New Century Mod

Seventeen years ago this month, Zinc Details began selling furnishings in a 200-sq.-ft. space on Post Street in San Francisco. Today, the store has expanded to two much larger locations in the Pacific Heights neighborhood, rings up annual sales in the $2 million to $3 million range, maintains a heavy presence in the local arts and design community, and has been recognized as a top Bay Area shopping destination by the San Francisco Bay Guardian, San Francisco Chronicle and Citysearch.com.

Owner Vasilios Kiniris knows his market, his community and Zinc's galvanizing role in it. “Zinc Details works hard at playing an active role in the Bay Area design community,” Kiniris said. “We feel we've been successful for 17 years because we do a lot more than sell furniture and home accessories — we are in the marketplace of ideas. We're also a gathering place for those working in, or holding a passionate interest in design for everyday living.”

Kiniris shares ownership with his wife, Wendy, whom he met while both were studying architecture and environmental design at the University of California-Berkeley. The two launched Zinc Details in November 1990 and named it for “a great material that ages gracefully and looks as good new as it does after 100 years of wear and tear.”

In 1994, the store moved from Post Street to its flagship location on Fillmore Street, in one of San Francisco's most popular shopping districts.

“The demographics are diverse and the level of affluence high,” Kiniris said. “It's a great walking street in a real neighborhood, and it has a strong merchants association.”

The move significantly increased Zinc's foot traffic and showroom space, and as a result, its product line. In 2003, the store doubled its size when it took over the retail space next door. More furniture lines were added and Zinc became the Northern California distributor for Knoll Space.

One of Zinc Details' strengths is that customers often return to see what's new, which challenges Kiniris to keep things fresh. “We work hard to see that the look of both stores is always changing,” he said. “We look for vendors that offer a wide range of products, develop display themes and employ the shop-within-a-shop idea. We stage living environments that group furniture, accessories and art.”

Some of the stagings have led to invitations to create environments for design shows at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and de Young Museum, the most recent of which was for the latter's “Vivienne Westwood: 36 Years in Fashion” show.

“In this way, we take Zinc products and the Zinc message into the midst of a younger, design-conscious audience,” Kiniris said. “At each event, Zinc Details signage and flyers are in prominent display in addition to the mention we get in the museum's publications and on their Web sites. These events, which attract a significant number of opinion leaders, help build and maintain the Zinc buzz, so our challenge is to market at all of these to reflect the Zinc style.”

Meeting that challenge is facilitated through a well-defined marketing strategy that totally integrates the display, design and shopping experience in Zinc's stores, on its Web site and through its promotional materials.

“The goal we set for ourselves was to create a seamless presence across all our marketing tools, one that retains the sense of excitement the store has developed and maintained over the years,” Kiniris said.

This includes remaining true to the store's visual aesthetic. “One thing we know, because customers and design writers have told us so, is that Zinc Details has always had a striking visual presence,” he said. “We want to retain the clean, uncluttered look that allows customers to focus on each piece of merchandise we display.”

Several walls in both stores are accented with original art by regionally and nationally known graphic artists, sculptors and photographers. “We are fortunate to have a curator who understands and is able to find work that complements the overall style of the merchandise we sell.”

In addition to openings and receptions for its exhibiting artists, the store hosts a number of events and promotions, from trunk shows to museum-quality lectures by representatives of key design companies.

Recent events have included the kick-off for the American Institute of Architects-sponsored Architecture + the City series, a lecture on Isamu Noguchi by the director of the Noguchi Museum in New York, a talk and display of new products by the U.S. head of Kartell, and a presentation by a futurist speculating on design trends for 2008.

“Each of these events packed the store, drawing upwards of 250 people, nearly all of them with a more-than-passing interest in design,” Kiniris said.

“One of our more innovative programs was our 'Guide by Cell' tour of Modern Design Classics. For this, we set up displays of work by the likes of Philippe Starck, Alver Aalto, Tord Boontje and Jasper Morrison throughout the California Street store.” After enjoying a wine and cheese reception, visitors strolled through the store and dialed a number on their cell phones to hear a recorded message explaining the stories behind the displays. “The tour was a way of getting visitors to cover every inch of our store, was well publicized and very well attended,” he said.

Many of those who attend Zinc's packed-house events are architects, industrial designers and interior designers. A significant percentage are design students, many are early innovators looking for something new, and nearly all of them can be counted on for good word-of-mouth advertising, according to Kiniris.

Publicity and outreach are done with direct mail, e-mail and print promotions. “We continue to mail postcards to announce sales, gallery openings and other events, and we also distribute them in the store,” he said. “We e-mail electronic versions of this material to our e-mail list, which now stands at over 7,000 names.”

Press releases and e-mail blasts are also reconfigured and posted on the Web site, one that serves triple duty as a public billboard, social diary/photojournal and shopping site. “The Web site (zincdetails.com) is designed to keep things as simple and direct as possible,” Kiniris said. “We don't burden our customers with time-consuming animation and complicated graphic displays. The site is as simple to navigate as it is to find your way through our two stores.”

Next on the store's busy social calendar is a November reception for Design House Stockholm, Zinc's newest product source. The public is invited, refreshments will be served and DHS founder Anders Färdig will be on hand to talk about trends in Scandinavian design and the DHS line

“Hosting these events takes a bit of planning and a budget, but the results are well worth the investment of time and money,” Kiniris said. “Our suppliers benefit since we put them in front of the very customers they want to talk with, and our reputation as a center for design excitement continues to grow.”