Home center is tailored to its market

T HE HANDSOME new Home Building Center you see

I here is owned by Home Lumber Corp., which decided that it would try out the home center concept at its Hemet, Ca., location before changing their stores in Perris and San Bernardino to that method of operation. (For an earlier story during construction, see The Merchant,Oct. p.22).

The pole building, done by San Antonio Rigid Pole Construction Co., has 314 of an acre parking adjacent and consists of approximately 15,000 sq. ft. for showroom,

EASY-TO-FIND entry, landscaping and partially shingled front go into making first class appearance for new home center.

8,000 sq. ft. for garden and tools, with 3,000 sq. ft. for offices and storage. The lot is 3% acres. It is a new site, as the previous location was deemed inadequate for a home center.

Ellis Johnson, along with his sons, Dennis and Milt, felt the need to convert their stores to a more contemporary style of operation to take full advantage of the growth that is developing in their general area East of Los Angeles. Hemet, for example, is about 60 miles East of LA.

The store design reflects an input from the Johnson family, store manager Don Watson and outside consultants. Its layout and thinking reflect an effort to tailor the facility to a particular market, ratier than slavishly following general concepts that do not meet the special needs of their customers.

Story at a Glance

New home center is a test for firm's other two . . design includes effort to tailor facility to their special market needs housewares get emphasis.