4 minute read
HOME GENTER MERGHANT
BILL FISHMAN
Bill Fishman & Affiliates 11650 lberia Place San Diego, Ca.92128
f HIS MONTH the theme through! out the home center industry has been CUSTOMER SERVICE. I'm all for customer service. As a consumer I think it's great! As a marketer I know "service" is a terrific image to project. But, to face reality, service is only one small part of the "store wars" being fought among home centers and building material dealers.
Stand outside the exit of any large chain warehouse store and watch the shopping carts and the lumber carts roll by. Take notice of the shoppers. Maybe these do-it-yourselfers and project installers have switched their "fashion" purchases from the May Co., Buffums, Broadway, etc. to Nordstrom because of their superior service, but it is the big bucks that they save (or perceive they save) that brings them to the warehouse store.
Service alone is not enough! The lumber and building material dealers, the independent and small chain home center operators need to sharpen merchandising skills to compete with the giants.
Look at it from the shopper's point of view. The warehouse chain offers a greater selection than the neighborhood store. Their back-up inventories are larger. The shopper reasons he stands a good chance of getting everything he needs in one trip. What's more, on a $200 purchase he thinks he can probably buy it for $20 to $80 less. He'll put up with a lot of mediocre service for that kind of savings.
Superior service alone is not enough. To be a power in the market today the independent must learn to out-buy, outprice, out-merchandise, out-display, out-service and out-advertise all the competition. Impossible? To some maybe. But it ,s being done by a few in- dependents. They are the budding giants of tomorrow.
Programmed buying is the key to outpricing the competition. Negotiate shrewdly and fairly with suppliers. They'll help. Suppliers are not interested in seeing the giants get more powerful. Approach suppliers with concepts that will help them move more of their products off your shelves and they will offer lots of support.
The independent is in a position to exercise greater control and flexibility in merchandising. The multi-store chain is hampered by communication links. The independent can turn on a dime.
So what? So the independents can more easily merchandise the local weather, unseasonal trends, national fads and local governmental and environmental regulations. It is easier for the independent to attract local shoppers.
Hang tough. If the store war gets nasty. get nasty. Use special buys to counteract the competition's claim of overall lower prices. Learn how to promote price sensitive items as loss leaders and make up the lost margins on accessories.
Be sure that the advantages of shopping your showroom are not the best
(Please turn to page 24)
WAYNE GARDNER executive vice president
AF-EW years ago the American Socil{ety of Association Executives suggested to its members that legislative activity would become one of the most important benefits that associations could provide to their members.
Not all members of ASAE were sure it would be the case. We were watchful, but not apprehensive, interested but not zealous in our efforts.
And then came the "spotted owl." Out of nowhere came injunctions against timber sales, affecting millions of board feet of lumber and countless thousands of jobs in Oregon, Washington and Northern California. As a part of the lumber industry in these Western United States, your job may be next. This hulabaloo isn't going to be restricted to the virgin forests of the Northwest. It's going to be felt throughout the industry.
In a series of meetings throughout
Southern California, members of LASC were given pieces of information on the timber supply issue and urged to take action. Action in the form of letters to your congressman in Washington, D.C. The association has written, has sent material, will write more and will make some personal calls. But it is more important and more meaningful for you, as a member of the lumber industry, to write or call your congressman and tell him how this "spotted owl" issue is affecting you, a voter, personally.
In addition you need to get other people from your company interested in writing letters to their congressmen. It may be the same one you have. So much the better. If each member of the House of Representatives gets one to a dozen letters on the same issue from voters, they are going to take notice. And they may put you on a list for donations later on, so that's not all bad either.
At the state level some 5000 separate bills are introduced at the beginning of the legislative season. Many of these could have an effect on the lumber and
Wbuilding material business. Western Building Material Dealers Association, of which LASC is a part, reviews all these bills and takes a position on each bill relative to the industry. We are presently opposing, among others, a bill by Assemblyman Sher having to do with clear cutting in California. This is just one ofa couple ofhundred we have positioned ourselves on, all on behalf of the lumber industry.
Nationally, NLBMDA has a legislative advocate in Washington, D.C. This person constantly feeds information to LASC on legislation. NLBMDA has become a part of the American Forest Resource Alliance, which is a group of lumber oriented groups in Washington. Timber availability is their main concern and they will be walking the hallowed halls ofCongress to get the issues settled so that timber is available and jobs are maintained.
You can be a part of this by writing to your congressman now and suggesting that fellow employees do the same. Your efforts along with the American Forest Resource Alliance will keep us all operating.
Legislation will be a big part of all of activities, associations as well as individuals. Thanks to the democratic process we have this opportunity. Avail yourself of it. Speak up now. Write that letter. Show an interest and get better legislation. You deserve it.
