FAMOWOOD

Boat builders, furniture makers, cabinet makers, etc. have found it the one sure answer t0 correcting wood defects, filling wood cracks, gouges, covering countersunk nails and screws.

Ready to use right out of the can, Famowood applies like putty-sticks like glue; dries quickly; won't shrink, dnd will not gum up sander. Waterproof and gum weatherproof when properly applied .e cross-merchandising can work for you?

Consider these:

Unfinished Furniture. Numerous do-ityoursetfers Oonl rratlze that unfinished furniture, no matter what grade of wood it is, most often needs sanding to smooth surfaces and for surface preparation prior to paint or stain application. Nor do they know that sanding between coats is advised for a better finish. So, signage or samples of sandpaper along with reminders of your stain product line can lead to additional sales.

Paint. Customers have to wait for paint toEE mixed, thus providing you with the opporrunity to remind them of sandpaper, masking tape, brushes, drop cloths and other necessities.

Power Tools. Make add-on sales in this department 5y advising your customers to stock up on sanding belts and discs, bits, blades and similar accessories. And don't overlook safety equipment. Dust masks and eye goggles are important protective items for your customers, and profitable products for you.

Cutting Tools. People buying new axes, culiffiiEiippers forget the blades won't stay sharp forever. Let your display speak ofmaintenance to sell sharpening stones, lubricating agents and the like.

Plumbing and Metalwork. Pipes aren't everything. Plumbing projects also need soldering equipment and sanding papers specially designed for deburring, rust removal and proper preparation of metal for soldering. You can also cross-merchandise many of these products if you sell metal railing.

Drywall Construction. Make it easy for@ewayprofessionals do by displaying special open mesh sandpaper along with adhesive compounds and tapes.

Get your cross-sales going by viewing all of your merchandise from a project standpoint. Think of every possible accessory item needed for the various

Story at a Glance

Sell moretoeach customer... maximize square footage with cross merchandising devices... sell proiects, not individual products. ..teach your staff that add on sales build volume and profit.

projects and make a list. Next, for each department, take an inventory of the available space on the floor, shelves, existing display racks. Don't forget the ceiling. Then decide what combination of signage, samples and product displays will work best in the available space.

You may want to develop a graphic format or theme, such as a cartoon character. A checklist approach to cross-merchandising is always easy and appropriate. You may also wish to extend cross-selling into your advertising.

And don't forget training your sales staff. Even ifyou operate a self-service center, every employee should understand why it pays to sell the project. You might even consider offering your people an incentive for coming up with new crossmerchandising ideas.

Buy carefully. Some manufacturers make yourjob easier through good packaging that helps the do-it-yourselfer in product selection. Norton Consumer Products, for example, has job-specific packaging for ils sandpaper line that contains thc right sandpaper for a particular job and is labeled for that specific sanding project, such as wood sanding or metal sanding. It also has space-saving displays for its sanding products, including a compact sanding belt merchandiser.

Are U.S. Tools Better?

(Continued from page I5) and a couple of hammers," says Steve Olson. owner of Built-Rite Lumber & Supply, Rollins, Wy. "Over two to three years ago, the steel used to make the imports seemed inferior. You'd go to twist the screw and you'd bend the tip ofthe screwdriver. Things have changed. We just got in some paint trays, rollers and roller covers that seem to bejust as good as the domestics for a lower price."

"One reason we didn't carry imports before was that our supplier hadn't carried them. The availability wasn't there. But now that we're looking at different suppliers, we will carry more imports," he adds.

Jack Lagerquist, buyer at Lumber Dealers Supply, Pocatello, Id., says, "We sell both. about6O% American and4O% imports, and there's a place for both. We've done well with both. There's a pretty good difference in quality, but also a difference in price. We've had very few problems with either."

Steve Stookesberry, manager, Economy Building Materials, Denver, Co., says, "We have about a dozen SKUs, various hammers and so on, and they look pretty good to us. We serve two totally different markets. We're 6O% professional new home construction and40% consumer sales. We have professionals who want all top-of-theJine, American made, brand name tools."

"On the other side of the ticket. we offer the imports in a promotional capacity. as hot specials to get the consumers in the door. Bringing them in with a $2.99 hammer. And we've had pretty good success with them and are impressed with their quality and sales. We try to serve both markets."

Jim Nelson, owner of Buena Park Lumber, Buena Park, Ca., checked out quality for himself. "Three years ago, I took a tour of Taiwan," he says. ''I went to three factories and I was much impressed with what I saw. I tried to break samples, pipe wrenches and such, but nothing was breaking."

