IT’S A REPUTATION CARVED IN STONE.
With a product line both wide and deep, Stone Showcase offers an entire spectrum of natural and manufactured stone, complemented by exotic wood accents, for residential and commercial applications.
Founded in 2004, the nationally recognized wholesaler is an outgrowth of a family business established in 1997 in the Boston area. Today, the Buford, Georgia-based company also maintains an outlet in Stoughton, Massachusetts, which opened in 2015. And it’s justifiably proud of what sets it apart.
“It’s that we sell everything, our sheer variety. It’s a very strong product line,” says owner Amit Malik. “We sell anything natural stone-related to installers throughout the Northeast and Southeast, 13 states. We began with supplying fabricators, but now we also work with designers, architects and builders. We are involved in every aspect of the business and feel our customer service is exceptional. Our marketing is very strong as well.”
To say the least. Exposure on national media has paid dividends in terms of recognition and competitive advantage. Stone Showcase has been involved with numerous reality TV programs, among them the Food Network’s Restaurant Impossible, featuring interior designer and TV personality Taniya Nayak, and two HGTV shows: Married to Real Estate with Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson, and Lil Jon Wants to Do What? with room makeover specialist Anitra Mecadon. It also “went mobile” in an episode of RV There Yet? on the Discovery Channel, renovating pro basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal’s luxury RV.
All of which is to say that when it comes to marketing, the company leaves no stone unturned. Augmenting this are partnerships with such professional groups as the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and the National Kitchen + Bath Association (NKBA).
The caliber of product and service more than validates the company’s publicity. Meeting the specialized needs of interior designers and builders means having a comprehensive grasp of global supply chains and material origins as well as working with quarries and wood product suppliers to produce stock of distinctiveness, beauty and durability. Sustainability, of course, is equally important.
Stone Showcase achieves this in its four wide-ranging categories: Natural Stone, Element Stone, Element Wood and Element Tech. Wholesaling granite, quartzite and marble make up about 60% of the business, along with quartz, travertine limestone, soapstone and butcher block, while Element products account for 40%. Every stone offered by the company is hand selected and thoroughly inspected for quality.
Element Stone, Element Wood and Element Tech all fall under the banner of Element Surfaces, offering creative lines of manufactured quartz, exotic wood and porcelain slab (an especially good choice for outdoor kitchens and fireplaces in addition to interiors). Together, they underscore Stone Showcase’s commitment to being an industry leader, expanding its reach through innovation, the latest technologies and continuing education for professional development.
The education component extends to partners and clients as well. An informed customer makes informed decisions, not only on materials and their various characteristics but in the areas of care and maintenance to ensure a long lifespan.
“The Element product line is exclusive to our company,” says Malik, who works with his elder brother, Vineet, in directing a staff of 50 at the two locations. “We get a lot of requests for high-end Italian marble and quartz, chiefly for kitchens, baths, vanities and living spaces.”
Malik is enthusiastic about company prospects for growth and the manner in which Stone Showcase employees go the extra mile to produce for the company’s clientele. He is especially keen on the Element Mobile Design Studio, a mobile showroom on wheels containing more than 144 samples available for any project. Inside the Mobile Studio, designers dive into an interactive experience of color, texture and limitless potential, a space bathed in natural light that is highly conducive to creative inspiration. Ideas can emerge even before a trip to the showroom.
For their part, the staff at Stone Showcase appreciate the luxury, aesthetic qualities and design possibilities of stone and wood at least as much as their clients, to whose individual tastes they cater. No less so when the two products are employed together. “The beauty of natural stone, the warmth and depth of it, the variations and character are remarkable,” says Malik. “The warmth of wood is something everyone admires. A beautiful mixed-use example would be a marble island in the kitchen with a wood butcher block.”
Malik says customers are the heart of the business, and it’s a collaborative effort. Each partnership is valued equally, and superior customer care is provided throughout the purchasing process with an eye not only toward client satisfaction but cultivating long-term relationships.
Stone Showcase also is looking to further expansion, eventually into the western United States. Malik says the timetable to establish another location is approximately two years.
As with their presence on reality TV, the Maliks also utilize Instagram and Facebook posts to convey the process of stone selection, providing insight into various stones and materials, and exhibiting the range of current inventories while revealing contemporary market trends.
The company’s history is very much a family affair. The Malik brothers’ uncle, Ashok Kalra, had been importing stone to the United States from India since the 1970s. Malik’s father, whose idea it was to start the business, passed away in 1996 and Vineet, then living in Boston, sought to realize his father’s desire to own a stone import company. He did exactly that, sourcing stone from the family’s connections in India with the aid of Kalra and another uncle, Rakesh Malik.
In 2004, when the decision was made to transform into a wholesale operation and open the second location in Georgia, Amit joined him. From the beginning, they wanted Stone Showcase not only to be innovative but to exude the personal touch.
The result has been an unqualified success with sustained year-over-year growth and product line expansion.
Rock solid. *
Bill Thompson covers the arts, books and design.
