Model decks build big ticket sales

IG TICKET, package sales of outdoor decks are a guaranteed way to increase store profits.

Decks have been the fastest growing home improvement project in the nation over the past five years. More than one and a half million American homes will add a deck this year. The question isare you getting your share of this booming market?

When the homeowner wants to add a deck to his house or enlarge the one he has now, he comes to his home center or retail lumber yard for the right materials to do the job. To help your sales effort, you should have a compact, handsome model deck for him to see as well as assorted plans and printed sales materials available for him to read.

Dealers, who have built decks, say they increased the volume in big ticket deck packages and sales of deck material. Many report increased sales of as much as 500/o in materials for outdoor living projects.

Sales of related items gouptoo. Weed killers to eliminate grass before the deck is put in place, 6 mil polyethylene sheets to go under the deck, hot-dipped galvanized hardware, joist hangers, circular saws, drills, hammers and miter boxes, stains, paint, water repellent, gloves, goggles and masksaretypical add on sales. After the deck is completed, there will be sales of deck furniture, accessories and barbecues as well as shrubs, trees and bedding plants for landscaping.

Deck contests are a natural companion to model decks. A well known home center chain recently doubled its sales ofdeck materials over the previous year when it held a display deckcontest among itsstores. At the end of the contest, they gave each of the two winning stores $1000 to distribute among the crews that designed and built the decks.

"We built the kind of deck at our store that all of us would like to have," said one manager.

Another said the contest helped them convert pressure treated lumber from a commodity to more of a specialty item. The contest also increased sales of high profit rails, posts, spindles and landscape timbers.

Customers got into the spirit and ordered the decks that were displayed. A lot ordered materials for even larger decks.

Story at a Glance

Success stories from dealers who have increased sales of decking and related products with model decks. souroes for plans and sales literature.

Dixieline Lumber, San Diego, Ca., holds a deck clinic each week at one oftheir stores.They sketch out a customized deck plan for a customer and send an employee out to his house to help if the customer requests it. Dixieline's Dick O'Grady says that one of the biggest consumer motivations for deck construction ispersonal gratification. "They love to show off their new deck and say I built that."

Plans to help you build a model deck for display as well as plans and sales aids for your customers can be obtained from numerous sources. Many manufacturers of pressure treated wood, the Western Wood Preservers Institute, the Southern Pine Marketing Council, redwood and cedar producers and the California Redwood Association and the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association offer both plans and literature.

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HomeClub, Inc. is opening warehouse units in Modesto and (ilendora, Ca., this month

. l''rontier Industries /ric.. Anacortes, Wil., plans a frontier Lumberstore in Oak [-l:rrbor. Wa.

Construction is underway on a 60,000 sq. fi. ifcttiortal Lurnber & .Suppl.v, Inr'. unil in Oceanside, Ca. . . . Yardbirds will open a Vacaville. Ca.. store in the fall and a Fairfield. Ca.. {acility in 1990. ,

Ruilders Lmporiunt. Orange, Ca., is remodeling . Tualatin Vallel, Builders Supply. Lake Oswego, Or., is building a $1.3 million store in Gresham. Or.. I)oue Kelly. mgr....

Ganahl ltardwood Co.. built next to the Anaheim. Ca., store and -vard, is new (see pg. 33 for slory) ... Copeland Lumber lnc., Ashland, Or., is negotiating a swap with the city for propertl.' next door to their nresent slore . .

Diamond Lunthcr has closed its 8-year-old store in IIayden, ld., tranferring inventorlr to Sandpoint. Lewislon and Spokane Valley, ld.. stores . . . llu rris Lumber ancl Horne Ccntcr, Antioch. Ca., has liquidalecl ancl sold the site to an undisclosecl buyer who will also operate a homecenter.,.

Kaymar Wrtocl Products has nroved to Poulsbo, Wa.. after 2,5 years in West Seattle . Building a 27,000 sq. ft. Yaeger & Kirk Lumber in Suisun City. Ca.. is being delayed for about a year...

Contact Lutnher Co.'s Clear Pine Mouldin,qr div. was recognized as an Outstanding [:nrplo-v"er of 1988 by' the ('antral Oregctn Inlergovernntenlal ('outtt'il f{ortrc Lumhcr ('o., Sunnyside, Wa., is liquiclating Oaks Lumher ond |tardwarc. Thousand Oaks. Ca.. lost an undisclosed an-lount of cash to br"rrglars who also vandalized the store

Dr,v Kiln Mill & Planing C'o.. Healdsburg, Ca., has been sold by Ron Lewman Io Healdsbur,q Lumber Co.l Lewman will continue to operate !\,[ortlt Bo.t, l:orcsl Products^ F{ealdsburg tr4/eist,r Lot'k will re locate nrli. facilities to T'ucson. ,\r.. fronr FJuntington lJeach. ( a.. .. Domlar Gvpsunt has nroved its Oakland, Ca.. t;.S. Western Regional ofTices to 2 i0l \\'cbslcr S1.. Suite 950 . .

