How a Washington dealeremphasizes wood rrlU|8ff"li?LJ,T:,?"7:, it all."

For the past year and a half, that's the way Henry Bacon Building Materials, Inc., a four-store chain in the Seattle, Wa., area, has been promoting itself in flyers, newspaper ads, radio and TV commercials.

Then early this year, management decided they should be emphasizing their strength in lumber instead of just being another home center operation.

A major step in the change was the allotting of 2OVo of the floor space to moulding and wood products normally stored in the warehouse.

Racks were installed so that the materials in the area could be displayed and priced for self service. Although Henry Bacon's sales staff is lumber oriented to help those who need assistance, it is also possible for customers to examine the merchandise, help themselves and carry it out.

Refocusing to their original aim of being basically a lumber yard has paid off for the company. Retail sales of wood products have jumped l09o since February, according to Mike Cushing, product manager for windows and doors.

As part of the emphasis on wood products, the firm recently completed construction of a 560 square foot display house that features 38different windows and doors.

Nearly double the size of the previous display and containing three times as many products, the new display was built in the firm's Bellevue store and will serve as a prototype for similar displays in the firm's other stores in Seattle, Renton and Kent.

Using a cutaway house merchandising concept, the new rectangularshaped display measures 14 ' x 40'with exterior products featured around the perimeter and interior products featured in two l-shaped displays inside the main display.

Inside or out, selection is the key. There are, for example, 15 different types of interior doors including six bifold doors, four panel doors, three sliding closet doors, a folding door system and a pocket door. The display also contains five exterior doors, three storm doors and three patio doors.

Window shoppers, on the other hand, can inspect ll different windows in seven different styles-bow, bay, casement, double hung, awning, sliding and octagonal-that feature a variety of different exterior finishes, glazing systems and other options.

Designed and built by one of the store's customers, the new display has generated favorable reaction from sales personnel and customers alike. "Our sales force likes it because it shows the wide variety of windows and doors we handle, both in stock and special order, and all the optional features that are available in those products," Cushing says.

"In addition, the finished construction on the exterior side of the display gives customers a feel for how the window or door will appear in their homes, while the rough construction on the interior side shows them how the product is installed. This display concept makes it much easier for the sales personnel to explain a particular product or feature and the customer to understand it."

Cushing notes that the firm's Renton and Kent stores will soon be merchandising windows and doors in the same manner as the Bellevue store. "Neither store has adequate window and door representation right now and that's a product area where we want to put a major emphasis."

The Renton and Kent stores are both about the same size as the Bellevue store and their new window and door displays will be similar in size to its display. The Seattle store, however, located in a downtown section of the city, is quite small compared to the other three outlets, housing only

Story at a Glance

Retailer allots 20olo of sales floorto lumber, sales jump107o in nine months... large in store display house features wide variety ol windows and doors

6,000 square feet of showroom versus nearly 20,000 for the others.

"The Seattle store is small but it does a big business in windows and doors," Cushing says. "As a result, its window and door display is also being updated. It will be a condensed version of the Bellevue display, measuring only about l/10 of the size. but will still show a broader cross section of windows and doors than the current display.

Rich Loria, manager of the Kent store, can't wait for the new display, which will measure 12' x39 ' and occupy 468 square feet of floor space, almost double the size of the current display area.

"The new display will give us the opportunity to consolidate all our windows and doors in one place," he says. "The exterior wood doors, for example, will be coming down from the wall because people want to be able to touch and operate them. They don't want to buy them like paintings on a wall.

"In terms of windows. we are now able to show only two window units, a double hung and a slider. The new display will allow us to show every- thing we stock as well as many of our special order items."

With only a few exceptions, all of the windows and doors in the new Bellevue display feature wood construction. "In both windows and doors, our concept is to promote the better products," states Cushing.

In terms of windows, he notes that the majority of the firm's wood window sales are going into replacement projects, with double hung units being the most popular because they best fit the style of homes in the area.

As far as wood window options go, Cushing points out that exterior cladding continues to sell well because of its low maintenance benefits, and that double glazing has grown extremely popular over the last five years to the point where today the bulk of wood windows sold contain this feature. "And. soon it will be standard in the state of Washington because of new energy codes," Cushing adds.

When it comes to doors, wood panel doors including both pre-hung stock units and special entryways account for the majority of sales. "This is definitely wood door country" he states. "In terms of natural beauty, they just can't be beat. Estheticly, people tend to shy away from steel. Many of our customers have previously lived in apartments that had metal doors and they don't like them. Add wood's natural insulating properties, and you can see why wood doors are a big seller for us."

Wood products are an integral part of Henry Bacon's extensive promotional efforts which consist of occasional newspaper ads, monthly Vl-page flyers, and major media campaigns on five radio stations and three TV stations three times a vear.

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