Steady growtl

66\/OLUME this year is at Ieast sir f times more than at the time of our purchase," says Jerry D. Kayne, co-owner, Canoga Park Lumber Co. Kayne and partner Bernard H. Walowit attribute their success to being competitive at all levels; customer services, good quality merchandise and knowledgeable personnel. Kayne, in charge of retail, and Walowit, handling lumber needs of builders, made an annual gross of $1.4 million last year and are right on schedule to top it this year.

First thing the two did after purchasing the 2L/z acre facility January 2, 1967, was to build a new 5,000 office and showroom building, completed May I, 1967. Parking facilities cover 12,500 sq. ft. and the yard totals 77,250 sq. ft. CPL built its own railroad siding facilities. Plans for the future include pole shed construction for the yard and increasing the air conditioned area inside by Ir/2 times, a great asset in the hot San Fernando Valley, just outside Los Angeles.

Sixteen employees, including the owners, man the store, working from 8-5 daily, B-4 Saturday. Personnel includes four in sales, two office, two warehouse and showroom, with the balance in yard and delivery. Employees are usually recruited from a large number of job applications kept on file. The yard boasts a low turnover, so classified help-wanted ads are used infrequently.

Business mix is 5O/o bfilder business, 25/o retail and.25/o small contractor. Accounting is broken down into hardware, paint, plywood, sash and door, lumber and miscellaneous. The yard sells in a retail trade area of approximately 32 sq. mi. All allied building lines are represented in the store, only household items are not included. The one piece of merchandise dropped by CPL was plastic molding be. cause it was ootoo rich for our customers' trade," said Kayne. (For a conflicting oiewpoint on selling the cralts marlcet, see The ilIerchant, Iune, p.6.)

The company has a flexible credit policy, handling their own financing through Building Material Dealers Credit Assn. and Retail Merchants Credit Assn. Delivery costs customers a nominal charge; and o'retail prices run the same regardless of size or order," said Kayne.

Iicture Forms As Two Old Pros Take Over Yard

CPL buys either directly or from wholesalers. They shy away from co-operative buying because they haven't yet found a co-op that satisfies their needs. They find co-op buying difficult because compared to operations like food buying, they have no predetermined needs. They buy large lots and, if the size is too great, "play part ofit ofi through friendly competitors," said Kayne.

They compete by pricing 'ofairly and extending extra service," said Kayne. W'alowit remarked that CPL likes to help customers plan their building projects, thereby making a sometimes tough sale with customer service. We oospend an undue amount of time on services," stated Kayne.

Precutting headers, blocks, etc., is tlre only pre-fab work CPL does for builders. The company sells nothing that includes labor, such as remodeling packages, because they "don't want to compete with customersr" said Kayne. "We're merchants not contractors," remarked Walowit. The only seasonal business the two men notice is summer patio sales and {encing.

Jerry Kayne started in 1939 in sales and finished up with U.S. Plywood where he rose to be branch vice president with New York offices. He spent 25 years with U.S. Plywood, interrupted for service with Uncle Sam's Army in a forestry company operating small units in Europe. He was discharged as a Captain at the end of three years. He moved to the West seeking "new challenges," as he put it. He was in building in southern California for nearly four years,

Story qt d Glonce

Customer service, trained personnel, promotion with public demonstrations and individual planning puts the new owners 600% ahead in volume in less than two years.

Bernie Walowit comes from an old lumber business family, having spent 36 years in wholesale and retail, 20 years in tlle San tr'ernando Valley, 16 years in New York. He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. Canoga Park Lumber was 34 years old when these two men bought it out, maintaining it as a contractor and retail yard, whole- sale to builders, not to other yards as such.

CPL copes with the slowness in housing starts by diversification, keeping a good enough mix. on hand to operate properlp They have enough small sales to give a comfortable cash flow. To reach the public, CPL uses direct mail, local papers and co-op advertising along with suppliers.

They also are a part of "Welcome Wagon," a local greeting service for new homeownerc. Advertising is used 'ojust enough to keep our name in front of peopler" responded Kayne.

The two men's opinion of suppliers varies from good to questionable. They use sales training programs when they can, but believe in being as self-sufficient as possible. CPL offers exhibitions and films for customers. A popular film was one on using a power saw unit they sell. Jerry Kayne replied that a "tremendous amount of money goes down the drain in mailers, without rhyme or reason. Some are too big for envelopes or are inadequate." Both men are firmly convinced that national advertising could be improved by localizing it. Local ads are what brine in the custo-

Shasta Iannual swrn9s

APPROXIMATELY Il5 rer-elers gathr r ered aL Ril[ Crawford's home {rom all over the West Coast for the llth annual Black Bart Barbecue. Sr,r-imming, sizzling thick steaks and drinks florved at the Black Bart Hoo-Hoo Club 1BI sponsored event. Tlrr- d,,irrgs climax,'d a suc"essfrrl leur under the lcadership of Bill Chase, Nevada Timber Products, the club president. New officers will be announced at the group's September 18 meeting. The casual atmosphere and fine companionship placed this afiair solidly in the Shasta tradition of annual sllccesses.