ontana link

Ernst stores are designed to help consumers repair and modernize their homes. Stores generally average 36,000 sq. ft. with product lines including tools, paint and related supplies, small appliances, electrical, plumbing and building supplies, lumber and sporting goods. Each outlet has a nursery with indoor and outdoor plants as well as lawn and garden equipment and supplies.

Last year the home center division achieved sales totaling $288,408,000, up 990 from the previous year. Management attributes this sales increase to improved sales in existing stores. A concentrated effort to increase and reward employee productivity plus

Story at a Glance

Ernst home centers have 85 year history in Seattle . ex. panded to 68 stores in West... self-service, one.stop shopping sales up 9% over last year. the declining interest rates and the reviving vitality of the housing industry are considered contributing factors. The division also prides itself on being in-stock in basic merchandise.

Ernst has 44 stores in Washington, 7 in Idaho, l0in Utah, 3 in Montana, 2 in Nevada and 2 in Wyoming. A fourth Montana store will open in Missoula at the end of this month. Although expansion has been curtailed in favor of focusing attention on improving operating performances in established stores. there are

(Continued on next page) plans for a few new stores, all in Washington.

EILL BOST(]N

Operated under the management of Bill Boston, vice president and Ernst general manager, the division also includes three Von Tobel's home improvement centers, all located in Las Vegas, Nv. These stores which the corporation acquired in 197?

Hardware Groups Merge

Members of the California Retail Hardware Association (CRHA), San Francisco. and the Pacific Southwest Hardware Association (PSWHA), Anaheim, overwhelmingly approved the merger of the two associations effective July l.

The new association, headquartered in San Francisco, has been named the California Pacific Southwest Hardware Association, Inc. (cPSHA).

According to Edmund Rea, Sr., Redondo Beach, Ca., NRHA director and chairman of the merger committee, "the association will now be the fourth largest NRHA affiliated association serving over 1,200 retail members in Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Western Nevada." The association also serves retail members in Guam, Mexico, and Australia.

The regional association plans to

INTERI0RS have clean, uncluttered look. Note how related merchandise is in position opposite the lawn mowers. The lighting is trace their roots back to 1905 and Ed Von Tobel, Sr. who established Von Tobel's Lumber Co. This store grew along with Las Vegas and developed into the largest building materials store in the state. It remained at the original downtown location until 1967 when it moved to spacious new facilities outside Las Vegas. This operation, with the first air conditioned lumber yard in the United States, was considered a model home recessed into closely spaced ceiling panels and gives a bright look that llatters the invenlory. center. After Pay 'n Save acquired Von Tobel's, it was expanded into a three store chain. operate a field office in the Southwest area to service members during its reorganization.

Three Yard Birds general merchandise stores located in Chahalis, Olympia and Shelton, Wa., and Sportswest, a sporting goods chain which extends into Alaska, complete the home center division. A distribution center opened in l98l serves both the Ernst home centers and PaY 'n Save.

William R. Maze, current managing director of the CRHA, has been named executive director.

The association plans to announce its''Association Connection System" (ACS) later this year. The program is designed to affect communication through a solidified membership. According to Maze, "We will emphasize grass roots member involvement through an organized network of voluntary retailers. ACS will strengthen communication between our members and the association with special emphasis on local-state govermental affairs. "

Otto Grigg recently comPleted his 28th year as managing director of the Pacific Southwest Hardware Association. His retirement plans include special project assignments and consulting in the new organization.

Members also approved the following CPSHA Board of Directors and Officers for 1983-84:

Directors: Robert Hatcher, Bell Gardens, Ca.; Andrew Pagano, Alameda, Ca.; Bill Meanley, La Jolla, Ca.; Gordon Foster, Bakersfield, Ca.; Robert Mohler, Ontario, Ca.; Lyle Schafer, Napa, Ca.; Donald Bledsoe, Bakersfield, Ca.; Daniel Horgan, Reno, Nv.; Donald Dauwalder, Scottsdale, Az. ; Michael Cole, Seaside, Ca.; president, Ernest Lasell, Jr., Martinez, Ca; lst v.P., Bill Griffin, Santa Ana, Ca.; 2nd v.p., Herbert Walters, Belmont, Ca.

The CPSHA advisorY committee will be Leo Swanson, Jr., Hanford, Ca.: Frank Simms, Sacramento, Ca.; Blake Blakey, Pacoima, Ca'; Richard Morris, Weaverville, Ca.; Kenneth Lenhart, Mesa, Az. and NRHA representative: Edmund Rea, Sr.. Redondo Beach, Ca.