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11200 Montgomery N.E. #22
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87111
Office : (505) 292-8787
Fax : (505) 292-3074
Toll Free : (888) 637-0339

Showroom Hours : Monday-Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 9am-1pm
Evening Hours by Appointment

Featured in Qualified Remodeler, 1998 top 500

Creative Revival after Market Fall-out

Sixty percent of Lyle Wilson's business is kitchen remodeling projects, with the average project running $10,000 to $12,000.

Two years ago when Lyle and Donna Wilson purchased Creative Kitchens in Albuquerque, NM, the economy was at the tail end of a tremendous growth spurt for this Southwest hub.

Albuquerque had aggressively solicited industries, especially those involved in computer technology, during the late '80s and early '90s, but that flurry of activity came to a halt in 1997, causing a ripple effect on the real estate market. With a stagnant real estate market, remodelers like Creative Kitchens felt the pain, first hand.

In the Wilsons' first full year of business, 1997, Creative Kitchens' sales totaled $1.01 million. Lyle projects 1998 to come in at under $1 million.

The Wilsons' currently focus on a high-end client base, with Lyle in charge of operations/purchasing, Donna and two others working on design/sales, one full-time installer who is also a certified Corian fabricator and a bookkeeper. The Wilsons use subcontractors on most of their cabinet installations, as well as for remodeling work required on a project.

Sixty percent, of Creative Kitchens' business, is kitchen remodeling projects, with the average project running $10,000 to $12,000, and some as high as $35,000.

The Wilsons hope the remodeling market will improve within the next 12 months, as some of the 5,000 homes currently on the market in the Albuquerque area begin to move.

"Were trying a couple different things, like adding gourmet cookware to our show room display," Lyle says.

The addition of gourmet cookware, and possibly gourmet cooking classes down the road, is a fit for the client base the Wilsons want to attract. With the standard contractor kitchen costing about $3,000, some of Creative Kitchens' clientele are new home customers who want more than the standard kitchen package.

So until the real estate market begins to move, or sellers decide to stay put and fix up their homes, the Wilsons will continue to look at some creative ways to grow their business.