6 minute read
French Shows Have A Lot To Offer
Building products retailers who dismiss foreign trade shows as mundane with no application to their business in the U.S. are missing an opportunity to explore new thinking and innovative products.
The do-it-yourself movement is not limited to America. As technology shrinks the world, people in all countries tend to experience similar trends. For example, France reports renovation gaining an increasing share of the market with a rapidly expanding d-i-y sector, certainly a parallel to the U.S.
Any provincialism on the part of your customers in their acceptance of foreign products for their homes has faded or is fading rapidly. Witness the popularity of the European style kitchen cabinets, appliances and faucets. Perhaps the influx of foreign cars has had an influence, but most Americans associate high fashion and reliability with products from Europe.
In many ways merchandising in the European home centers and the abundance of innovative d-i-y products surpass this country. Home automation, or "la domotique," as
For Your Calendar
Quojem - Sept. 22-25,1991
Batimat - Nov. 12-19, 1991
Expobois - March 1992 the French call it, embraces new materials and new uses of spatial dimensions and using new technologies to enhance the comfort and conve- nience of those living in the house. Automatic programing of lights, blinds, appliances, watering and security are augmented with a system that monitors the cost of utilities, allowing them to be programed to a particular cost level, contacts with the outside such as armchair shopping and an ability to book and purchase tickets for concerts, plays and sporting events from home. The concept is perhaps ahead of our Smart House.
All these shows are world class exhibitions held in Paris, France. Quojem deals with d-i-y products and distribulion. Batimat covers building and building products and systems. Expobois concentrates on wood, wood products and applications.
New materials and changes in traditional materials are an important part of an overseas trade show. For example, considerable progress has been made in synthetic materials for piping, kitchen and bathroom fittings, joinery and such. Composite materials and fiber reinforced materials also have attracted the attention of builders in Europe.
Building products shows, whether they are held in Spain, England, Scandinavia or France, attract a large and international audience. Batimat, which is held in Paris every two years, grows each year with 607,905 visitors registered at the last event. Attendees came from the Continent.
Central and South America, the Orient and North America.
Meeting with dealers from many countries offers an opportunity for exciting dialogue. The exchange of ideas is as important as the opportunity to discover new products. Traveling to these overseas shows will allow you to develop dynamic ways of making your store a special spot.
Manville Changes Name
Manville Forest Products, Atlanta, Ga., has changed its name to Riverwood International Corp.
The company will operate through five divisions: wood products (lumber and plywood), paperboard, packaging, Brazil and international. Thomas H. Johnson is president.
Cal State ls Top Latino Firm
"We had overnight success-it just took us over 27 years," commented Manuel Acevedo upon learning that his family's Cal State Lumber Sales had been named the largest Latino-owned firm in the state and the 12th biggest in the United States.
Founded in 1984 by brothers Benedict and Victor Acevedo, the company has 77 employees including many family members. Sales for 1990 were $104 million with l99l expected to top $ I 20 million. Moulding and millwork sales have been bolstered by the completion of an expansion at their Tijuana, Mexico, mill, which allows Cal State to receive over 50 trucks of product each day at their San Ysidro, Ca., plant. The company is no relation to Cal State Forest Products. Anaheim. Ca. Hispanic Business Magazine, a Santa Barbara, Ca., publication, released the ranking.
Store Music Beef
Stores broadcasting music from local radio stations are infringing on copyright laws, ASCAP and BMI say. A license is needed if the music is played over any system larger than one normally used in a home. Many dealers have received warning letters or visits from these organizations.
Cross Merchandising Sells More, Makes Shopping Fun
With consumers continuing to exhibit caution, retailers need to go the extra mile to drive sales.
"Today more than ever, cross merchandising products can provide the tonic many retailers need to rejuvenate lackluster bottom lines," said John M. Kawula, Point of Purchase Advertising Institute.
