Research backs d-i-y merchandising

lltHAT HAPPENS when a UU manufacturer decides to enter the d-i-y market? What kind of merchandising program do they introduce? How do they work with the retailer to accomplish their goal? While there may be no concrete answers to these questions, Temtex Products, Inc., manufacturer of Temco fireplace systems, recently initiated such a program with enthusiastic response. To date, over 45 retailers have stocked the product and are participating in the merchandising program, according to figures released by distributors.

To start things rolling, Temco did its homework thoroughly before attempting to enter a fireplace in the d-i-y market. A research study it conducted was the basis for what some call one of the most complete merchandising programs ever devel-

Story at a Glance

Research study determines merchandising program for d-i-y market . builds consumer confidence in ability to do job .. . provides training materials for retail sales. oped for the do-it-yourselfer market. The study concluded that a fireplace is never an impulse purchase, but is a purchase decision usually made by husband and wife after much thought. It also charted three basic stages in a typical decision process: (l) initial interest in the product, (2) cost consideration and (3) the feasibility of doing-ityourself.

Based on the research, Temco designed a merchandising program to build the do-it-yourselfer's confidence by assisting him at each level of the decision process. In addition, the program provides training materials to a dealer's sales personnel, creating in-store advisers to help the prospective buyer.

Every part of the program is integrated to lead the customer to the right conclusion-they can do-itthemselves and save money. To capture initial attention in the product, three point-of-sale display units, designed to meet a variety of store layouts, were created. The largest and most complete is a free-standing "house," a compact unit containing a full-size fireplace with its components. A merchandiser poster summarizing the steps in do-ityourself installation is attached to the unit's side panel and is accompanied by take-home brochures. The brochures allow the prospect to do some out-of-store contemplation and direct him back to the store to purchase a Planner Kit and ultimately, the unit. Another prepurchase stimulus, available for countertop use, is a four-minute LaBelle film which touches on the key points of an installation.

According to Jack Fahey, Temco's v.p. of sales & marketing, the Planner Kit is the key to the whole program. Because d-i-y projects of this size may create a hesitancy in the prospective buyer's mind, the kit provides a comprehensive plan for every stage of the project: planning, installation and finishing. Actual-size templates of the fireplace and chimney pipe are provided to help him find the best and easiest location for the fireplace installation. The kit even includes a plumb bob to help locate the point where the chimney will pass through the ceiling. Detailed worksheets specify the materials, fireplace components and tools needed to install and finish the fireplace in brick, stone, gypsum wallboard or paneling.

The beauty of this, according to Fahey, is that it not only removes the hesitancy from the customer's mind, but with its purchase, the customer becomes a qualified buyer. This aspect of the kit is a definite time-saver for the retailer.

Don Koch, v.p. of sales & marketing for Building Material Distributors, Galt, Cerritos and Sunnyvale, Ca., who is involved with the introduction of the program to his dealer network, comments, "This is the most complete merchandising program for the doit-yourselfer I have ever seen. We have already seen an overwhelmingly positive response from the lumber dealers especially."

A merchandising program such as this based on research appears to provide answers for both the retailer and consumer.

Production of new homes wil/ not improve signfficantly during the rest of '81 from last year according to a panel of economists recently convened by the National Association of Home Builders

. . gueSSeS range from 1.2'1.4 lVhile recent moves by the fed. gov. to control inflation have raised hopcs of lessening the effects of inflation, high interest rates for money remain, holding down hopes for o major housing revival. . . high home prices inhibit sales; in Ca. the average is now$132,400...

:,,,:1,:'rnillion housing starts this year, compared with'80's less than 1.3 million .

The prime lending rate has moved up to 19% as interest rates on home loans averaged 15.47t/o in Mar. . . . more than $1.7 billion (a record) was withdrawn from s&ls, which means Iass fJ for new home financing

. ; the vacancy rate for residen, ,tial rentals was a 4.8t/o in '80's euarter, lowest ever

Housing starts on a seasonally adjusted annual basis were up ' '5;8Vo in Mar., to an annual pace of 1,284,000 starts of single family houses rose 39on multifamily were up l0.9Vo . . . bldg. permits for futwe construction were off 3.290; single family permits down 890, multis off 590 "i'"l'''iil:''i'li"i"''l:'i'l'1"',i"'i'l'i

Louisiana-Pacific, continuing to consolidate its western divi' sions, will merge its Columbia Corridor div. into the Intermountain and Sierra divisions July l; more consolidations are expected for the lst time in 20 years, the wood products sector of the forest products industry had a major net export trade surplus .

The Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) proposcd by the feds have been shelved after an industry fight to avoid the costly and questionable new regs . . . British Columbia Resources, which last mo. was trying to buy MacMilhn Bloedel Ltd., now plans to sell its 20Vo interest in the Canadian firm to MB. . ,,,',.,',','t,,,.'.".-';..