Buena Fark Lumber soon began carrying a wide selection of imports, having to replace so few that they now offer a lifetime guarantee. "They're used as our bottom-of-the-line, and they're good for advertising promotions. There's a 2-3400% profit. Profit is only 60 or 80% tf you're buying direct and 40% or less if you're buying from the local warehouse. So we find ourselves carrying less and less top-of-the-line, because some lines we're not able to buy direct. And we can't begin to compete with the retail warehouses." he savs.

Second Quarter Starts Up 4o/o

Construction of new housing units in the second quarter of 1986 rose 4% abote the same period of 1985.

"Lower mortgage rates are reshaping housing demand toward a larger proportion of single-family homes in 1986," said George A. Christie, vice president and chief economist for F. W. Dodge. "The latest quarter's total of 518,059 housing starts consisted of 62% one-family units, up significantly from last year's 54%."

The Los Angeles-Long Beach, Ca., area led the nation with 19,241new units. Washington, D.C. ranked second with 13J36 units.

Other top 10 housing areas were Atlanta, Ga., 13,578 units; Riverside-San Bernardino. Ca.. 13.081 units: Phoenix, Az., 12,496 units; Chicago, Il., 10,040 units; San Diego, Ca., 8,974 units; Thmpa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fl., 8,646 units; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Mn., 7.950 units: Dallas. Tx.. 7.877 units.

L-P To BuyTRC's Calif. Assets

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. intends to purchase all the California properties of Timber Realization Co. for $95 million.

Included are 96,000 acres of timberland of which 88,000 acres are in Mendocino County and the Calpella sawmill which has 62 million b.f. production per year on a two shift basis. TRC has 164 employees in the West. The property was formerly owned by Masonite Corp.

1985 ABig lumber Year

Western mills produced 19 billion board feet of lumber in 1985, the highest level since 1979's 20.03 billion, according to the latest Western Wood Products Association figures.

Although 1985 production increased 2% over 1984's 18.99 billion board feet, its estimated wholesale value was down from $4.89 billion to $4.86 billion.

Leading 1985 lumber producer in the West was Oregon at 7.21 billion feet, followed by California,4.lT billion feet; Washington, 3.42 billion feet; Idaho, 1.68 billion feet, and Montana, 1.45 billion feet.

Employment by the Western wood products industry was down 2.670 last year, from 208,600 to 203,200.

Last year western mills supplied 40.5 % of the softwood lumber consumed in the U.S. Canada supplied 33% and the South 23.6%.

Inspectors Elect Officers

William Latimer, Willamette Industries, Inc., Lebanon, Or., was elected president of Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau at the 82nd annual meeting held in Victoria, British Columbia.

Other officers elected included J.F. "Jack" Newman, Weldwood of Canada Ltd., Vancouver, B.C., first vice president, and George Thompson, Bellevue, Wa., secretary-manager/treasurer.

Elected to the board ofdirectors at the May 9 meeting were Ron Dersham, Weyerhaueser Co., North Bend, Or., R.A. "Dick" Drake, B.C.F.P. Coast Sawmills Ltd., Vancouver, B.C., and R.R. "Bob" Waltz, Jr., SeartleSnohomish Mill Co., Snohomish, Wa.

Other directors elected to return to the board are Don-Lee Davidson, Davidson Industries, Mapleton, Or.; Don A. Dorvsley, MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., Vancouver, B.C.; W.G. Crook, Crown Forest Industries Ltd., NewWestminster, BC.: Brian Jones, West Coast Forest Products, Arlington, Wa.; William G. Hallstrom,

Zip-O Lumber Co., Inc., Eugene, Or.; J.E. Kennedy, C.I.P. Inc., Vancouver, B.C.: H. Kneteman. Whonnock Industries Ltd., Vancouver, B.C.; James Manke, Manke Lumber Co., Thcoma, Wa.: David W. Miller. Moore Mill & Lumber Co., Bandon, Or.; James Robinson, Canadian Forest Products Ltd., Vancouver, B.C. ; J.A. Thorlakson, Tolko Industries Ltd., Vernon, B.C.

Established in 1903 and now headquartered in Bellevue. Wa.. PLIB furnishes inspection and grade stamping services to mills in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, Canada.

RetailerAdds On To Reduce

Sackett & Peters, Whittier, Ca., has devised a way to add 15,000 sq. ft. to their selling floor, yet lessen the number of steps needed to shop the store.

Customers are currently required to walk through a long outdoor selling area. The remodeling, scheduled for an early October unveiling, will create a unified 55,000 sq. ft. store.

In addition, Robert Sackett, executive vice president, says, "We are re-fixturing with new gondolas throughout, a 'race track'sales floorlayout and 16 checkouts."