Coming in October . . ANNUAL HARDWOOD SPECIAL ISSUE

The October issue of The Merchant Magazine will be a special lssue devoted to hardwood. We'll have stories, features, articles, plus merchandising and sales ideas . . . all devoted to hard' wood as it applies to you, our retail and wholesale readers. You'll enjoy reading this valuable issue . . and profit from it. too.

ADVERTISERS:

Take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to get your message before our readers. The Merchant's extensive circulation in the 13 Western states assures excellent coverage for your advertising message. This Hardwood Special Isiue is the perfect editorial environment for your advertisement.

Call today and reserve sPace. Deadline is September 16, 1989. You'll be glad you did.

A renewed U.S. government commitment to the metric system to enhance international trade is expected, following the passage into law of the Omnibus Trade & Competitiveness Act of 1988, according to lumber dealer B. Harold Smick Jr.

Speaking at the fall National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association convention in Palm Springs, Ca., Smick said the bill requires all federal agencies to convert to metric by 1992. The Department of Defense has a Jan. l, 1990 deadline.

The European Economic Community continues to stand by its 1979 directive, which stated that no products will be accepted after Jan. l. 1990, unless measured in metric dimensions,

Hardware Wholesaler Awards

Sullivan, Ted_ Gilbert. l4l Allen Brody, George Badnoch. l5l Rick Ponce, Mike Lon6, Mike Macker, Andy Ersek. {61 Jeff Gould, Bo-b Golding, Paul Hacke, Blain Smith, John Newquist. Over 5470 was raised for the club's Children's Hospital of 0range County fund at the Aoril 26 event.

Bill

Kathy

Rich Sabbagh DaveSeeger

w$: $. I 'Y o< .3 F l( F < t1t-- l*"j, '2.' , -',-ts '-v geileMl W Inlpaala Lurrrbp,r GREEN oT DRY o DIRECT MILL SHIPMENTS LCL o CARGO o RAIL . TRUCK & TRAILER o PRESSURE TREATED LUMBER Yard & Offlces: End of Alrport Rd. P.O. Box 723, Uklah, Ca.95482 (7071 468-0181 Biver City Moulding Co.

Your Moulding & Millwork Professionals P O. Box 28352 916-386-1314 sacramento, cA 95828 800-321-5095, Tone * 10g FAX 916-386-1329

Loo Argeles Bans Wood Roofs

The Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau is protesting a measure passed 12 to 1 by the city council and signed by the mayor banning wood shingle roofs in Los Angeles, Ca.

"There's too much at stake here," said Michael Westfall, bureau president, adding that the Los Angeles bill has to be defeated in court before other cities enact bans.

The bureau says it will file a lawsuit to block the law before it goes into effect. A legal defense fund of $400,000 has been budgeted, a spokesman said.

Since Los Angeles passed the ban, neighboring Glendale has passed a similar ordinance. The Hidden Hills city council has opened an inquiry into a ban and Bakersfield is considering a similar ordinance. The law in Los Angeles will take effect 30 days after its publication for the public record.

The Los Angeles Fire Department lobbied heavily for the measure assuring council members that shingles are a fire hazard. Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley said he approved the ordinance in the interest of public safety, but urged the council to initiate well documented research and where necessary enact appropriate amendments. Many council members joined him in voicing concern that the measure could be unnecessarily damaging to the wood shingle industry.

Dealer Success Suggestions

In advising retailers on achieving success in the coming decade, Dr. Walter J. Salmon promotes slow growth as "probably the most desirable course."

Speaking at the Home Center Industry Conference, the Harvard Graduate School professor predicted "home centers will remain the category killer of the d-i-y market. The 1990s will be the age of category killers and the future is bright for 60,000 sq. ft. and larger home centers."

Other criteria cited for success: o Define the market and how to serve it by location, adjusting shelf space, prices and promotions. o Have a limited number of professional buyers; develop marketing plans by marketing categories rather than by store; delegate substantially to store managers. o For lowest, landed in store cost, increasingly procure via drop shipments on bulk items; provide for a distribution center or work with a low cost wholesaler, electronically. o Accurate, frequent and timelY store contribution reports will be needed. Direct product Profit sYstems will replace gross margin measurements. o Turn on rank and file employees with increased integration of part timers on the payroll; higher wages tied to higher productivity; more hoopla to reduce tedium. o Good merchandising is a given because "retailers are neurotic" about good merchandising.

. Management information system skills start with UPC-based point of sale systems. It will be necessary tosift through the avalanche ofdata to get at the necessary data.

Handling Customer Complaints

Effective response to a customer's complaints can mean the difference between that customerand his friends - ever returning to your business.

Tips for the manager:

1. Respond quickly. As soon as you are aware of the complaint, contact the customer.

2. Listen to the complaint. Allow the customer to com_ plete his explanation without interruption. Listen, nod and only say "I understand" until he is finished.

3. Don't solve the problem too quickty. Work on it. Speed belittles the problem.

4. Complete the circle. Until everyone understands the importance of not letting the same problem happen again, the issue is not finished.

5. .Always say thanks. Instead of complaining to you, the customer could next time just take his business elsewhere. It is a compliment that he thought enough of you and your company to complain.

Small Firms Get Paid Last

The smaller the business, the later the payment. The smallest companies have the highest percentage of past-due accounts receivable. Wholesalers and retailers collect receivables the quickest of any business group, according to a study of more than nine million firms by Dun & Bradstreet Corp.

"Small businesses tend to take on riskier accounts," says Joseph W. Duncan, Dun & Bradstreet's chief statistician. "At the same time, they lack the resources to collect on stubborn past-due receivables.

