The Paint Dealer Magazine

                                 October, 1997

FREGOSI PAINT San Francisco, CA   They’ve never advertised, yet people have heard of them all the way across California from San Francisco to Nevada.  For years, they didn’t even have a front counter, and they didn’t need one.  When Jim Fregosi, Sr. started his business, he delivered the paint himself.  To this day, most of the paint and sundries that roll out of Fregosi’s San Francisco warehouse are taken directly to the customer.

Fregosi Paint has someone in at 5:30 a.m. to make phone calls and their trucks are out the door by 6:30 a.m.  “We’ve got to get the product to the customer” says Jim Fregosi, Jr.  He’s been with the business since college.  His father started Fregosi Paint in a 400 square foot warehouse that serviced three customers in 1975.  Having previously worked for W.P. Fuller and L & H Paint for many years, he had a lot of knowledge from all of his experience.  Besides Jim, Jr. working part time, his dad had only one other employee.  Over time, the business grew to 1,500 square feet with many more customers.  Some property became available in 1986 and they opened a wholesale distribution center giving them 14,000 square feet.

Fregosi Paint grew because Fregosi, Sr. went out to the contractor, knew the product well, solved problems and brought the product right to his customer’s doorstep.  In San Francisco, that creates its own set of problems with traffic and parking.

Like most paint dealers, Fregosi will brag about his customer service, but he’s also not afraid to delineate what that word means.  “First of all” he says, “we sell what the customer wants, not what we want to sell.  You want a product made by so and so, we get it!”  A manufacturer’s rep will always find an open door at this 7th & Folsom operation.  “We’re open to every vendor in the territory who wants to say hello to us” he said.  “We’re willing to put every spec sheet and product in our system that’s available from the west.”  That’s the one stipulation – a product has to be readily available.  “Local inventories that are immediately accessible to us are becoming an issue.”

Of course, another part of service is product knowledge which the Fregosi’s are happy to share to anyone willing to buy their product.  “Our inside people are trained and knowledgeable which makes it easy for the outside guys to find customers,” he says.  “It’s all word of mouth, we cold call, we build relationships, we feel we know our product lines very well.  We spend a lot of time in the field looking at the work, getting to understand it, and offering our suggestions.” 

A lot of Fregosi’s profits come from items that no one else carries like specialty products.  He cited 3M as an example.  “They have the most innovative product line out there!”  “We brought in every new item they came out with.”  They have received a 3M recognition award every year.  “New products allow you to make money.  You’ve got to demonstrate them at the counter, in the field…the strength of our marketing has come from going out and finding the customer and trying to offer him suggestions.” 

Finding the customer is what Fregosi is all about.  They find their business anywhere there’s a surface to coat.  Industrial trade centers, hotels, country clubs, and food manufacturers, mall shops and the scenic industry – a large business in San Francisco.

Fregosi Paint also knows what tough times are all about. They faced the most incredible environmental nightmare when their warehouse burned to the ground in 1994.  They are still dealing with lawyers, insurance companies, and all the damage created when hundreds of thousands of dollars of materials smoldered into an unrecognizable mass of rubble.  “Being a paint store is fun; the regulatory side is making it very un-fun” says Fregosi.  The problem exists because Fregosi is doing business in a restrictive area of California where it seems like just about anything can be classified as a hazardous material.  As much as possible, Fregosi puts that behind him.  “We choose to stay in the business because it’s what we know.  It’s in our blood.  I like lifting paint cans, and I like the industry.”

Fregosi Paint’s success proves that some old fashioned methods of operating still work today – like offering quality products, innovative products, responsive service, problem solving now-how and a willingness to listen to their customers.  All of the above combined with a determination to get better every day means Fregosi is going to be a factor for years to come.  Purdy is proud to count them among our many loyal customers who bring extra value to the paint industry.