Home Center Merchant

Bill Fishman

Bill Fishman & Affiliates

1'1650 lberia Place San Diego, Ca.92128 you must starl your unloading boxcars."

RADITION! Remember the song

I "Tradition" from "Fiddler On the Roof"? I've always had mixed emotions about those lyrics. While I find tradition warm and comforting in culture, I've been bothered by tradition in business. I've always considered tradition in business as a deterrent to progress. I've always had a fear that as I matured, I too would succumb to tradition. Most of the time I've been able to accept change. This week I found it difficult.

The home center and lumber and building material industry has been fraught with tradition. I've seen, and sometimes been a party to, the overthrow of some that had made "lumberyards" poor retail merchants. I've watched other traditions remain unbudged' ln the traditions of the lumberyard of the 1960 s it was dictated that: o "To be a successful lumberman o "Paneling is sold by foot. " career by the square o "Lumberyard store hours are 7:30 to 4:30 daily and 7:30 to noon on Saturday. " o "The retail lumber business is recession proof."

O "Offer your own credit terms. Visa and Master Card are unnecessary. " a "Customersmust not bepermitted to select their own dimension lumber from the bunks." o "Do-it-yourselfers do not install roofing." o "To have a comPlete selection, paneling must be stocked in 7 ft. and 8 ft. heights." a "Plumbers don't shoP in building material stores."

As a consultant, the one tradition I've perpetuated is "Guard your lumber im- agefor ns goes lumberso goes the rest of the store. " I learned that in my early days at Forest City in Cleveland. As we opened new stores we took extreme care to visually merchandise the floor with a major representation of lumber and building materials. Our store layouts dictated that lumber & building material display occupy 5090 ofthe store up front immediately left or right of the store entrance.

Some years I left unspent huge amounts of accrued major appliance coop advertising so as not to overshadow our lumber image in the newspaper. We were even able to accurately project the growth pattern of new stores by whether the new store manager came from the lumber or non-lumber side of the business. Those new units whose store manager was lumber-experienced matured faster.

Well, this week the company announced that the Forest City stores will be reformatted and that product emphasis will be changed to offer their cu$omers what their current surveys indicate they are seeking elsewhere. Lumber and building material will no longer occupy their previous share of floor space.

The company decision is most likely very considered and will probably prove profitable, but it's still a difficult one for me to accept. I kind of liked that old tradition. It sure wore well when success was measured in millions of dollars of retail volume.

It's evidently a very different game in the hundreds of millions of dollars ballpark. But then again, maybe we're not talking about the lumber and building material business nnymore.

National Dealer Convention

The 67th annual convention of the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association at The Pointe, Phoenix, Az., Oct. 8-12, will follow the theme "Pointes to Progress. "

"This convention is just one more step in the momentum this industry and the nation are experielicing during this economic recovery," says Dean K. Leaman, chairman. "The program includes many fine speakers and a number of timely topics designed to help you, the building material retailer, keep the recovery momentum going through the rest of the decade. "

In addition to committee meetings, there will be a series of dealer services workshops touching on selecting new products, new locations, cutting delivery costs, passing on the family business and doing a better job of selling.

Speakers will include William J. White, president and c.e.o. of Masonite Corp., Art Linkletter and Robert H. Michel, Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Remodeling Remains Strong

As the nation's housing industry pulls out from its worst slump since World War II, remodeling will continue to be an important adjunct to the new and existing home market, panelists at a National Association of Home Builders economic conference said recently.

Michael Sumichrast, senior staff vice president and chief economist, NAHB, predicted that residential property owners would spend 947.4 billion this year on the remodeling, maintenance, and repair of their homes. When non-residential upkeep and improvements are added, remodeling expenditures in 1983 could total $82 billion, exceeding the $63 billion expected to be spent on the construction of new homes.

As a result of the cyclical nature of the home building industry and the depth and duration ofthe latest housing recession, greater numbers of builders have begun to diversify their activities into the remodeling and rehabilitation area, he said. About 37s/o of the NAHB membership was involved to some extent in remodeling during 1982, compared to only ll9o in 1969.

Donald Spear, editor and publisher, CMR Associates, said that the resale market was the driving force behind the remodeling industry and that rqsidents who had lived in their homes six years or less were responsible for half of remodeling business. Remodeling activity had declined during the past recession in tandem with declines in existing home sales, he said.

In inflated dollars, remodeling per unit in 1983 will rise to about $650, according to Paul Rappaport, president, PNR & Associates. However, the market is leveling off and "the future doesn't look bright in terms of constant dollar expenditures."

Liquidation Plan Proceeding

When the Masonite Corp. spun off its timberlands and mills into a limited partnership called Timber Realization Company, it had a five year period in which to accomplish the liquidation. The proceeds will be distributed proportionately among the Masonite shareholders who became limited partners in TRC when the new company was formed.

Now, approximately one year after TRC's formation on August 26, 1982, a little less than half the timberlands in the South have either been sold or optioned. Great Northern Nekoosa recently took a $10 million option on 3590 of the total of all timberlands held by TRC's Southern Lumber Division. The option is expected to be exercised early in September. All of the division's timberlands are in Mississippi. Western timberlands are not involved in these proceedings.

Two of the sawmills have been sold to Southern Lumber Co., a Jackson, Ms., company formed recently by Floyd Sulser and William Dearman. The mills are in Crosby and Hermanville, Ms. The Crosby facility includes a treating plant.

The mills in Hattiesburg (which includes a treating plant), Wiggins, Laurel, and Quitman, Ms. are currently being operated by TRC's Southern Lumber Division. They continue to operate the cypress mill in Thibodaux, La.

Aeroquip Tie Down Systems for Flat Bed Trucks

STRAP ASSEITIBLY 491712A M5 27' x 132" 50(Xl lb. cap. Sale Price 320.(X1 ea.

FE8048.1

FE8O46-8 (wllh set screws)

STRAP ASSEMBLY FEl3204P32/&015 il10

27' x 13/" . 10,(X)0 lb. cap. Sale Prlce 325.(X1 ea.

Lumbermen'c Assocladon of Texac

P.O. Ad 5515, Aodr, Tr. 7t76 (5r2) at2'rr9a

Texas Topics

JOE BUTLER, SR. €fiecutlve vlce preddent

HE FOLLOWING was PrePared bY our attorney, Robert C. Bass, Jr. for disclaimer language for "take-offs" of building material estimates. The language should be added in a conspicuous placeon theestimate and in bold or clearly noticed type or print.