Luxury Mirrors…Found in the Most Elegant
Homes and Hotels in the World 
Kimball & Young, Inc., of Dublin, CA, has been selling high quality mirrors in North America since the mid-1980s. The company’s products include wall and vanity mirrors, make-up mirrors, and hand and travel mirrors with a range of magnification and a variety of long-lasting finishes. In addition to being available by catalog, on-line and in such retail stores as Bed Bath and Beyond, Kimball & Young products are in demand in high-end hotels like Hilton, Starwood, Ritz-Carlton and Trump Hotels, as well as resort properties in Dubai and Macau.
When dealing with such a varied distribution network, maintaining excellent customer service had always been a hallmark for company President Christy Winter. Until engaging IFS, all aspects of the San Francisco Bay area-business were handled in-house, “to make sure that everything was done to our standards,” Christy explained.
In December 2007, Christy did some research about the fulfillment business through a Google Search. She made inquires to about 20 companies to learn more about available services and to find a possible resource to support her company’s sales efforts. In spite of it being the busy holiday season, she soon received a reply from IFS President Keith Milburn.
Within minutes of beginning their conversation, Christy knew that Keith “got it,” she said. “He clearly understood what concerns I would have and explained that IFS had the systems and processes in place to fill all our business needs.”
Not wanting to leave anything to chance, Christy decided to give IFS a try by sending them some of Kimball & Young’s most challenging products as a trial. “I figured if they could handle orders for these SKUs, they could handle our other products just fine,” she explained. To her delight, IFS handled the orders, fulfillment and customer service issues beautifully.
Since Kimball & Young started using IFS for all of its fulfillment services in 2008, Christy says that the company has more than met expectations regarding their level of customer service and accuracy in filling and shipping orders. “The transition to IFS has been as seamless as I could have wanted,” she said.
“Keith and his staff have maintained the same level of attention to detail and service that my staff in California had established for our customers,” she continued. “In fact, we have seen less variance in our inventory and fewer shipping errors than when we were doing the fulfillment ourselves. This has generated strong credibility for IFS among my staff and has made the transition much easier for everyone.”
Keith enjoys working with Kimball & Young, Inc. “We are delighted to have added Kimball & Young’s products to our existing client mix. Their high quality mirrors are very complementary with the other companies we serve and it is a pleasure to work with their team.
As of 2010, Kimball & Young is in the process of transitioning to a new name, Aptations. For more information, visit www.kimballyoung.com.