HARDWARE HOUSEWARES MERCHANDISING

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To display expensive items such as super power mov)ers, mulchers and traclors, dramatize their use by building a brick ./ence around the display, made ./i'om contact brick paper and "plant" grass e/ Astrotuql. Flowers and trees can be real or artificial, whatever your light source allows. I./' the plants are real, be sure someone in your store is assigned lo keep them looking healthy as a positive background to lhe lawn and yard helpers.

There is a whole new market just waiting to be helped to buy. It is the "Reluctant D-I-Y Market". Those in this group would prefer to have professionals do even their minor jobs but their economic situation dictates they must do it themselves. This market must be reached by informal sales assistance, such as plan-o-grams, "how-to" at the point of sale and aggressive signing in the store. Personal attention from a "pro" tends to intimidate them.

"Super Sidewalk Sales" are a good v)qy to hold an qnnual or semi-annual sale. By utilizing part o.f the parking orea, large signs and o public address system announcing bargains at certain time intervals, a brisk business can be generated to move old and broken -lot inventories.

When paint and wallpaper displays are side-by-side a silent salesman of design and coordination is at work. A wallpaper display unit mounted under a display of wallpaper samples gives the buyer a place to go to dream up home decorating ideas that the display instigates and maintains by being a place where the customer feels free to stay and browse.

In a ./ew squqre ./eet q/ plumbing orea a display can be out/itted h)ith q ./aucet ./itting ./or every purpose. Diagrams and descriplions and actual ,/aucet samples will give the do-ityourseller a helping hand that he \)on't soon ./brget.

Good gondolas - especially good gondola endscan mean lots of selling ideas in minimum selling space. Precious displays of just about anything any store would ever want to sell can be compactly dramatized calling attention to changing specials and features.

The discretionary do-it-yourse!/er is a convenience-oriented shopper and insists on a high level oJ'in-store service. He rqjects discounters and is very sensitive to qssortments. Delivery, convenient location, quick checkout, broad assortments and plenty ef knowledgeable sales people qre the key to ottracting this shopper who truly wants service and is willing to pay the price.

A novel way to create attention to the hand and power tool section of your store is by framing the tools and hanging them as"tool mobiles" from the ceiline.

Tiny island displays ./eaturing seasonal home improvement ilems can be done in an exciting manner by use o.f the product combined with two or three other related items in the store.

Some of a store's most effective displays can be built entirely from products sold in the store. One suggestion is to use spindle shelving for a tiered window display of lamps. With carpet added the display gives the illusion of home.

So that your customers know what is going on and, just in case they missed your ad in the newspaper, a good idea is to remind them of your weekly specials by putting your newspaper ad right up front in the store where everybody can see it. Mount the advertisement on an easel just inside the front door. Customers always like to be reminded of bargains.

Storm doors take up very Iittle space when displayed vertically, sideby-side, in a row. Since so many can be stored this xtay cuslomer attention is called to the x)ide selection available.

If ceiling tiles are displayed on the ceiling the customer can visualize how the materials will look when overhead in his home.

Merchandise can be displayed, opened and assembled, so the consumer cen see what it really looks like. As a result, it answers any questions and eliminates the need to open packages.

Cookware items, especially when combined with oversized recipe cards and/or recipes to take home, always make customers stop and take notice. Any display which causes customer involvement is a good traffic builder and creates good will.

Bountiful displays o./ silk or plastic ,flowers can give a really bright and cheerlul look to a sales area in which indoor and outdoor garden accessories are sold. Planl a garden all around the top q/ the display so it can draw attention lo itself'over the other displays. Or, hanging pots obove this areo can also add color and cheeiulness to the store inlerior as it sells merchandise.

An end gondola alldecked out tuith gourmel and homemaker items sparks customer interest and leads them down the aisle to where the items are stocked and Jurther displayed.

An out-of-the-way corner can be turned into a d-i-y library where an array of consumer brochures. reference books and magazines, repair and decorating books can be utilized in the store or bought to take home.

Today's modern tight merchandising techniques are as dilJerent ./rom cluttered shelves as packaging is to the old cracker barrel. Tight merchandising uses every inch o./' space, utilizes the designs and colors o./ the packages, and categorizes the products by compatibility o.f use. In this \)ay each product commands customer altenlion and actually leads the buyer to select one o./ its companions in the display. Clutter merely con.luses and couses a buyer to associate in a subconscious, negative way with the store.

John Cameron Swalze is a world ereert on torture tests. But he had his doubts about this one.

In front of him was a typical floor system of 2xl2-inch joists, 16 inches on center. Covering that was Louisiana-Paciftc's ft nest exterior particleboardRedex.

With Swape's help, we gave the product the most severe punishment we could think of. We took Tunga, a 9,(XX) pound elephant and walked him across the face ofthis board. As you can see from the photo, Tunga did everything he cotrld to demolish the Redex. but as Swalze summed up.

"The amazing L-P Redex. Strong enough to hold this four and a halfton pachyderm!"

Redwood particles have been mixed with extra long, extra strong ftbers d

Douglas ffr. Then with phenolic resin, it is all bonded together under intense pressure and heat. Finally, the long edges are tongue and grooved and all four edges sealedto control moisfure absorption.

The result is a board of excellent internal bond and rupture resistance. On top of that Redqr knows howtotake a nail. Or a staple. And there are no face or core voids to contend with. No checking or delaminating. Redcx can 3ave you a ton of moneytoo.

