Small town store is a little jewel

Wcrt.rn Lumbor and Bulldlng tlterial. TERCHANT week: M.-F. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. All in-deliveries are by truck as they are not on a rail spur.

They are advertising conscious and currently utilize bi-monthly advertising in the local paper, a direct 24-page mailer sent to 2000 locals gvery week, plus telephone directory advertising. They spend about 2% of.their gross funding the effort.

T)ROCEEDING

On The

premise -F that a small town store doesn't have to look like a blacksmith shop, two former American Forest Products Corp. employees have transformed San Leandro Building Materials, in the Northern California town of the same name. into an effective competitor for the business dollar.

An old operation, originally opened as San Leandro Mill & Lumber in t922 (same year ?he Merchant Magazine began publication), by Robert Shannon, it had been run since 1952 by Shannon's son-in-law, Harry Scoble, until he sold the buildings and property in 1972 to Paul Olsen and Ron DeLisle, whose corporate name is an acronym of their initials, P.R.O.D. Enterprises, Inc.

First thing Olsen and Delisle did was to refurbish and remodel the property prior to their opening March, 1973. No sooner was that completed then they set their sights on expansion and an additional remodeling to further update the operation. This was done during the winter of 1973-7 4 and it was reopened March, 1974 with a bright, fresh look that included a 5,000 sq. ft. showroom (up from 900 sq. ft.) wall-to-wall carpeting and an attractive all wood interior

Story at a Glance

lmagination and effort transform drab old store into bright, attractive customor-puller . . carpets, skylights, individual decor for each dept. help make it into a shopper's delight.

that included resin poured hatch covers as counters and plenty of skylights.

A complete line was added: electrical, hardware ("our Ace Hardware program has been a great success", says Olsen), garden, plumbing and, of course, lumber. Currently doing between $400,000 - $500,000 annually, business breaks down into 50Vo rctai]..30% industrial-commercial and 20Vo contractor. Despite the decline in housing, they are optimistic, with Ron Delisle noting that remodeling business "has been coming on steadily."

Situated on an acre, with parking for 15 cars (something they would like to correct) San Leandro Building Materials is open 7 days a

Store manager Jerry O'Hare, one of seven who make up the business, notes that seasons make a difference in their business, with fences and patios being big in summer with paneling coming on strong in winter. They tried selling Christmas trees one year, but that bombed.

The firm doesn't build trusses or get into other pre-fab work for builders, preferring as well to have licensed contractors available for customers who need work performed for them.

They have a standard scale for cutting up lumber and offer free delivery on orders above $25. Credit is available for any firm that clears their credit check and retail customers can use Bankamericard or Master Charge.

When Ron and Paul were first getting into business for themselves it was as wholesalers, the retail firm was preceded by one year by P.R.O.D. Wholesale Distributors. Their other whollyowned subsidiary, East Bay Land Development Co., was born January, 1973.

Ron Delisle, 32, got his start after graduating from Ohlone Junior College with American Forest Products in 1962 as a yard clerk. He had advanced to buyer and industrial department head

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