Merchandising hardwoods at the retail level

ey Gary Stewart Hardwood Department Manager American Forest Products Corp.

else is available, what its qualities (and faults) are, and then to educate the retailer as to what else is available and who would be interested in buying it.

The exotic wosfl5-lesswood, teakare one way of expanding your stock. Too, consider the domestic woods, such as eln4 maple, oaks, walnut, birch and poplar. Hardwood plywood should be included in your inventory, and it should be pushed harder, not just supplied.

Story sl q Glonce

Manufacturer and supplier sup- port in the hardwood field is an especially important part of increasing sales at the retail level, the growth area for hardwood.

Adequate milling facilities can play a large part in expanded hardwood sales. Retailers often specify pre-cut, pre-packed, pre-priced woods. Often they are not knowledgeable in hardwood lumber yield or cutting. By educating them to furnish in sbck all milled sizes, they can increase sales considerably. Hardwood moudings in the retail yards also constitute a potential for profit.

Now that you have the variety to offer. how do we stimulate the retailer not only to stock our line-for that is just a beginning-but to promote it? The answer is obvious. A strong sales force trained, knowledgeable and en- thusiastic enough about hardwoods to motivate the retailer is the key to increased hardwood profits.

The more the retailer knows about hardwood, the more confidence the salesman gives him in his ability to sell it, the greater his ability to stimulate consumer sales.

Telling the retailer about the quality and characteristics of each hardwood is a start. The salesman must also make himself available to the retailer for advice. W'hen he can anticipate a need for follow-up, he should meet it.

The supplier can be valuable to the retailer when it comes to displaying the hardwood line. Naturally, moving the hardwoods to the front of his stock will more quicky attract customer interest. Identifying the wood at point of display will help the customer remember what he has seen, and he can readily identify it again when he returns, should the display have been moved.

Suggestions should be made to the retailer about advertising hardwoods along with his other lines. This may sound like catering to the retailer. Well. it is. Because that is how the manufacturers and wholesalers ultimately become successful at merchandising hardwoods at the retail lwel.

All of this iso needless to say, only as good as the quality of the hardwoods you have to offer. For without quality, you can only get away with selling any hardwood to any retailer

-once.

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THE beginning of the hardwood r industrv of the Pacific Coast was not very much later than that of Chicago. In 1849 and lB50 the general merchandising stores in San Francisco, such as Howard & Mellis, and Leidsdorff, brought around the Horn in clipper ships, along with boots, shoes, clothing and food stufis, some hardwoods.

In the 60s, 70s and BOs a number of firms entered the hardwood business in San Francisco. first as an adjunct to wagon materials and later handling hardwood lumber exclusively. John Wigmore in the early 60s, Straut White & C,o. in 1868, White Brothers in 1872, Allen & Tuggle Lumber Co. in 1882, J. H. Dieckmann and E. F. Niehaus in the late 80s or early 90s were old con@rns.

San Francisco became the hardwood distribution center for the entire Western part of the United States and Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver drew their sup. plies from the Golden Gate. As population increased in the other coast cities, hardwood yards were established and softwood yards and planing mills put in stocks of hardwoods.

In Los Angeles in 1893, Erastus J. Stanton, a former Michigan lumberman, established a lum,ber business handling principally sugar and white pine. In lB95 he put in a stock of hardwood. In 1904 the Hardwood Lumber Co.. a branch of the Hardwood Lumber Co. of Denver, was established by Joseph Ringeman and in 1906 this became the Western Hardwood Lumber Co. Los Angeles became the distribution center of southern California.

Seattle

In 1903, Ehrlich Harrison & Co. was established in Seattle. Portland soon was a distributing center, developing its hardwood business from planing mill stocks. The Emerson Hardwood Co., under the manage, ment of Charles Stetson, set up a band mill and veneer saw, imported large quantities of Japanese oak logs and sold their products all along the coast. The financial results were only indifferent and the plant was purchased by Roger Sands of Seattle.

The hardwood industry of the Pa. cific Coast has changed greatly in character since its beginnings. In the early days wagon and carriage building was the principal outlet for hard-