Home Center Merchant

BILL FISHMAN

Blll Fishman & Afllliates

1 1650.lberia Pt"!!. ^^ customer know that they are important. San Diego, Ca. 92128 Their help is trained ro be courteous and

TORES, like people, have Personalities. And like people, stores are friendly or cold, helpful or standoffish, sincere or not-to-be believed' Like people, stores have the personality that makes folks feel glad that they came-or feel that the store couldn'l care less.

Unlike people, however, a store's personality cannot be totally controlled by a single element. lt's a combination of merchandise, location, pricing, services, displays and how that total package is presented in the advertising and promotion that makes up a store's personality. You can put stores with similar characteristics side-by-side, but a slight variation in attitude can be the difference between making a customer feel comfortable or unwanted.

Neiman-Marcus, in spite of their exclusiveness, has the capacity to make their customers feel well attended. N-M's top management evidentlY mandates an employee attitude that lets everY to sell value.

On the other hand, Saks Fifth Avenue, with a similar location, displays, mer' chandise mix and pricing, makes us feel that our shopping there is an interruption of their non-selling duties. Their snotty sales ladies with the chains hanging from their eyeglasses sure know how to blow off customers.

Home centers and building material retailers have personality problems too' The most obvious is the advertising.

Only a few major chains have developed a style that is easily recognizable and the repetition of the "item and price" format of presenting merchandise is boring. Some of these retailers present ads that look dirty compared to their attractively merchandised stores, and, conversely, some classic attractive ads invite customers into what turns out to be a schlock store with shoddy merchandise.

It's time home center retailers put a stop to just "filling space" in their ads.

Bulldlng Prcduclr Dlgoet

The repetition of sde merchandise just to fill those weekly full page or multiple pagc ads is just cstablishing new low selling prices for those itcms.

Most home center eds do nothing to create sales. Instead they play the numbers game presenting as many items on a page as they can fit. The theory here is that they may reach the customer seeking a specific item on the date it's advertised. lt's likc publishing a weekly price list or catalog.

I get a kick out of reading the ads from the few creative advertisers in our industry. They sell ideas. Hechingers, Handyman, Lowe's, Rickels, Dixieline, Knox, Lampert and a handful ofothers, produce some excellent advertising presentations. While often they, too, get caught up in filling space with item-andprice ads, the long range effect of their idea selling makes their customers think of them first even on those days when no ads are scheduled.

As a retail operator, think of yourself as a juggler spinning plates. You have to run from plate to plate to keep'em from falling once you've got 'em started. It takes a constant vigil to keep all the elements up to your standards. The advertising, housekeeping, visual displays, signing, product knowledge training, sales training, store lighting and you know the rest of the list. One broken plate mars the personality of the store. Have you dropped any plates recently?