The National Home Center Show

THE National Home Center

I Show was big, bright and brassy, 1277 exhibitors spread across 440,000 square feet in Chicago's enormous McCormick Place convention hall. Miles of aisles separated the exhibits, which ranged from the Basic Boring Booth to large andoutstanding examples of the species such as presented by GeorgiaPacific and The Weyerhaeuser Co. A number featured second floor exhibit and conference areas. while others used the highceilings to proclaim their wares with 30 foot high displays.

The show climate was positive, with attendees and vendors generally in concert that 1989 would be at least as good as last year. Attendance at the March 12- I 5 show was saidto be in excess of 35,000.

Keynote speaker Tom Peters, coauthor of In .Search ofExcellence,told a standing room only audience that rapid change means there are no longer tried and true management principles. He called market share an invalid measure and said a value based advantage was more enduring than a cost based advantage. "Perception is all there is, " Peters stressed, adding, "service is still decisive. Service in America is so lousy, you don't even have to be great to be considered great."

The outspoken Peters challenged retailers to pay their front line people well, "even the part timers, whom many of you treat as if they were pond scum. Thesepeople are heroes in your business, they're critical to your success." All business is people, heconcluded.

A home center all star panel of

Bernie Marcus, Home Depot; Frank Denny, Builders Square; Hal Smith, Ernst Home & Nursery Centers, and Robert Strickland, Lowe's, told a jammed breakfast meeting that the industry was still growing and had more growth in it.

Denny floated an interesting trial balloon when he related his company had considered a 30.000-50.000 square foot store with no service at all. Strickland criticized specification sheets for products as being cast too much for store buyers and too little for customers.

Story at a Glance

Industry attitudes upbeat, positive.. .1277 exhibitors, many new and revamped products, services.. speakers' consensus: change in the industry will continue to accelerate.

Marcus forecast the home center industry to be a $200 billion industry in l0 years. He said the industry will change vastly, especially among the players, but that stores should change gradually, not abruptly. Smith said change must be the result of good research, reflecting customer needs and wants. His firm continues, he said, to look for better products and better information for his customers.

Among a large number of new product and service introductions was the Weyerhaeuser Design Center, now being installed in selected cities around the country. It allows a salesperson, using their computerbased design system to literally design a deck before a customer's eyes. It uses software that can produce a complete materials list and price list. The system conforms to most building codes.

The Osmose Company unveiled a new product label incorporating a red, white and blue flag theme that ties in with their program to present their products as America's Wood. The firm is the only American/employee owned CCA chemical manufacturer. A video with the America theme will be shown to more than 100 treating plants in coming months.

Two industry veterans were inducted into the Home Center Hall of Fame at a special ceremony. Honored were Leonard "Lanny" Gertler, president of the All American Home Center, Downey, Ca., and Philip Mansfield, retired executive vice president of Maryland-based Hechinger Co. Winner of the 1989 Pioneer Award was Stanley Cohen, former chairman and president, Central Hardware, St. Louis, Mo.

A major innovation at next year's show will be the grouping of exhibits by product category. For example, all lumber and building materials/products will be in one area. The 1990 show will be held March ll-14 in McCormick Place East and the upper level of McCormick Place North in Chicago.

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