Forget about underlayment or other subflooring. Redex will handle werything. Which means you cut materials cost by about 30 per cent for every 2,0(X) square feet compared to other usual flooring construction, at the same time taking a big chunk out d labor costs.

Speaking dsaving labor, Redex tongue and groove also does away with the need for blocking. So installation time is reduced by 8 to l0 manhours per average home.

Andloohsho approveo:

The FHA,ICBO, BOCAand Southern Building Congress all say Redex meets or enceedstheir standards. In facl, Redex has been tested by the Underwriters Laboratory and meets Class III Flame Spread rating. lllre morc lnformadon?

Give us a call at (707) 528-6680, or write Louisiana -Paciftc, 1300 S.W. Fifth Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97201.

Despite Chicago snow, attendance at the National Housewares Exposition in Jan. was down only about 300/0. most of the 1,830 exhibitors made it, and buying volume was generally in line with recent shows. usual attendance is 40,fi)0...

President Carter's budget proposals, expected to result in a decreased supply of timber from National Forests, have been widely criticized by industry. .anticipated to cut off supply, the effects are described as inflationary. Western Timber Assn. says it, 'Just doesn't make sgnsgt'. ,

RA R E I I proposals to take 2401, of the 62 million ames (15 mil- lion acres) for wilderness brought sharp reaction from the wood industry (see p. 53). . , the plywood assn, said it "would severely impact timber supply and inflate housing costs"; environmentalists, naturally, claimed it was too little, too late. Congress has the final decision: the fight goes on.

Final housing start figures for '78: 2,018,500 units, 2% above '77 and the highest since boomy '73; the West had 270/o of the national market... overall. building permits declined from Nov., but permits for single family homes rose slightly.

In Decembero strrls rose in the West; single family starts nationally were 1,533,000 with multis at 592,000.. again, a surprisingly strong pace. . . consensus at the National Association of Home Builder's show in Las Vegas was for a shallow decline (100/o) nationally with the Sunbelt and boom areas in other parts of the West expected to log another strong season.

P.R.O.D. Wholesale, San Leandro, Ca., has acquired the old Zenith Mill & Lumber Co. property in Hayward, Ca., as part of its expansion into redwood, with increased emphasis on plywood, Doug. fir and cedar. Weyerhaeuser is firming plans fora Fontana, Ca., installation. rumors continue on Louisiana-Pacly'c's plan to build a yard in Chino, Ca., and to build a new plant in Rocklin, Ca..

Louisiana-Pacilic has completed the best year in its history; sales were over $l billion with record earnings in the last quarter and for the year. all of their bldg. products markets were strong except commodity particleboard.

Frost Hardwood, San Diego, is about 2 mos. from completing a new Hq. in nearby Miramar, Ca... Home Lumber Co., Hemet, Ca., is adding to its main showroom. Sena Lumber, San Juan Capistran_o, Ca., plans to rebuild after a fire last year.

Brecheisen Wholesale Co. has a new office/warehouse on W. Thomas, Phoenix. .. Tri-County Wholesale Supply Co., Ventura, Ca., a subsidiary of Lone Star lndustries' Lone Star Building Centers (Western, Inc.), has been closed permanently . . . Nikkel Corp., Sacramento, Ca., has opened an El Paso, Tx., sales office; Arnold Smith, mgr...

Western Product Sales, Danville, Ca., is a new company handling sales/marketing of specialty bldg. products, key people are Bob Riggs and Al Weller... -?C Trucking is a new Long Beach, Ca., lumber hauling firm formed by Joh n, Dee and Jim Cameron. Louisiana - PaciJic has gotten an OK from the Cana- dian gov. to buy its lst Canadian

Denver's Hush M. W@ds Co. plans at least 2 new $tores,'sn€ in Boulder, Co., their first unit outside Dbnver. , Roy Dunbar has formed a new company in Redding, Ca., called Dunfor's Brand X Corp... Black Diamond LumDer, Sacramento, Ca., plans to complete its voluntary liquidation by April..

Von Tobelshas opened a new store in Las Vegas on East Tropicana St. all the Westy's" stores in San Diego now carry the name Boise Cascade Building Material Centers... Encinitas Lumber, Encinitas, Ca., has been sold for an undisclosed arnount to James Youngblood, a semiretired investor. Orchard Sup- ply, San Jose, Ca., recently acquired by W.R. Grace Co., has opened a new Modesto. Ca., store: another is planned for Fremont, Ca., in late summer...

The Blizzard of '79 is causing worries about a railroad car shortage. box cars are accumulating in the East & Midwest, threatening to crimp the supply needed by Western shippers. A&R Lumber .Sa/cs has moved from Eugene, Or. to Junction City, Or...

The l4ickes Corp. plans to acquire Chandler Corp. of Boise, Id., for a combination of cash and/or Wickes securities, no figs. released; Chandler's fiscal '79 sales are expected to top $100 million. . Chandler recently secured property in Fontana, Ca., for a new lumber facility.

Lone Star Industries planned purchase of Keystone Portland Cementhas been dropped after FTC objections. Kaiser Cement intends to build a $13.5 million cement mill in Seattle; they recenty hiked prices 890Y/o. Canadian gov. objections to take-over plans involving MacMillan Bloedel, Vancouver, 8.C., leaves the forest products giant without corp. suitors, at least for now.