In a candid interview, Kevin Murray of California-based showroom Purcell Murray discusses the company’s four-decade journey, overcoming challenges, and what’s ahead for the company and the industry.

By Sharon Edelson

Since its founding in 1981, Purcell Murray has strived to be on the industry’s cutting edge, looking at technologies that were on the horizon and building partnerships with brands.

When it opened, the showroom’s goal was to become the exclusive distributor of Litton microwaves in the Bay Area — just as the appliances were becoming essential to kitchens. Today, the company is a full-service kitchen, bath and outdoor showroom and distributor serving the Western U.S. Kevin Murray, an owner of the long-tenured firm, spoke about the company’s evolution and what he sees happening in the market now and in the future.

Founded by his father, Tim Murray, and Tim’s business partner, Larry Purcell, the company is now run by Kevin and his brother, Matt Murray, with input from Tim, who is retired, but still engaged.

In the Eighties, Tim Murray wanted to take the business more upscale. “He learned first-hand that it takes the same energy to move a high-end box as a commodity box,” his son said. “He started with microwaves and began importing brands such as Creda, Modern Made and Litton in the early Eighties.”

The elder Murray always had a good eye for importing the new and the next. Purcell Murray began representing La Cornue, a brand of handmade ovens whose prices can reach well into five figures, and pioneered Wolf ranges, which have been made by the same family for 50 years.

“There was a somewhat unknown company named Bosch that manufactured four dishwasher models,” Murray said. “They wanted to come to the U.S. from Germany, and we took them on.”

Bosch was part of the B/S/H portfolio, which soon included Thermador and Gaggenau. “All of a sudden, we were a large distributor of three incredible brands,” Murray said.

Popular holdovers from the Eighties include U-Line, which has cornered the under-the-counter refrigeration market, and Hestan’s chef-proven performance product lineup.

Bertazzoni, which marries the authenticity of 19th century Italian craftsmanship with state-of-the art engineering, has grown from a small brand to a full suite of cooking and refrigeration appliances and dishwashers with the help of Purcell Murray. In fact, the Italian brand’s first Casa Bertazzoni Experience Center in the U.S. recently opened in San Francisco, and was developed in partnership with Purcell Murray.

Kevin Murray answered five pressing questions for the industry and his company.

NKBA: What is one of the biggest challenges of being an importer and distributor?

Kevin Murray: “As far as the challenge to two-step distribution, manufacturers will try to find a good distributor to go to market and achieve what they want to achieve faster or more cost-effectively. Our relationships with our retailers and dealers are the strongest on the West Coast. I think we have strong credibility and have a very good track record of bringing products to market in a successful and consistent way that makes sense for our retail dealer partners.

“However, in distribution, brands can be acquired or as volume increases, some may choose to use their own warehousing and sales force, which is why we continue to always be on the lookout for new and innovative products. We firmly believe there will always be luxury brands seeking great distribution options.”

NKBA: What are you doing to mitigate supply-chain challenges?

KM: We’re different from a lot of distributors in that we really invest in the market. We define ourselves as a marketing and sales company that supports distribution, and if we can create demand for those products, that’s always been the key to our success. Most of our vendor relationships are over multiple decades. When we look for partners, it’s other family-owned businesses with succession plans. The supply chain has been tough. We’re doing better than most. We are aggressively investing in inventory and lead with a consistent message of what we do have in stock. It can take four to eight months before the product arrives and all we can do is buy as much as we can ahead of time. The number-one thing we can do to help our dealers is have inventory, which is why we have 250,000 square feet of warehouse space throughout the Western U.S.

NKBA: Are exclusives possible in this day and age?

KM: We’re seeing a lot of lift with our brands that aren’t available at Home Depot and Lowe’s, which put a lot of price pressure on the independent dealer base. The shared brands with big box stores are even harder to get. The combination of Purcell Murray investing in inventory and partnering with brands that are exclusive to the independent dealers has worked out very well.

NKBA: What’s currently trending and what’s the next big thing in premium appliances?

KM: We helped open the first Bertazzoni branded showroom in the U.S. adjacent to our showroom, which is exciting to see. The other brand that’s looking around the corner of where the industry is going is Zip Water. The idea of instantly dispensing boiling, chilled and sparkling water at the touch of a button is very popular. It’s an under-counter appliance where you can pick the design and finish of the dispenser tap. It’s the product that’s taken off the fastest for us. It’s priced at about $5,000, and I’ve yet to find anyone who blinks at the price.

Outdoor kitchens are booming. Partly due to the pandemic, the category has really taken off over the last two years. Between the three brands we distribute — Coyote, Aspire and Hestan — we offer good, better, best solutions that allow consumers to create the outdoor kitchen of their dreams.

Induction cooking continues to be a big trend. The average consumer doesn’t know what it is and feels it’s a downgrade from gas, but we see induction cooking growing. Hestan and Bertazzoni indoor induction offerings are very impressive.

NKBA: What changes that you implemented during the pandemic will stick as we move beyond COVID-19 restrictions?

KM: In the beginning, when you couldn’t go into stores and showrooms, we went to 30-minute product knowledge Zoom training classes. We knew people needed to feel engaged in an unknown time, so we were doing this weekly. We had 3,000 participants. Coming out of that, we saw attendance start to drop, so we dropped it from weekly to once a month. We want to protect our employees, so it’s always masks and social distancing. In person, we have small events and tours. We’re not doing large events. For now, we’ll have smaller, more intentional groups.

This article has been updated and was originally published on November 3, 2021.