L'augen Rrothers Lutnber, Colville. Wa., has started construction on a new small log mill with a conrpulerized log merchandising system ... Ltnit,ersal Forest Products has opened a redwood buy,'ing ancl sales oflice in Fortuna, Cla.. Mike Allen, mgr.

The KorPittc Div. ol- Willamette Industrias has installed a new 8head. wide belt sander at its Bend. Or., ml'g. plant... MeQlorcl (.orp., Medford, Or.. will shut down its larse los sarvmill the end'of this mlontli.

Kell.v- Wright Hctrdv,ood has moved from Anaheim, Ca.. tcr nearby Placentia to bigger quarters: 60,000 sq. ft. warehouse. 20.000 sq. ft. outside covered storage.

,luck Havt,rr.s has nurchased the interesl ol' Clint lJot'er. his colrruntlirrg [)artner. in Rantlto Hnrtlu,ood.s. Ilancho Clalifornia, C.a.: lJower remains pres. of ilfctritters Fort,sl Produr?s. Santa Ana.('a....

Rurlingtort Resotrrces filc. plans to spin of,f i1s Plum Creek Tirnber Co. subsicliary to a limited partnership, Pltm (.rack Timber Co. L.P., for $575 nrillion, retaining l2(Xr interest and some assets

I-ouisiarru- Pacilit' is bLrilding a wood I-beanr plant in Red lllufl', Ca. . Capital Ltrntbar (b. has added 1800 sq. ft. to the offices a1 their 10 acre Chino. Ca., yard

Dennis l)ooley, Doolev Lumber Co., Pasadena, Ca., has opened an off'ice and yard selling redwood and pine at Terminal Island (Los Angeles), Ca. ,l(\'(tt-Ca nt(ron Lrrmber Corp. has relocated its So. Ca. branch from San Clemente to Palm Springs fbrntica ('orp. is being bought by a management group, FM 4c'tluisitiotr Corp., for Sl6-5 nrillion... f-ibreboord (.orp.. C oncord. Ca.. which has acquircd the assets of lrrottortrl Tt:t'httolo,git,s, lnc. (see p. 33 lor story), and sold its graphics div. to Wt'st'or (irapltit's Corp. for $2.8 million, is shutting down its Truckee, Ca., plant this summer to build an automated replacement mill acljacent to its timberland near Trurckee in 1990. lJoist, ('ttsrutla (orp.. lloise. Id.. had record sales, net income and earnings forthe firstquarter Louisianu-Pac'i/ic ('orp. had the best first quarter sales and earnings in its history wood prodttct sales al I"ihrt,hourd (-orp. were up 3.1'/' first qurrrtcr

Filler Kitr,q (o., a nerv llomedale. Id., glue laminatecl beanr plant. Bud Filler ancl Wa-u*ne King, owners. is producing 2,5.000 b.f. aday...

Housittg stal?s droppecl -5.4(lr in March (latest) figs. to an annually adjusted rate of 1.4 million single {amilv starts slid 3.9\th, nrultifamily starts. 8.8Vr . . building permits were down l.l.7l ... higher morl.gage rates were blamed for the slumn.

Grab the better part of the outdoor business.

Stock up with Western Red Cedar, the natural answer to your customers' outdoor building needs.

Western Red Cedar comes in allthe sizes, lengths, shapes and patterns your customers want, from decking and boards to fencing and lattice. There is also Cedar siding, paneling, trim, fascia, mouldings and industrialitems for a wide range of other construction projects.

Protected by natural phenol preservatives, Cedar is treated all the way through, naturally, and makes imitators turn green with envy. So, bring that additional outdoor business to your store. Grab the coupon and get a selection of idea literature and a source list of Western Red Cedar nroducers.

Western Red Cedar Lumber Association

IVlokulumne River Forest Products is devoted to excellence in providing you with green Douglas fir, pine commons and industrials, Masonite r sidings, green hem-fir and plywood. For superb service, top quality and very competitive pricing, contact:

(209) 367.1265

FAX (209) 339.1740