Albert Fouerti: Frequently Adapting and Reinventing To Build a Thriving, Successful Business
The CEO of Appliances Connection, Albert Fouerti, is an example of a visionary leader due to his ability to adapt swiftly to changes in the retail industry. He first entered the business world by opening a computer shop, but then shifted his focus to the appliance sector. As Albert foresaw, technological progress will spur a greater need for home appliances. So, Albert opened up a shop in 1998 as Appliances Connection.
Since then, Appliances Connection has expanded into one of the leading U.S. online appliance merchants, stocking everything from entry-level models to high-end, internationally renowned names. The company’s inventory has grown to encompass more and more categories in recent years, such as furniture, TVs, gym equipment, and home furnishings.
“We offer free delivery and many additional concierge services, including installation and haul-away services, depending on the size of an order,” explains Albert. We guarantee the lowest price on everything we sell, so our clients know they’re getting a great deal when they purchase with us.
Appliances Connection’s success is a continuing testament to Albert’s perseverance, creativity, and flexibility.
Turning away from Familiarity and Comfort
According to Albert, all it takes to master a skill is plenty of practice. However, after some time, one’s actions become routine and boring. On the other side, when faced with adversity, one may learn and grow in new ways. Albert thinks that’s why people can confidently adjust to novel circumstances rather than feeling threatened by them. When our firm shifted its focus to home appliances, it became abundantly clear,” Albert explains.
If Albert had stuck with selling computers instead of taking a chance in the appliance market, his company would likely have failed. He adds, “I would have missed the golden opportunity that made our company the success that it is today because of my desire for comfort and familiarity.”
If you’ve veered off the main road and into the woods, he says, driving on won’t bring you any closer to your objective. They’ll advance in their quest that way. “So, sometimes you must admit when something is not working, take a step backward, reorient yourself, and find the right path to get where you’re trying to go,” Albert explains.
A Complete Home Appliance Superstore
Since day one, our mission at Appliances Connection has been to provide a comprehensive resource for our clients’ appliance requirements. “We believe in providing customers with the most seamless, worry-free shopping experience by keeping everything within our vast network of residential and commercial design professionals,” explains Albert.
Appliances Connection’s close relationships with interior designers, builders, customer service specialists, and other professionals ensure that every project is completed to the satisfaction of the client. This is true whether the client is looking to remodel their own kitchen or stock an entire apartment complex.
Albert claims that as computing technology develops, consumers will expect a more engaged online buying experience. Appliances Connection has developed the Interior Design Inspiration Platform in response to this growing market need. It employs a wide range of methods to grant the dreams of consumers nationwide for their ideal houses.
The portal uses interactive galleries to let users “shop the look,” showcasing different furniture and kitchen appliance setups in various living settings and giving detailed information about each item. “For instance, if you see a built-in microwave you like in a gallery image, clicking it will redirect you to that unit’s listing or a comparable unit’s listing,” explains Albert. That way, you can see how the appliance looks in your house and learn about all the cool functions it offers before you purchase it.
The Appliances Connection website has also grown to be a central resource for decorators all across the United States. It paves the way for them to develop individual designer portfolios, which in turn facilitates networking with local customers. In this manner, customers and decorators may collaborate on a full-scale home renovation using appliances from Appliances Connection.
Remembering that “customers want the best deal as quickly as possible with the utmost convenience” is the key to success, as stated by Albert. We use a variety of strategies to maintain this level of quality. For instance, Appliances Connection’s Concierge Services cover the gamut from equipment removal to set-up. This means that consumers may focus on a single point of contact during the whole buying and shipping procedure.
If a consumer finds a lower price elsewhere, Albert claims they will match it. When compared with visiting a physical store, “most notably,” he says, “our Interior Design Inspiration Platform brings the showroom experience to your home.”
Albert stresses the importance of “convenience” by saying, “Keep that in mind, and it will inform everything you do while making you a competitor in any retail category.”
Financial Victory
According to Albert, success in business is all about cultivating relationships based on trust, appreciation, and the pursuit of common goals. The truth, esteem, and appreciation are universally valued qualities, as are truthful and sincere communication. These three principles are essential for success in business and in life, he says, whether we’re building relationships with new businesses or pledging to do all it takes to make a consumer happy.
Even Albert understands the importance of helping others. If you put up the effort to do good, it will return to you, and it will return to you in ways you may not have anticipated. Success in all these areas may be maximized by focusing on establishing a name for the firm as one that values these things more than making a quick buck on the next big sale. To drive home his argument, Albert paraphrases an unnamed wise man as follows: “Aim at Heaven, and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth, and you will get neither.”
