For 75 years, SoCal has relied on Snyder Diamond for all its luxury kitchen, bath and outdoor needs. From fridges, ranges, dishwashers, washing machines and other large appliances to decorative plumbing fixtures like faucets and shower heads, bathtubs and cabinetry hardware, Snyder Diamond has SoCal covered.
Now, as the pioneering luxury kitchen and bath store celebrates its Diamond Jubilee, the Snyder Diamond Builder’s Division is coming out from behind the counter and making its name known. Started in 2019, the Builder’s Division has experienced over 50% over the last two years and represents a rapidly-growing segment of Snyder Diamond’s overall business. TRD sat down with the Builder’s Division’s leadership to learn how they’ve leveraged Snyder Diamond’s legacy of excellence as well as products from BSH brands like Gaggenau, Thermador and Bosch to bring a higher quality to service to SoCal’s builder community.
75 Years of Snyder Diamond
Founded in 1949 to serve the growing Los Angeles housing market, Snyder Diamond has always been at the forefront of bringing high-end and high quality kitchen, bath, outdoor, plumbing and hardware products and brands to homeowners, builders, and other design-trade professionals. With four showrooms located around SoCal, including the newly-opened Solana Beach location, Snyder Diamond remains independently and family-owned, consummately dedicated to its philosophy to “always be first with what’s next.”
“We’ve spent the past 75 years serving interior designers, architects, builders/contractors, developers, and four generations of homeowners,” says President Russ Diamond. “Our Diamond Jubilee, celebrating 75 years in business, is a testament to the longevity of being a closely held family business that is embedded in the fabric of LA for the design, building and repair trades.”
Snyder Diamond was the first company to put complete vignette-style displays in their showrooms back in the 1960s, allowing customers to get a sense of what appliances and fixtures would look like in their own home. The company has maintained that same dedication to innovation as it built out its additional showrooms across SoCal.
“We’re constantly remodeling our showrooms to keep up with the market,” explains VP of Sales Jojo Guevara. “If you saw it in a magazine or a movie and you want to look at it in person, go to Snyder Diamond. We have the latest and greatest products right there.”
While Snyder Diamond has been on the leading edge of showroom displays and technical expertise for three quarters of a century, their Builder’s Division is a relatively new endeavor. The team was launched to meet the growing demands of builders and developers who were pivoting to higher density multifamily projects in response to the housing crisis mounting in Southern California.
“Our builder team is out in the field,” explains Diamond, “walking job sites, visiting the offices of trade professionals, and providing the service and hands-on management required to manage the complexities of these projects.”
A Diamond in the Rough
Diamond tapped Guevara to be the Builder’s Division’s first member back in 2019. Guevara and Builder’s Division Director Brian Cousens remember the team’s humble beginnings.
“It was just myself driving around, looking for cranes, looking for trash bins outside, looking for green fencing,” recalls Guevara with a laugh. He soon brought Snyder Diamond Pasadena Showroom Manager Cousens on as Director, and the pair spent a year taking the division from being non-existent to pulling in a million dollars in sales by pounding the pavement day after day.
“Our biggest asset is our people,” says Guevara. “We know our products. We know how to source them. We know how to operate them. That’s a big deal.”
“We were literally cruising through Koreatown just looking for projects,” remembers Cousens, who told TRD about squeezing through construction fencing and walking up two by fours looking for contractors to pitch. “There wasn’t anything we weren’t willing to do to get new business.”
The strategy worked, and soon the Builder’s Division was supporting projects with Snyder Diamond’s trademark combination of deep brand and product expertise and unrivaled customer support at every point in the client journey, on every project big or small.
“Our biggest asset is our people,” says Guevara. “We know our products. We know how to source them. We know how to operate them. That’s a big deal.”
The Snyder Diamond Difference
Even as the Builder’s Division’s sales skyrocketed, their personal touch and attention to detail remained the same. Soon they were supplying major projects around SoCal, including a series of buildings by leading LA developer ONNI Group.
“Snyder Diamond not only provides competitive pricing,” says Tammie Le, Project Engineer at ONNI Group. “Jojo and his team are kind and always there to help with anything we need.”
Le says that the Builder’s Division was “miraculously” able to handle two simultaneous projects, one in Long Beach and the other in Hollywood, totaling 774 units, and that Snyder Diamond is currently installing appliances in a 55-story, 685 unit highrise in Downtown LA for the Group.
Unlike other Builder Teams, Snyder Diamond’s relationship with a building doesn’t end when the tenants move in. Throughout the installation process, the Builder’s Division maintains a list of serial numbers for each appliance, which they will integrate into a building’s management software to streamline the repair and maintenance process.
“In case there’s any issue, you can always reach out to us first,” explains Cousens. “But we also give you all the info you’re going to need to get something resolved for each and every unit that we supply for.”
It’s the kind of attention to detail that explains why ONNI Group and SoCal custom home giant ARYA Group Inc remain loyal Snyder Diamond Clients.
Building with BSH
Snyder Diamond has always prided itself on staying ahead of the game when it comes to stocking the latest appliances, and the Bosch, Gaggenau and Thermador brands have long been part of its repertoire.
“BSH has been a great partner supporting Snyder Diamond with responsive service, creative marketing/branding and innovating with best-in-class products,” says Diamond.
The Builder’s Division has installed Bosch, Gaggenau and Thermador in a variety of projects around the SoCal region and has come to rely not only on the brands’ quality and reputation but also their legendary service. Guevara told TRD how Thermador in particular has been an amazing partner.
“The team at Thermador, they’re professionals. I get chills just thinking about how good they are,” he says. “When we need someone out there, they show up in 48 hours with parts. That’s unheard of. They make us look good.”
To learn how Snyder Diamond can support your next SoCal building project, swing by their Santa Monica, Van Nuys, Pasadena, or new Solana Beach showroom, or call their Santa Monica flagship store at 310-450-1000.