Though the hundreds of bathroom and kitchen fixtures and appliances available in the Ferguson Enterprises home store are online, nothing replaces the experience of shopping in person, says Andy Cook, branch manager of the local Ferguson. In the Internet Age, the concept is increasingly rare, but the 7,000-square-foot showroom is one exception. The first Evansville Ferguson showroom opened on Morgan Avenue and moved near Burkhardt Road a year ago. Today, the Morgan location acts as a warehouse and distribution hub. The new location is a “destination showroom,” says Cook, where “people drive from miles and miles away because we offer a lot of products in one location.”
Those products range from Jacuzzi tubs and showers with sound systems to ornate kitchen fixtures and appliances. In the bathroom, the stone forest pedestal (around $3,000) is a higher-end fixture while the vitreous china pedestal is more affordable (around $200) but just as beautiful. Every light in the store is available for purchase: fancy drum lights, polished brass pendant lights, or smooth track lighting. For the kitchen, refrigerators such as a Viking Range stainless steel model stand in demonstration mock-ups. A dominating theme among the products: modern aesthetics. “Clean and straight lines seem to be becoming more and more popular,” says Cook.
But, that avocado green vanity feels like a 1970s piece. It is, says Cook, and retro pieces make a big impact on Ferguson’s range of products. “We tried to put a pretty good mix of traditional and contemporary and everything in between,” Cook says. With more than 1,400 locations in America, the list of vendors is hundreds deep such as Thermador, Kohler, and Jacuzzi Whirlpool Bath. “We have to show everything,” Cook says. “Customers like to see contrast.”
Ferguson Enterprises
6620 Interchange Road South, (812) 473-1721
621 W. Morgan Ave., (812) 424-3531
www.ferguson.com
