Home Center Merchant

Bill Fishman

Bill Fishman & Afliliates

11650lberia Place san Diego' ca' 92128 considered unacrvertisabre. The more imaginative find ways to work them into print.

I f HnS not been easy rhroughout the I years to maintain a fresh approach to the week-in week-out advertising for home centers and building material retailers. After all, we're basically in an industry lhat is as old as mankind , the shelter industry.

Although during any given week the ads for f)oors, walls, ceilings, siding, fencing, and those things that attach to, stand in lront ol, or hang from them will attract tralllc to the store, retailers constantly seek the new and different to presenl to the homeowner. When my monthly package of clip ads arrives, I rip through the ads looking for the new and unusual.

Three cheers lor those creative stores that find and promote 'em. Many of these items are already in stock but are llere are some lrom my latest package of tearsheets:

.]-STI]P ENTRY KIT WITII I-ANI). lN(; - Lowe's, North ('arolina wOOI) RAlt-lN(; SYSTEM

('hannel, Maryland l)O(; tlOtJSh llandy l)an, I louston

TV ANTENNA - l.owe's. Indiana

MARIILFI ClllPS - llandy l)an, I louston

WORK GLOVITSNational [-umber, Los Angeles

Sn I:F-TY GO(;(;t-trs - O'Malley's, Phoenix

FRUIT IIARVESTFIRNational Lumber, Los Angeles

VIDtlO RECORI)lN(; TAPUllandy Day, Houston

(:lllMNEY (lAP - Levy's. Louisville (;ROMMSTEI) TARP - ljorest ('ity, I)etroit

IjLIJORES('F-NT Ttlllt:S - Rickel. Maryland t.ON(; llANl)t.t: ('l:lt-lN(; ljnN ('l-l:ANER - Yard llirds. ('alil'. t,Nl)ER('Ot,NTI:R RA('KS

Sutherland, Ohio

('tlAlNSAW ('llAlNS - (i.1. Joe's. Oregon ljRAMEl) POSTLR ARTMr. (iood Buys, Pennsylvania

BtJN(;t'.E ('OR|)S - Pay 'N Pak. Seattle

STANI)IN(; CONT RACK llechinger Co., Washington l).C. OCTA(;ON WlNI)OWS - Triangle lluilding Centers, Pennsylvania

ROOF WINI)OWSWickes [.umber. I;lorida swlN(;tN(; PATto t)ooR - 84 l-umber, Maryland

IJTILITY TtJB - Payless ('ashways, Texas

ROOF' I)UCTIN(; KIT - Menard, Iowa

CONCRETh BLOCK l:OR SllEt-VING - Ernst, Tacoma

ELECTRIC LEAF'F-ATF,R

Central Flardware, St. Louis

ACCORI)ION I)OORS llome Depot, California

LOG trl)GlN(iBuilders Square, Florida

Granted that items such as these will not bring in the total sales budget for the week, they will increase the readership ol the ads and attract those readers who are shopping for basics. It is items such as these that help a store to establish their dominance in a product category.

Walk your own aisles to find unusual candidates to promote. lf you can't find any in stock, there's a good possiblity you're losing touch with your customers.

No More Va. Sunday Closings

Virginia's Sunday closing law has been declared unconstitutional by the Virginia Supreme Court. The law had existed since 1610.

"We're very excited about the decision," commented John W. Hechinger Jr., president of Hechinger Co., one of the companies that fought the law. "lt proves what we've been saying all along, that the blue laws were unfair to shoppers and businesses."