Distributors study home center market

It was a forward looking convention, the recent meeting of the National Building Material Distributors fusn., in Montreal, Canada.

The explosive growth of consumer oriented Home Center type retail outlets was documented by Robert C. Vereen, editor of Hardware Retailing magazine, pointing out that in addition to the retail lumber dealer and hardware dealer, venture capital not even associated with the building industry was helping to father this strong movement..Vereen showed color slides of typical Home Center building materials departments that include a sizeable merchandise selection of wall paneling, moldings, ceiling materials, floor tile, lighting fixtures, vanities, decorative items and similar modernization and repair merchandise.

Leading hardware wholesalers, he said, are promoting building material departments as part of an expanded Home Center store and are distributing building material products for these departments that duplicate lines presently carried by the huilding material distributor. "What these stores need," Vereen said, ttare not only the products you sell, but suggested levels of inventory for the store to stock, and indoctrination of retail sales peo. ple in product knowledge so they can better sell these lines. "The wholesalers are deeply involved in developing these storeso he concluded. "Are you really with it in serving this new market?"

The long range position of the building material distributor in serving the mass retail building material store and home center chain in Canada was spelled out by a panel of leading Canadian retail building material chain executives whose sales account for close to a third of all Canadian building material sales. The wholesaler will be able to serve the mqss retailer, tlle panel emphasized, only if he provides more than just his merchandise. He must also supply product knowledge, keep the retailer in good in.stock position, help him get improved inventory turnso and expedite ordering and order processing.

Dr. Larry Steinmetz, High Yield Management, Inc., Boulder, Colo., analyzed the Annual NBMDA Cost ol Doing Business Suroey Report, which showed that the building material distributor barely held his own profitwise in 1972, with a modest gain over 1971. The slight upturn was due largely to a tight rein on expenses, he said, and a better use of current assets.

At the opening general session of the American Plywood Assn. annual meeting, before an all time record attendance of about 780 members and guests, president and chairmanelect Emory E. Moore and exec. vp. Bronson Lewis combined forces for a joint presentation, "Direction 74: Forces in a Changing Market." The presentation gave strong support to the overall meeting theme-"74Year ol the Tiger!"

Key points from the Moore-Lewis address:

The plywood industry nust return to a. strong selling role in 1974. APA lorecasts 2 million housing starts in 1973 antl, 1.9 million in 1974. Estimated softutood, plywood prod,uction is 18.3 billion sq. lt. in 1973 and 18 billion leet in 1974. The plywood, industry has a big task ahead, to regain marhets lost during the price-supply crisis ol 1972 and early 1973, and, to find new marIcets lor the addeil, mnnufacturing capacity coming on stream. Both speakers emphasized that the industry needs a new sense of com-