According to Albert, the incentives for helping others in the greatest manner possible are immeasurably higher. He thinks that the company’s achievements validate his viewpoint.
Making Shopping As Easy As Possible
For all of Albert’s devoted online consumers, no matter where they are in the world, he wants to provide the easiest buying experience possible. He argues that in today’s hectic world, people have to split their attention between several professional and personal obligations. Therefore, stores have a duty to give customers with the least complicated checkout options possible. And Albert hopes his firm will serve as an example of this manner of operating in the marketplace. “The more we can as a company take off the shoulders of our customers, the more they will want to work with us now and in the future,” he adds.
Pandemic and Merger Uncertainty
As a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, the retail sector was hit hard. Albert notes that many traditional businesses suffered heavy financial losses as a result of shop closures, and that many of their former consumers have now turned to online marketplaces like Appliances Connection. Additionally, extensive shipping delays occurred because of restricted production. Many stores, both brick and mortar and virtual, were struggling to meet customer demand.
The first few months of the epidemic were unsettling for Appliances Connection as well. The firm was able to speed up shipping times after merging with 1847 Goedeker in June of 2021. It has bought, and is continuing to buy, additional warehouses in several states around the United States after the merger. Together with our newly increased truck fleet, these improvements will drastically cut down on shipping delays, allowing us to get orders out to customers more quickly than ever before, as Albert puts it.
Chief Executive Officer Duties in a Cooperative
CEO Albert is a team player. On a typical day, he responds to emails while also using his headset to talk to suppliers and employees at his firm.
Because “so many people rely on me,” Albert adds, “everyone looks to me for guidance, and I offer a helping hand wherever I am and whatever I might be doing.” If I want my firm to succeed, “my expectations and goals must always take a back seat” to those of my employees.
Albert is not the kind of supervisor that sits back, relaxes, and passes off unjustified responsibilities to his employees. And since he hasn’t lost the pioneering zeal that led him to success in the first place, he still finds himself naturally involved in every aspect of running his business.
And Albert thinks it’s his responsibility to make sure everyone from the company’s partner brands to the warehouse staff understands they can count on him to help them operate efficiently.
The Highest Honor Awarded to an Appliance Network
Appliances Connection has been honored on several occasions throughout the years. It was just included in Newsweek’s Best Online Shops of 2021 list. Albert is pleased with this newest award since the organization was chosen based on seven distinct factors. Appliances Connection received high marks for trust and security, structure and usability, payment, purchase and delivery, service and communication, technical details, and likelihood of purchase. “It shows customers that their transactions with us are secure and hassle-free,” explains Albert.
For almost 20 years, Appliances Connection has strived to meet the needs of its devoted clientele by stocking only the finest appliance brands, delivering them quickly, and installing them professionally. “We guarantee that our company will continue to improve upon the standards that garnered us this recognition,” Albert promises.
Healthy eating as part of a well-rounded life
Albert, like many other successful business executives, acknowledges the difficulty of striking a good work-life balance. He uses healthy eating as a means to that end.
“Just as I expect my team to adapt to every new development, I need to put this practice into my daily life,” adds Albert. “Daily exercise and healthy eating are cornerstones of my energy maintenance strategy.”
Albert often takes breaks from his desk to stroll the halls. He seldom uses his desk and is rarely seen there. And he makes sure to eat healthy, balanced meals at regular intervals so he can keep up with his busy lifestyle. This allows Albert “to have enough energy to spend time with his family at the end of a long day,” he explains.
“Our company makes every effort to accommodate the personal and medical needs of our employees,” Albert explains. So that employees don’t become stiff and tired from hunching over a chair all day, the firm gives them with height-adjustable standing workstations. We also provide the break room with food on a regular basis. The hungry pangs that sometimes plague our staff in between meals are a thing of the past,” Albert says.
Future Home Appliance Networking Strategies
Like Lowe’s and Home Depot, Albert wants Appliances Connection to be a household brand. Because of the shift to online shopping, “we’ve had unprecedented growth,” Albert adds. With this boost, we want to increase our national recognition and open new warehouses throughout the United States.
Motivational Tips for Future Business Leaders
Aspired company executives should “keep adapting,” as Albert puts it. Being stationary is the worst possible choice. The market changes, and your business strategy must shift as well.
