HOME GENTEM MERGHANT

BILL FISHMAN

Bill Fishman & Affiliates

'| 1650 lberia Place

San Diego' ca' 92128

IHAVE always suspected, and now I lam more than ever convinced that many building material retailers have never accurately classihed their customer base.

Usually the retailer speaks in terms of percentages of d-i-y (retail) customer to contractor (professional). The fltgures most often heard are 500/o/500/o or ffitlo/4oVo etc. These percentages are usually educated guesses or a percentage based upon cash sales to charge sales. I believe they're misleading.

So what's the big deal? What difference does it make to the dealer whether it's 50/50 or 90/10 or l0l90? It may not have meant much before 1984 but it's going to make a big difference now that warehouse and chain oper,ations are seeking new geography. It's going to make a great deal of difference to the independent retailer who is going to plan aggressively to maintain his market share.

If a major portion of the customer base is truly the dedicated and occasional doit-yourselfer then the dealer must secure his market by directing his efforts and discretionary expenses,promoting to at- tract the d-iyer. It means budgeting for a f#'Tli'J-,?:,:l:.:5'::?.':l',$i,iiffii

It also means a merchandise mix that avoids sending customers to competitors for materials to finish the project. It means visual merchandising programs, evening and weekend store hours, the availability of delivery, competitive pricing, lowest price guarantees, lit parking lots, lumber stored on the showroom floor to avoid a double (or triple) tallyman payroll during extended hours, extra checkouts, creative signing, reticketing of sale merchandise, merchandising of economy grade studs, and more,

On the other hand, if a dealer has been running a successful and profitable business for years with no or little advertising, and has been closing at 5:00 p.m. daily, noon on Saturday, while the chains remain open-if he has been working on 4O9o margins on everything except the commodity items and operating out of a small showroom featuring only the basic hardware, tools, and maybe some plumbing and electrical fittings-while for years the open-late-and-weekend chains near him have been out-advertising, outmerchandising, and even out-servicing him on the d-i-y level-then just maybe the dealer's true customer base is the professional, commercial, and industrial customer- sometimes paying cash. And, if that's true, then maybe his operating, merchandising, promotion and service level strategies should be different to maintain or extend his market. dsnopaiqtine. A on the Ardffien nnu'abrvs6rq(i te'ddi* intol,*fft

Next month we'll explore these different strategies.

OLYMPIC visitors to Los Angels, Ca., will find 13 murals similar to this located throughout the city, the work of local area artists contracted by the Olympic 0rganizing Committee. Sizes range from 700 to 2000 sq. ft. Te(ured Coatinos of America has donated the manoower and Tex-Cote Grafitti-Gard material, which is being applied to "Unity" in this photo, to protect all the murals. Note workman at left of photo.