allow them to build the additions and alterations (think kitchen and bath renovations, master suites) that substantially change the look, feel, or square footage of a home. Many specialize in a particular type of renovation—kitchens and baths, for instance, or historical restoration—but big custom projects, either designed by the company or built off an architect’s plans, are what their business is about.”
That has certainly been what our business has been about for nearly 40 years now, and based on Remodeling’s ranking, STRITE is currently the 194th largest full-service remodeling company in that business. Both Qualified Remodeler and Remodeling have estimated STRITE’s 2013 revenue to reach $2 million — a year-to-year increase of around 20 percent. Interestingly, we should note that according to Remodeling, “America’s biggest remodelers expect to see a 19.9% increase in revenue from 2012” — which pretty much puts our performance on par with the national average.
Remodeling magazine’s article on the top 550 remodeling companies goes on to make another observation about the remodeling market that echoes our own experience here in the Treasure Valley. “When the recession put the housing market on hold a few years back, full-service remodelers were especially vulnerable and many downsized, voluntarily or otherwise. Now, after a few years of uncertainty, many see business gaining, with more and larger projects in the pipeline. Many full-service remodelers on this list project modest revenue increases this year.”
STRITE’s president, Bob Mundy, made a similar observation in a recently issued press release announcing our Qualified Remodeler ranking: “One of the trends we’re seeing for our business is an increasing average cost per project. We believe this reflects a deeper impulse by homeowners to invest in making their homes more desirable places to live for the longer term. Remodeling has become much more of a lifestyle consideration — which also makes it a much more sustainable business environment for a company like ours, as well as a lagging but important indicator of gradual improvement in our local economy.”
Here’s to good times ahead — and a heartfelt thank you to the customers who have sustained us through good times…not so good times. No matter the vagaries of our economy, we have strived to add value to the projects you’ve entrusted to us, and our success is less about bragging rights than it is a confirmation that we’ve redeemed that trust.