Firms with fewer than l0 employees reported 270/o of their receivables overdue. Companies employing 50 or more people had past-due receivables of 200/0.

Wholesalers had 170/o of accounts past-due and retailers 270/0, compared to 220/o for all firms.

The construction sector had past-due receivables of 340/0, the highest among the nine sectors studied.

Home lmprovement Pays Twice

Dealers should make sure that customers realize that their dollars bring more than personal satisfaction when they undertake home improvement projects. Industry statistics show most home improvements return money when a house is sold.

For example, GAF Building Material Corp. points out a homeowner can actually get back more dollars than he spent on a new roof at resale. Investment value per dollar spent for l6 popular home improvements as reported by Homeownermagazine are listed below. These figures are for professionally done jobs. Do-it-yourselfers get even more payback.

Roof replacement: $1.06

Deck/patios:.. .. ....93

Attic conversion:.. .73

Kitchen: ......69

Interior facelift: ....63

Room addition:. . . .63

Air conditioning:. .56

Rebuilt to ZERO TIME

No more headaches with broken forklift rear ends. The answer is simple. USE A TOWING TRACTOR TO TOW LOADS. With more than 15 vears of experience, VICTORY GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT COMPANY combines a sales. administration and service back-up for their reconditioned and rebuilt tractors that will make sure the job gets done but this time WITH THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT!

REC0GlllTl0t{ party for Pete Bower by Mariners Forest Products was held recently to hon0r the departing credit mgr. lor his nearly 13 years ol service with the Santa Ana, Ca., hardwood firm. Top photo: Clint Bower, company president; Pete Bower, lriendly competitor Butch Pope, Weber Plywood, Tustin, Ca. Lower lell: new credit mgr. Mary Bower Prozio, daughter Madison, husband Lenny. lower righl: part of the Mariners' gang wishing Pete Bower best wishes on his new venlures in import/export of sp0rts artifacts and the publishing of a fine arts di rectorv,

Housing Affordability Declines

Far fewer young couples can afford to buy a home today than could l0 years ago, according to the Census Bureau.

Less than half of the married couples between ages 25 and 34 from 1975 to 1985 had incomes high enough to buy a home. In the mid-1970s, three-fourths of such couples could buv a first home.

Faster Forming Households

The number of households being formed is fast outpacing population growth, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The figures are believed to be a bullish sign for housing.

From 1980 to 1988, households increased by 13.90/o while population rose by 8.570. The average number ofpersons in each household fell from 2.75 to 2.62.

Fred Holmes

347O lowa City Rd., Marysville, Ca. 959O1 or6t 743-3269

P.O. Box 8OO, Fort Bragg. Ca.9i43i (7071964-6377

Steve Holmes, Steve Hautala, Tod Holmes, Phyllis Hautala, Toni Matilla

SP0TTED (]WL or not, the lumbermen were smiling lll Mark Lofland, L-P's Joe Wheeler, Jim Frodsham. l2l Ted Gilbert, Jim Moss. {3lBod Kautz, Dave Bufe, Robert Golding. (41 Pete Speek, Ed Gavotto. (51 Andv Ersek, Pete Clough, Don Derbes. (61 Barry Siagner, Mike lrish. l7l Bill Young, Doug Bench, Jeff Goutd. l8l Patric Taylor, Kimberly Sanderson. l9l

Cap Strano, Steve Shudoma. ll0l Ron Toth, 0scar Furnes, Mike Nicholson. (lll Todd & Ted Pollard. ll2l Richard Miller, Blaine Smith, Eruce Kelly, Sam Witzel. {l3l Patrick Ross, Ron Robbins, Pat Reagan, Jr. (l4l Wayne Gardner. llSl Doug Willis, Bill Hoglund. llEl Doreen Kuhlmann, Tom Ross. llTl Jerry Pugmire, Rick Anfinson, Jon Wilson.

Enviro Threat Called Serious

Canadian spruce and southern yellow pine could become predominant species in the Southern California market if western timber supply problems due to environmentalist pressures continue, Joe Wheeler, western div. manager for LouisianaPacific, told a recent meeting of the Los Angeles Hoo-Hoo club.

Noting the seriousness of the lumber supply problems, he told the lumbermen's fraternity that L-P was recently forced to close its Potter Valley, Ca., mill and mothball its Red Bluff, Ca., facility due to resource problems.

Wheeler said that Douglas fir

"Just-in-time" Demand Grows

Greater reliance on distribution yard strategies in 1987 helped North American Wholesale Lumber Association member companies achieve total sales of $9,446,178,600, an increase of 9.70/o over 1986 figures.

An analysis of the total wholesale lumber sales volume figure, taken from NAWLA's annual 1988 sales survey, reveals a continuing trend towards distribution yard wholesaling. Nicholas R. Kent, executive vice president of NAWLA, believes this trend is consistent with the growing demand lor 'Just-in-time" delivery by the retail trade.

"As more retail customers seek to improve their cash flow and control inventory costs with 'tust-intime" practices, the importance and value of purchasing stock and pro(l'ltu.st'turtt to pagc 78) could be displaced as the number one species in Southern California if actions by western environmentalist factions are not resolved. "We don't have a tree shortage," he said, "only a lumber shortage." Without an adequate response to these threats to our industry, he said, "we face down the road a real crunch."

Urging the lumber people present to lobby their political representatives. Wheeler said. "Each one of us can make a difference. We've been negligent, we need to get organized."

He pooh poohed environmentalist claims that the Northern Spotted Owl was endangered, calling it a surrogate for their real aim of banning harvesting of the forest.

The meeting was held June 2l at the Sheraton Hotel, City of Industry (Los Angeles), Ca. More than 80 attended.

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