Ten years ago, Steve Pippy and Peter Ruetz put their 35-year
friendship to the test and became the co-owners of DirectBuy of
Greater Vancouver in Coquitlam.
Ten years later, the friendship that began in grade school in
Kitchener, Waterloo, Ontario some 45 years earlier, is well in
tact. During that same timeframe, DirectBuy has become the leading
members-only showroom and home design center that offers
merchandise at manufacturer-direct prices while showing consumers a
brand new way to save on home improvement projects, furnishings and
accessories.
It was Ruetz who had the idea for the pair to purchase a DirectBuy franchise after hearing of his cousin’s success as owner of a DirectBuy franchise in Calgary—the first-ever Canadian location for DirectBuy. With his marketing background, Pippy, who had moved to British Columbia in his early twenties a few years after Ruetz left Ontario, liked DirectBuy’s concept, so the pair jumped at the opportunity and there’s been no looking back.
“DirectBuy’s growth from those first few years has been unbelievable. We’ve experienced a quadruple-digit growth of more than a 900 percent increase in membership sales and volume in merchandise,” said Peter Ruetz, co-owner of DirectBuy of Greater Vancouver. “Beyond the growth in the number of customers, we now have more than 500 manufacturers selling their products through DirectBuy, so the value of a membership here has increased tenfold.”
To celebrate their decade in business, DirectBuy of Greater Vancouver has embarked on a year’s worth of community activities to help non-profits and charitable organizations benefit from DirectBuy offerings. That’s included taking part in the 10 by 10 Challenge, a movement promoting the hiring of persons with disabilities.
“Over the ten years, we’ve not only built a team of employees who know their stuff, but are great fun to work with,” said Ruetz. “Ten years after we started this business, I still can’t wait to get to work every day.”
Since 1971, DirectBuy franchises have offered members the opportunity to enjoy enormous savings on home furnishings, home improvement items, entertainment and outdoor products and accessories by buying wholesale, directly from the manufacturer. With four convenient locations in the greater Vancouver area (Victoria, Vancouver, Coquitlam, and Kelowna), consumers can enjoy a comfortable, country-club setting, where they finally have the financial control of buying direct.
For more information on DirectBuy, you can call 1-800-DIRECTBUY
or visit
www.directbuy.com.
About DirectBuy
Since 1971, DirectBuy has helped hundreds of thousands of families
enjoy a better quality of life, enabling them to buy directly from
more than 500 manufacturers and their authorized suppliers. Buying
direct enables members’ hard-earned money to go much further, while
having the selection and choice not available at any retail store.
DirectBuy has been serving the greater Vancouver area since 1997.
Access to confidential prices, local suppliers and unparalleled
selection helps make members’ dream projects a reality. It’s a
comfortable, country-club setting, where you finally have the
financial control of buying direct. The four DirectBuy showrooms
serving the greater Vancouver area are part of more than 150
franchise locations throughout North America.
