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Renovation draws new customers

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OBOTUARItrS

OBOTUARItrS

I thorough going renovation

11 and facelifting has given the l2-year old Palm Avenue Lumber Co. of Alhambra, Ca., a bright new look and more efficient quarters to serve their expanding trade.

"We spent more than $25,000 in a complete renovation of both the exterior and interior of the building in order to keep in step with modern day merchandising trends", noted Russ Fritchey, secretary-treasurer of the company.

By rearranging the office areas, additional selling space was obtained for new lines of plumbing and electrical supplies that the company is now selling. In addition to working with a local architect, Fritchey enlisted the aid of the store planning department of the Pacific Southwest Hardware Assn. in devising the improvements he envisioned for the operation.

One of their two entrance driveways was widened to help traffic flow in and out of the yard as well as making it easier for the new customer to zero in on the showroom. They have their own off-street parking lot with about 40 spaces, as well as limited parking in front of the yard.

A completely new central heating and air conditioning system was added for customer comfort.

The firm now merchandises a full line of lumber, plywood, paneling, moulding, electrical, plumb- irg, builders hardware, wallboards, insulation, paint, paint sundries, Redi-Mix cement and roofing materials.

The new store area has been effectively upgraded by a tasteful selection of paneling, moulding and other decorative devices to help provide ideas and information to the firm's customers.

Armstrong's new "Integrid Ceiling System," for example, was used to top the showroom area as a way of being a living display to show buyers what that product Iooked Iike installed.

Story at a Glance

Interior and exterior changes update 52year old retailer more merchandising space created for new lines of merchandise customer reaction is A-OK.

Installation ofthe ceiling, for example, was just one of the changes that they made that doesn't show in these pictures. "The original ceiling had to be jacked up," Fritchey explained, "before we could go ahead with the improvements we had planned. Moving ceilings and walls can get to be quite a job."

Their old, traditional sign that had been mounted along the ridgepole fell to progress and changing tastes. The new sign is a 4"x7.6"x24' roughsawn timber with the firm name routed out of the brown-stained wood. The letters themselves are stained gold. The new sign is mounted horizontally along the front of the building, about six feet above the pavement.

Palm Avenue Lumber Co. was built in 1922 (Same year the Merchant Magazine began) as the J & W. C. Shull Lumber Co. and it was there in 1927 that Paul B. Fritchey, present company president and Russ's father, went to work as an outside salesman. In 1939 he bought the company. A. Theodore Lee is the v.p.

They presently have nine full and part-time employees.

Reaction to the changes has been very good, according to Russ Fritchey, who notes that they are already seeing new faces, brought in by the changes.

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