2 minute read
Speciol lssue: Hqrdwood Fron ship to shoulder trade
rFHE shopping mall. the supelmar- I ket and the mass merchandiser revolutionized retailing with mass display, selection, self-service, convenience and lower pribes. Evans Products Co. has applied these principles to the sale of building materials in its I57 building products retail chain, Grossman's, Atlantic and Moore's Super Stores, stretching from Maine south to North Carolina and westward to Missouri.
Every store in the chain, the country's second largest building products retailer, ofiers supermarket style one-stop shopping, placing 90 percent of its inventory on the sales {loor.
Customer self selection is the ba. sic approach used by stores in retailitg interior panelingselection in price, style. color and finish. Each store devotes at least twenty percent of its floor space to Evans' paneling, carrying fifty varieties of paneling from the expensive hardwood finishes to the competitively priced vinyl overlay or grain printed prefinished panels, and stocks about seventy-five panels in each variety.
FR0M CART to car, specially designed carts assist customers with purchase (left). Thousands have learned to work with hardwoods and the myriad other items available by attending kight) the firm's free do-it-yourself schools.
llut quality, beauty, selection and price are only part of the story. The rest is in the service provided. Floor salesmen are there not only to assist the buyer with selection and perhaps an explanation of the advantages of a panel, but also to instruct the doit-yourselfer on horv to complete his home project professionally.
Story qf o Glqnce
How the free world's largest importer of unfinished hardwood plywood merchandises the finished products thru their 157 retail outlets...a special pamphlet on hardwood panels makes it easier for the customer.
Each store features how-to-do-it pamphlets, complete with step by step instructions and illustrations on how to repair, remodel and maintain a home. There is an outstanding pamphlet on how to install Evans hardwood panels.
A customer is given service in other ways. Pricing is one of them.
Every paneling item, including the molding, adhesives, and nails is clearly marked with a price, so the customer can easily work within his budget.
The stores reach the consumer through a well-organized advertising campaign. Almost all advertising is built around a single theme and is presented to the consumer through colorful store displays, radio spots, newspaper advertising and direct mail pieces.
How can Evans retail stores offer so great a selection of paneling? l'irst of all, Evans is the free world's largest importer of unfinished hardwood plywood and operates eight 26,800 ton bulk vessels. Evans has three prefinished paneling plants, one of which is the world's largest, and one hardwood veneer facility. Also, as the top supplier of paneling systems to the mobile home industry, they are a volume producer, ofiering over 250 difierent paneling lines, the largest in the industry. Finally, they have a distribution system which includes 45 warehouses from coast to coast, in addition to its 157 retail building products stores.
