New showroom signals start of major

rFHE attractive new showroom at I Escondido Lumber Co. is just the first part of an improvement plan for their operation that will eventually bring major changes to the Escondido, Calif., yard.

In the near future they plan to build a combination stand-up finish shed that will handle receivine and storage. The 5d x l4C/ building will be at the end of their 26 space parking lot, on the Santa Fe railroad spur. Eventually, by razing the other scattered structures in their 300'x 4O0/ yard, they will enclose the property, leaving the center open for parking.

Located in a town that is the center of a i5-20 mile trading area with about 80,0O0 people, the firm has annual gross sales of more than $l mil- lion, with 7Uo/o in contractor sales and the balance in consumer. They calculate their net return as about two percent. Profit margin is described as being as much as competition will allow. l{ElI displays do much to move merchandise. Extensive selection of tools ref lects semi-rural na ture of much of their trading area. Transit (top righ0 proved to be surprisingly good seller. Pegboardedtools are good use of comer wall space.

Bob [,ee, the vp., co-owner and general manager, says that about l0 years ago the business mix was 80/o20/o and, that he expects that in perhaps another l0 years the consumer side will continue to grow so that it will eventually be 5o/o-50/o.

Presently they have 23 employees; 6 in the store, 5 yard, 4 office, 4 administrative and 4 drivers. Employee turnover is very light. Hiring is done from applications made to them.

Personalized service is the key to their success, f.ee feels, and the oper. ating hours they keep reflect this.

Nominally open from 7:30 a.m.-5 p,m., six days a week, they more of. ten than not have someone at the location at 7 a.m., just as an extra service to the approximately 24 contractors who work out of the store. It is this kind of consideration for the customer's needs, they reason, that has allowed them to more than hold their own with the two other local yards.

The accounting is not broken down into lumber and non-lumber items as it was in the past. 'oWe never thought it provgd anything," Bob l,ee explaing "we know our costs to build a load of lumber, so our cost analvsis is basically figuring our costs to groes sales.tt

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