EDITORIAL

of self-service, wherever feasible, and also by the modernizing o{ older outlets."

E. L. McNeely: only a handful of Wickes stores in the Vest now, it it won't be long until they

They are among the best, some think Jie best, of the mass merchandisers. In the past few years they have also begun to build and operate smaller outlets.

On this basis, it doesn't seem as if it will be lone until many of our readers find themselves in the position of competing directly with them. With this in mind, and with the t}ought that forewarned is {orearmed, we present below an excerpt of some of their thinking as put forward by their president and chief executive officer D. M. Fitz-Gerald and E. L. McNeely, senior vp. in a recent appearance before the New York Society of Security Analysts.

D. M. Fitz-Gerald:

"Today we have 139 fully stocked lumber and building supply centers in 25 states. In the next six months, we plan to open 3l new centers, or approximately one every five working days. Plans are now being finalized for additional expansion during the winter months in the southern part of the United States.

"In our opinion, the remaining avenues to increased sales lie in a greater penetration of our potential market. For example, a complete line of carpeting is now being carried for the first time in four of our centers. Gradually, the entire Wickes network will have it available.

"This is also true of lawn mowers, lawn equipment, unpainted furniture, and appliances of all sizes and types. As a matter of fact, we're expanding our scope to cover anything used in and about the home. Trafiic is beins increased bv the addition o'Each large center costs between $600,000 and $700,000 to build and equip. This includes cost of land and buildings, as well as inventory. Including capital outlays, inventories and attendant expenses, we will spend $12 million for expansion and modernization this year. o'We now find it more successful to locate closer to concentraled population areas. o'There is nothing definite in any of these areas, but we are continuing in-depth studies. W'e do not feel compelled to continue pilot programs that do not indicate profitability. Profit before pride.

'oof the 139 stores that Mr. Fitz-Gerald mentioned, 124 are of the large tyae and 15 are smaller versions. In addition to the substantial expansion program, we are modernizing and rehabilitating 20 of our older units this year.

"There has been a change in our strategy concerning location of new centers. In the beginning, Wickes Centers were literally built in a cornfield and would draw from a number of surroundine tolvns and farm areas within a 30 to 40 mile radius. While successful, this left us vulnerable to competition to move in between us and major segments of our markets.

"We still follow the plan of buying substantial acreage for our large outlets (our average site is over 15 acres) not only so that we can easily handle bulky materials, but with an eye to the future when we may have to expand or even add a totally new business on lhe same location.

"It is our practice to own facilities wherever possible and the current figure exceeds 90% of our major centers, We lease moit of our small store locations.

"New areas of growth that we are exploring include redi-mix concrete on a home use quantity basis, the marketing of sectionalized homes, and the development of a franchise concept.

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Retailers third Branch

Launch

WHE\ lT comes to merchandising, Bob Neiman and Bob Reed, co-owners of Neiman-Ileed's Lumber City, just have to be counted up at the head of the class.

The recent grand opening of their third store, in suburban Los AnpJeles' Mission Hills district in the San Fernando Valley, showed they have lost none of the touch that has made their operation one of the smoothest in the West.

Every opening has a grand prize... theirs was a brand new Toyota Corona sports sedan, donated by a nearby Toyota dealer. A powerful incentive to get customers to come in and register, whether they bought or not. Thirty other prizes were also awarded.

Sfory qi q Glonce

Prizes, merchandise, advertising, price reductions draw thousands to grand opening of ably fitted out, third Neiman-Reed branch store.

But buy they did, and in record numbers when opening day came in late May. Several thousand filled the 250-car parking area and generally jammed the three-acre layout. Eight-page special advertising sections, offering price reductions on hundreds of items were supplied in massive quantities to local newspapers, who re. sponded with valuable news stories covering the opening in their news columns.

Key personnel are Ralph Athey, originally the "old timer" from Neiman-Reed's Van Nuys store, who manages all three yards for lumber, plywood and building material products. Supervising the three store operations is Jack Jacklett, ably backstopped by John Ortiz, who manages the new Mission Hills' operation. The purchasing supervisor is Mike Brown and Dick Brandt is the honcho for the nursery department.

Including outside lumber and nursery {acilities, over 35,000 sq. ft. of sales area accommodates lumber and buildins materials. nursery and garden. harJ*are. plumbing, electrical, paint, tools, patio, barbecue, sporting goods, housewares, automotive, art supplies, picture frames. plus hobby crafts.

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Bellwood spells it like it is.,. *P is for P-R-E-F-I-N'|'S'H-E'D

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THE BELLWOOD COMPANY / 533 West Gollins / Orange, California 92669

TOM FRIDENA CHOSEN PRESIDENT