Chondler Corp., Boise, Id., is restructuring its Meridian sp€cialty cut wood operation into a separate profit center with its own sales and production activities . . . Norris Industries, Long Beach, Ca., has sold its Home Hardware Div. (cabinet and furniture hardware) to Hommitt Industries, [nc.,...

. . Mar. hardwood production in the South was 390 higher than the previous mo., according to the Soutlern Hardwood Lumber Mfrs.Assn....

Sogebrush Sales Co., Albuquerque, N.M., has purchased Carr Lumber and Planing, Montrose, Co. All Heart Lumber Co. is building a permanent office complex and sheds at their ?fi acre Ukiah, Ca., Hq.; they recently opened All Heart Kauai Lumber Co., at Kapaa on the island of Kauai, Hi. . . M.C.M. Marketing is a new rep. company in Steilacom, Wa.

Selma Pressure Treating Co., Selma, Ca., has filed for protec- tion from creditors under Chapter I I of the bankruptcy laws . . . American Forest Products has closed its pre-finished paneling progam for mobile homes at Rialto, Ca.

Cheyenne Lumber Co., Cheyenne, Wy., estimates recent fire damage at $100,000 . . ,,.,', ,1'.;,,,,,;, ,,',, :: moje on

Lumbgr, Cheyenne, Wy., has marked 16 years on the same site with a homeshow-open "house Neiman-Reed has opened a new home center in Agoura, Ca., its lSth Lumber City store. . . the Taledo True Value store, Newport Or., is expanding its paints, appliances, and hardware with new owners, the Dahl Family . .

Dixieline Lumber Co., a \{eyerhaeuser subsidiary, is bldg. a new hea{quarters complex in the Miramar area, north of San Diego, Ca., ...,Ganahl Lumber Co. has remode1e rr:,ifs:, Orange, Ca., store for more d-i-y emphasis PSF,.Inc., which is winding down its business, has closed its Palo Alto, Ca., office; the Santa Ana, Ca., facility, headed by Jim Rossman, is now a branch of Whittaker Forest Products, Chico, Ca. . .

Anderson Lumber Co., Ogden, Ut., plans to open three new building material centers, Evanston, Wy., St. George and Cedar City, Ut., this year . . Sierra Redwaod Sales is a new Stockton, Ca., retailer handling only redwood, nursery and yard improvement products . . . 84 Lumber Co. has opened its 326th store, in the Tri-Cities, the first

'1..,..O*,in Washington state Gallup Lumber and Supply Co.,' Gallup, N.M., is moving to a 'new'iocatisn,l7?A S. Second St. .1, , T;Bird Hame Center, Salem, Or., is preparing to close with a going-out-of business sale Build-Rite Lumber, Rawlins, Wy., is moving into a new building more than double the size of its present location.

DouglasFir - Hem Fir

Redwood-Cedar Spruce

Direct Mill Shipments

May

Oakland Hoo-Hoo Club - May 15, 5fth annual Reveille, golf, dinner, entertainment, Willow Park Country Club, Castro Valley, Ca.

San Joaquin Valley Hoo-Hoo Club-May 15, annual sports day and dinner meeting, Madera Golf & Country Club, Road 26, Madera, Ca.

National Kitchen Cabinet Association - May 16-20, 26th convention, Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, Co.

Western Building Material Assn. - May 17, Insurance and Pension Trust, Agate Beach Hilton, Newport, Or.

All Industry Management Conference - May 17-19, Agate Beach Hilton, Newport, Or.

National Wholesale Hardware Association-May l7-20, management course in hardware distribution, Los Angeles.

National Paint Distributors, Inc.-May 17-22, member/ source buying seminar, Desert Inn and Country Club, Las Vegas, Nv.

Western Building Material Association - May 20, executive committee, Agate Beach Hilton, Newport, Or.

Dubs Ltd. - May 22, golf tournament No. 381, Diablo Country Club, Diablo, Ca.

Hoo-Hoo-Ette - May 23-25, International Convention, Eugene, Or.

Ligna '81 - May 27-June 2, international woodworking and lumber machinery trade fair, Fairgrounds, Hanover, West Germany.

Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California - May 30-June 2,4lst annual convention, Sahara, Las Vegas, Nv.

June

Humboldt Hoo-Hoo Club - June 4, Bay Blast, place to be announced.

Northwest Hardwood Association - June 4-5, spring meeting, Portland, Or.

American Plywood Association - June 8-9, annual meeting, Thunderbird Motor Inn,. Jantzen Beach, Portland, Or.

Lumber Association of Southern California - June 12-14' Second Growh annual weekend, Rancho Bernardo, Ca.

North American Wholesale Lumber Association - June 14-20, wood marketing seminar, Corvallis, Or.

Timber Products Manufacturers - June 1E-20, annual meeting, Banff Springs Hotel, Banff, Alberta, Canada.

Dubs Ltd.-June L9, golf tournament No. 382, Pasatiempo Country Club, Santa Cruz, Ca.

Western Wood Preserving Institute - June 28-July I, semiannual meeting, Sun River Resort, Bend, Or.

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