Financial Resource

SARASOTA, FL…April 25, 2008, was an exciting day for DirectBuy of Sarasota Franchise Owners Rich and Katherine Miller. Not only did they host the grand opening of their new showroom, but they also celebrated more than 25 years of helping consumers save on home improvement projects, furnishings and accessories.

In 1980, the Millers worked as marketing directors for the DirectBuy showroom in South Bend, Indiana. Just a short time later, they moved to Columbus, Ohio to manage the DirectBuy location there. And in 1987, Rich and Katherine took their combined knowledge and belief in the DirectBuy vision and opened their first franchise in Toledo, Ohio.

“For 27 years, we’ve been providing consumers with a low-cost, ‘one-stop shopping’ destination where they can furnish, build or renovate their home,” said owner Rich Miller. “And we’ve loved every minute of it.”

After serving the Ohio area for 21 years, they sought a change of scenery and decided to turn their beloved family vacation spot into their new home and place of business.

“We really enjoyed vacationing in Sarasota and couldn’t get enough of the beaches and scenery,” said Katherine Miller.

The Millers were familiar with the Sarasota area and soon found the perfect spot to open their new DirectBuy showroom. Conveniently located at 7246 16th St. E, #108 in Sarasota, their full-service design showroom is a short drive off US Highway 301.

To assist them in getting the showroom up and running, the Millers enlisted two of their staff veterans from Toledo: General Manager Marcie White and Marketing Manager William Rockne. “They’re both incredible assets to our showroom and we are so happy they were both able to come to Sarasota,” said Rich Miller. “With their help, we hope to bring the same ambiance we had at the Toledo showroom.”

To celebrate the opening, DirectBuy of Sarasota hosted a grand opening event in their new 15,000 square-foot showroom on Friday, April 25, 2008. The event began at 6 p.m., with the Chamber of Commerce assisting with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. In attendance at the event were Commissioner Fred Atkins and County Administrator Jim Ley.

About DirectBuy

For over 35 years, DirectBuy has been showing thousands of consumers unparalleled ways to save as they shop for virtually everything for in and around their homes – from furniture, carpet and flooring and custom window treatments to kitchen and bath cabinets and fixtures, appliances and much, much more. DirectBuy enables members to purchase products from several hundred manufacturers at more than 150 showrooms across North America. To learn more about DirectBuy, visit www.directbuy.com or www.directbuycares.com.

DirectBuy Membership

Consumers who are interested in joining DirectBuy of Sarasota are encouraged to attend an exclusive Open House event, which is designed to educate families about DirectBuy’s unique business model. The Open House also helps consumers better understand how DirectBuy members avoid traditional retail markup when purchasing brand-name merchandise.

To request a “Free Insider’s Guide to Buying Direct” and a Visitor’s Pass to learn more about the superior value and benefits of a DirectBuy membership, call 941-487-6666 or visit www.directbuy.com.

Tags: "the mail on sunday" uk, ambiance, beloved family, business, carpet, Change, change of scenery, com, Commerce, consumer, design showroom, direct buy financials, direct buy reviews sarasota, direct buy sarasota, direct buy sarasota hours, Directbuy, directbuy financials, directbuy franchise owner, directbuy marketing director, directbuy south bend in, drive, event, everything, exciting day, family, family vacation spot, franchise owners, Franchisees, free, furniture, grand opening, Help, highway 301, home improvement projects, house, Insider, katherine miller, katherine miller directbuy, katherine miller sarasota, location, marketing manager, markup, members.directbuysarasota.com, Membership, merchandise, millers, new directbuy locations, Open, place of business, rich and katherine miller sarasota, rich katherine miller sarasota, rich miller, Sarasota, sarasota area, sarasota fl, Shop, Showroom, south bend indiana, spot, time, toledo ohio, value, Veteran, visit, who are direct buy of sarasota