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 An
Interview with Rhonda Pedersen of Pedersen's Rentals
By Martes Farrugia
Q) How did you get into business?
A) Pedersen's the company has
been in business since 1949. Personally I got into it in the late
80's when I was in school. I worked several jobs in catering and
special events but decided to be in the Rental Business as a
career.
Q) Where did your interest in
the business come from?
A) My interest came from
attending The Special Event, keeping in touch with great people in our
industry and having fun every day. Although I don't work in the
day to day "Sales Department" any longer I do however
experience many challenges every day which keeps everything
interesting.
Q) How many people work at
Pedersen's?
A) 40 FULL TIME AND 8 PART TIME with 35,000 in warehouse space
Our Seattle operation that opened in 2001
has 38 full time staff and 12 part time staff with 30,000 in warehouse
space (I know we grew quickly)
Q) What industries do you
serve?
A) We serve the corporate special event and charity markets primarily
but we do social events and weddings as well.
Q) Has the film business in Vancouver had an
influence on the Special Event business, like ideas and effects cross-overs?
A) The film business is not our primary focus. They use our
rentals for the set decoration area of films but nothing else.
Q) How do you keep up with
trends in the event business?
A) I keep our company ahead of trends when I can. I do research
by travel, looking at the way retail marketing trends are going and of
coarse I listen to my customers and staff. We are in a good
position to develop niche markets as well as react to their ever
changing needs
Q) Do you have a global
perspective in conducting your industry research?
A) Yes we sure do. A lot of the trends
we see on a global level. i.e. the
fashion industry from Europe is
usually 3 years ahead of the West Coast of North America we try to
predict what colors, textures and types of events will be the most
popular and bring in the inventory to service it. We also use the
global perspective when making environmental decisions for our
business. We are converting all our washing and drying equipment
to energy efficient machinery saving energy. We are looking for more
alternatives that are cost efficient for packaging and the Rental
business IS this MOST environmentally friendly industry in the world
and has been for many years. Rentals has
been taking environmental leadership in our industry for many years
longer than the trendy "sustainability" buzz that we hear in
media and marketing materials.
Q) What trends are you seeing
developing in the Vancouver
area?
A) The trend has always been a classic, simple approach to event
design. People are no long wasting resources on things they don't
really need. I am not sure if that is budget driven or the
minimalists approach, but either way clean lines are really popular
right now. "Green" the color is also popular and
"Green" talk about the environment is HUGE right now.
Q) What's next for
Pedersen's?
A) After we opened our 3rd office 6 years ago I have been quoted in
saying. "No more expansion I have enough to do!" having said
that, we as a company are always looking for new opportunity and new
markets to service, but only if it makes sense and fits in the mold of
our company vision. There are no current plans right now but we seem to
be sending a few orders into Portland
Oregon so I guess you
never know when the opportunity comes. I always have my nose to
the ground so you never know.
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