Web Site's New Owners Eyeing Pros

Contractor sales are among the new avenues being explored by the new owners of Superbuild.com, one of the largest electronic retailers of building products.

Services for professionals ate expected to be launched by the first quarter of 2000. "There's no reason why, if you're a contractor on a job site, you should have to go to your local lumberyard," said Tom Todaro, head of the four-person investment group that acquired the Seattle, Wa.based online business.

Other investors include Mike Pickett, who will serve as Superbuild's new chairman, and Sam Heerensperger, former Eagle Hardware exec. v.p. of merchandising and son of Eagle founder David Heerensperger.

The team first considered launching its own site, then instead decided to acquire an existing leader in e-com- merce. Superbuild.com, founded last October by John Keuber, receives about 100,000 unique visitors a month, with sales rising 20Vo a month to reportedly top $l million for the year.

Although Keuber has left, the company's ll employees were retained, including former Eagle executive Luke Baldwin, who is staying on as v.p. of sales and mktg.

The staff has expanded to 20 and the site is being completely overhauled. "We'll be relaunching with high-quality digital images on the site, and regional distribution nationwide, shipping out of warehouses in Spokane, Memphis and Frederick, Md.," Todaro said.

Its merchandise mix is also under review, with about half of its 80,000 offerings temporarily removed because they are redundant or not selling. By October the total will return to 80,000 with the addition of new products and entirely new categories such as faucets.

Other possible changes include providing e-commerce for physical lumberyards.

A month before Superbuild was purchased, Richard Takata resigned as president of Eagle Hardware to start the yet-to-be-launched cornerhardware.com.

J.E. Higgins Consolidating

J.E. Higgins Lumber Co. is moving its headquarters from Concord to Livermore, Ca., to a new 55,000-sq. ft. facility it expects will be completed by May.

The Pella Window & Door distribution division, now housed in a multitenant industrial park in Livermore, also will move next year to the new free-standing building. Higgins'

Wood Flooring

Distributors division, which distributes Bruce and Robbins hardwood flooring lines from Hayward, Ca., also will move to the Livermore facility in 2000.

The consolidation of the corporate offices under the same roof as operational business units has been a longtime goal of the ll6-year-old company. The acquisition of land and development of the new facility was made possible by the sale in April of the company's Union City property, which it owned since 1968.

Additionally, a new company-wide computer system is slated to be operational in November.