Home improvement promotion pushes sales

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S TIMES change with more em- rphasis being placed on homeowner sales for remodeling andhome improvement, many dealers are finding that the traditional ways of reaching the customer need to be updated.

A good example is offered by San Gabriel Sash and Door in San Gabriel, Ca., a foothill community in the greater Los Angeles area. Remodeling is providing the impetus for 8090 of the sales these days, according to Jim Reeves, owner.

Disenchanted by newspaper advertising, the company now advertises only in the Yellow Pages. Reeves feels that they have been much more successful in participating in home improvement shows at shoPPing malls in the area.

A typical promotion was a five daY President's Day Home Improvement Show sponsored by the Pasadena P\aza, in Pasadena, Ca., a nearby town. An estimated 400,000 attended the show with about 5,000 ProsPec- tive customers directly contacted at San Gabriel's booth which was one of the approximately 20 exhibits at the show.

To attract shoppers, special lighting was used in displaying SimPson

Story at a Glance

New approach to reachlng customers . . shopplng mall promotlon draws thousands dlsplays plus follow up gen. erate sales.

International Doors in frames. Prospective buyers who stopped at the booth were given literature and a brief introduction by a San Gabriel Sash and Door salesperson or a Simpson Timber Co. rep.

Showgoers were offered a special sale price as well as an additional l09o off the sale price upon redemption of a work order form completed at the show. Free home estimates for a total package of door, installation, finishing, touch-up and hardware were also offered.

The main purpose of the show was to get the doors and the store into the public eye. "This wasn't supposed to

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