EDITORIAL

DAVID CUTI,ER publlsher

\1/OU see these kinds of screaming headlines I in retail advertising all the time. For years consumers took them with a grain of salt as government oflicials and regulators looked the other way, Only the most flagrant and abusive drew fire. But no more.

Regulators are taking an increasingly tough line about the accuracy of price claims in advertising. Consumer groups monitor prices more closely than ever before.

Even retail heavy hitters are not exempt. Sears, Roebuck & Co., Montgomery Ward & Co. and the J.C. Penny Co. have all been sued recently for "lowest price" claims in their advertising. The May Company of California, for example, recently paid a $295,000 fine after local district attorneys took exception to their advertising, asserting it was misleading consumers. The D.A.s charged that sale items had never been sold for the listed "original price."

In other instances merchandise was always sold at discounted prices. Another allegation was that sales advertised as lasting a limited time were actually underway for a far longer period.

In a recent National Advertising Review Board decision in a widely watched case, the board branded some of Montgomery Ward's ads as inaccurate and confusing. Ward has agreed to modify its ads within three months, but Better Business Bureaus across the country as well as District Attorneys and other regulators are expected to crack down hard on all retailers who mislead buyers. It's not hard to imagine an ambitious D.A. seeing cases like these as an easy method to gain cheap political capital.

The conclusion is obvious: more than ever before retailers must ensure that the claims they make in their advertising meet the ever stricter rules for price claims.

September 1988

Sequoia Supply Merges

Sequoia Supply, Irvine, Ca., has signed a letter of intent to merge with Grip-Rite Group, White Plains, N.Y., forming the country's largest privately held building materials distributor.

The deal, expected to close by Nov. I and subject to definitive agreements, financing and approvals, will increase Sequoia Supply's annual sales from $275 million to $425 million.

Each company will retain its name and operate separately. Dick Passaglia, Sequoia v.p. of marketing, said, "Although 50% of our product line is dissimilar, what is 1000/o similar is our customers: home centers, lumber yards and makers of mobile homes and kitchen cabinets."

Full Program ln Florida

More than 250 exhibitors have reserved space in the building materials buying show at the joint Florida Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association/Hoo-Hoo International annual convention

The Sept. 13-18 event at the Marriott World Center, Orlando, Fl., will feature as speakers tv's Harry Rea- soner, actress Patricia Neal, golfer Sam Snead and entertainers The Lettermen.

Founded in 1954, Sequoia Supply has 33 wholesale distribution centers serving 30 states in the West, South, and Midwest. It distributes paneling, hardwood plywood, siding and roofing materials, and employs 750 workers.

Grip-Rite has l0 distribution centers serving 20 states in the Northeast, Southwest and Midwest. It specializes in metal products and has 250 employees. Companies in the Grip-Rite Group include Miller Supply, Metropolitan Wholesale Supply, Mid-American Distributing, Guardian Purchasing, Pan American Building Materials and Grip-Rite, Ltd.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

At the convention, Hoo-Hoo Snark of the Universe (president) Dick Campbell of Australia will hand his position over to Phil Cocks, Delta Millworks, Orlando, Fl. Four new directors will also take office.

Kirkpatrick Hosts Tour

Kirkpatrick Lumber and Components Co., Nashville, Tn., will host a tour for those attending the Building Component Manufacturers Conference there Oct. 4-6.

Guests will observe the lumber roller transfer system used by the company to optimize material flow.

Con Men Hit Florida Yards

American Lumber Supply, Coral Springs and Oakland Park, Fl., lost approximately $7,500 in materials to two men posing as workers for a Boca Raton construction company.

According to police reports, two black male subjects stated they worked for P&S Construction which has an account with American Lumber Supply. The men would appear at both stores in a late model black van and fill it with ordered supplies, police said.

When the manager of the Oakland Park store became suspicious after an estimated $3,000 of assorted building supplies and materials had been ordered, a call to the construction company revealed that the two men did not work there, police explained.