He noted that many retailers utilize cross merchandising to a limited extent, mostly in basic store layout. For instance, paint and turpentine can usually be found in close proximity in a home improvement center. However, "the potential for effective cross merchandisine is limitless when retailers bring displays onto the selling floor."
Cross merchandising needn't be confined to simply displaying related products in close proximity. Interactive units can also yield effective cross merchandising.
He cited one interactive unit used in home improvement centers that helps do-it-yourselfers plan the construction of a deck. The unit provides consumers with myriad product suggestions that can be found in the store, from nails to stain to a deck lighting system.
Creative use of cross merchandising can enhance a store's excitement level and make the shopping experience more pleasurable.
"Studies have shown that when customers perceive a store as fun and exciting, sales will increase by 15 to 200/0," he commented. "Cross merchandising will also help consumers find the merchandise they are looking for, eliminating some of the 6.7% of sales that studies have shown can be lost if a customer has trouble locating his desired items."
Back Support Lowers Injudes
Almost nine months after instituting a program of supplying each employee with a back support belt, Home Depot says the plan to lower workers' compensation costs is working.
Whether a cashier or a worker on the unloading dock, each employee wears a belt similar in design to those worn by weight-lifters. The belt supports the discs and muscles in the lumbar (lower) back area to prevent injuries.
Keith Rosenblum, Home Depot director of safety, reports preliminary figures showing a back injury reduction of at least 30 to 400/0. A video showing proper movement techniques is used in conjunction with the belt.
After adjusting to wearing the belt, employees are enthusiastic about the results. Many say that they tire less and feel better at the end of the day.
A new market has developed as customers asked where the support could be purchased. Home Depot now sells back support belts.
AllG[Y about an article 0r program slanted to give an unlavorable impression of the safety ol pressure treated wood? Let the editor or radio 0r tv station manager know your views. lf you have trouble putting your ideas into words, use this sample letter to the editor written by Huck DeVenzio at Hickson Corp. lt can be used or modified to express your personal views.
Saxple Letter To Editor
( If the offending artj.cLe covered be addressed in greater det.ail. can also be added. ) n6ri Fdit^r. specific issues, they should Personal and Iocal observations
Your recently published articLe. " suggests that there are serious hazar pressure-treated wood, s concern n9 use of Such suggestions could cause unnecessary alarn to the nil,Iions of consurners who enjoy their backyard decks and who have uged treated wood for decades in hundreds of applications. In the case of CcA-treated wood (the t.ype purchased for nost residential projects). the historical record and nurnerous laboratory studles have shown that this r{ood is harnless to people, plants and pets when used as reconnended.
The Environnental Protection Agency conducted a nine-year investigation of treated wood and found that the benefits outvreigh any risks. EPA made only a few nodest reconnendations (e.9,, wear gloves !o avoid splinters, use goggles !o protect eyes against flying particLes, \rear a dust mask to avoid inhaling sawdust) -- nearly alL of which apply equally well to the use of untreated wood. Copies of these reconnendations are distributed by Iumber outlets.
CCA-treaCed wood has been used in mushroon trays. toBalo stakes, flower boxes, Lobster traps and bird houses without adverse effect,s. The CCA preservative is highly leach resistan!t it bonds chemically with the wood, locking it inside. this is why CCA-treated wood lasts so long.
This Iongevity conserves trees. The Southern Forest Products Association estimates that, without pressure-treated wood. an idditional 226,000,000 merchantable trees rouldbe required annually to replace decayed or tertnite-infested wood products.
TreateC wood comes fron plentiful species of a renewable resource. The treating process extends the Iife of that resource for at least as Iong as it takes replacenent lumber to be grown and cut. And treated wood can be safely used by following sinple recommendaCions that are mostly comnon sense.
Sincerely,
MItt
The Entire West
Dovid Billingsley
Croig Kincoid
George Hommonn
Fox 916-624-9175
19161 624-8222 lsoof 32r-1706
Chuck Story
Kevin Prott
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