Innovative Stone Signs New Agreement With The Home Depot

HAUPPAUGE, NY--(Marketwire - Sep 19, 2011) - Tracy Streckenbach, President and Chief Operating Officer of Innovative Global Brands (IGB), announced that Innovative Stone -- a wholly-owned subsidiary of IGB -- entered into a new agreement with The Home Depot effective July 15, 2011. The agreement further aligns the two companies' goals and will ensure a high level of customer satisfaction for custom granite countertop fabrication and installation across 52 Home Depot stores.

"Each of our business divisions requires a distinct approach to growth," states Streckenbach. "Success in our Residential Division demands that we partner with key clients and that we work in tight geographic proximity (within a 100-mile radius) to our New York fabrication facility. This ensures we will run a profitable business that meets our clients' needs each and every day."

Streckenbach has teamed with The Home Depot's Divisional Services Director, Stuart David, to backward-integrate the objectives of the Residential Division with those of The Home Depot team. They are creating unprecedented alignment in all departments that will keep both teams working toward the same set of goals. Streckenbach cites a clear vision of "single-team thinking" as the motivator behind the changes the company is making to further strengthen its key account relationships.

By adjusting its team structure and implementing new technology, Innovative Stone ensures a closer alignment to the customer while, at the same time, streamlining operations during this slower economic time.

Conversely, Innovative Global Brands' Commercial Division pursues a geographically limitless position while offering differentiated services by market segment. Commercial clients worldwide come to Innovative Stone for its array of surfacing products offered and for its unique full-service, global team approach to sourcing and supply. While the Residential Division adjusts to the realities of the local economy, the Commercial Division spans the globe to take advantage of hot markets elsewhere. IGB recently launched a new operation in China to take advantage of emerging Asian markets.

"We provide a unique set of services for our commercial clients," Streckenbach states. "Customers rely on our team to identify the right product options and they count on us to ensure the product is delivered to job sites around the world, on-time."

To do this successfully takes a well planned team approach, Streckenbach said. Innovative Stone's global sourcing team coordinates production of a dizzying array of products to meet tight specifications within a client's budget. A worldwide network of inspectors ensures the company consistently delivers to specification.

Project managers and field managers act as virtual extensions of the client's team in the planning and execution phases of the build. Logistics and inventory management teams coordinate complex worldwide movement of surfacing materials and also deliver inventory management programs using full-service fulfillment centers in both the U.S. and China. Finally, Account Managers oversee all aspects of the client relationship to ensure complete satisfaction.

"Our clients depend on our team to deliver far more than product," Streckenbach emphasizes. "In fact, although we pride ourselves on providing top-of-the-line surfacing solutions, of equal importance are the value-added services Innovative offers, including logistics and inventory management solutions."

By pursuing dual strategies -- adjusting for a constrained growth economy in its Residential Division while continuing to embark on significant global expansion within the Commercial Division -- Streckenbach said the company is poised for success.

"We are very excited for the Innovative Stone brand," she said. "While we have weathered some difficult economic times here in the U.S., we are well-positioned to take advantage of strong markets wherever they occur in the world."

Innovative Global Brands, through its Innovative Stone brand, specializes in sourcing and fabricating stone and other solid-surface installations. Innovative Stone has two distinct divisions. Its Commercial Division specializes in custom material sourcing and project management for large-scale projects around the globe; the Residential Division services clients in the New York area to meet custom fabrication of solid surface materials. A worldwide partner to architects, general contractors, designers, and dealer networks, Innovative Stone is one of the few companies to provide start-to-finish global services, from sourcing and fabrication to delivery, installation, and logistics management. The company serves clients across all industries including: retail, hospitality, government/infrastructure, corporate and residential. Recent projects of note include: 51 East - Lagoona Mall - Qatar; Gap Flagships - Shanghai and Beijing, China and Ginza, Japan; MTA Fulton Street Transit Station, NYC; and The Mall of America, Minneapolis, MN.

Innovative Global Brands, LLC and Innovative Stone world headquarters are located in Hauppauge, NY. Innovative Stone, China is located in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China.

To understand more about the focused business strategies implemented by Streckenbach read the recently published article, Leadership Techniques that Flourish in a Constrained Growth Economy, at http://www.innovativestone.com/news/leadership-techniques-that-flourish-in-a-constrained-growth-economy.html.

Press inquiries: please contact Sarah Hebert at sarah.hebert@innovativestone.com.
To learn more about the IGB and Innovative Stone, visit the company website at www.innovativestone.com.