Leader built a dominant chain of kitchen & bath showrooms
Lou Silver’s father Isaac immigrated to the United States in the mid-1960s and built Remodelers Supply Center, a business that consisted of a wholesale distribution business in Chicago and Climate Guard window manufacturing, both serving remodelers.
But it was Lou who, while building his own home in the early 1990s, realized the need for a large, multi-brand kitchen and bath showroom. Soon after he started such a showroom, Studio 41 in Highland Park, IL, it quickly became a hub for remodelers, designers and their clients. When the recession of 2008 hit, Lou seized the opportunity to grow the family’s Studio 41 operation.
Over the last decade, Silver began building out new showrooms and acquiring others. During this time, he became the first new Kohler distributor in Chicago in over 50 years, which led to the acquisition of three Kohler Signature stores from the iconic plumbing giant. Today there are 14 Studio 41/Kohler locations, including one in Scottsdale, AZ, with expansion underway for a 15th location opening in 2019.
Silver’s formula for success is one that is commonly seen in showrooms today: He offers a wide variety of decorative plumbing products, a number of cabinet lines, plus lighting and window coverings. Studio 41 places a strong emphasis on showroom quality and service. Another key differentiator is that most products are stocked at the firm’s headquarters facility, which enables product to be shipped to a location within 24 hours.
