HOME GENTER MERGHANT

Bill Fishman & Affiliates

11650 lberia Place

San Diego, Ca.92128

It's a Mr. Cowling on the phone for you, Mr. Fishman.

(Hesitantly) Hi, Bill, how have you been?

(Controlled annoyance)

I've been good except for the negative remarks about Dixieline in your column.

Me:

(Surprised) Negative? I gave a pretty accurate description of what the people in my neighborhood feel about Dixieline. I didn't think it was negative. It's a great place for professionals to shop.

Cowling:

(Less Controlled) and do-it-yourselfers! Do you realize that we carry more o I have neverbeen on the Home Depot payroll. o I do not now... nor have I ever owned Home Depot stock. skus than Home Depot, and we don't stock furniture, sporting goods and the other junk. I think our stores are better designed and better merchandised than all those other places you wrote about. What's more, our number system is only used when we're so busy that we owe it to our customers to take care of them first-come first-serve.

To squelch the current rumors.

. Home Depot has neverbeeen a client.

Yes, I do know some of the principals at Home Depot, having served with them on industry advisory boards. I see and speak with them only once a year at The National Home Center Show.

My admiration for the Home Depot operation is based upon my judgments as a member of the home center industry since 1960.

(Proudly) Have you ever been to our new Convoy Street store?

Me: (Smugly) No, but I'm very familiar with it. A few years ago, I was instrumental in designing the expansion and high profile merchandise presentation when Handyman owned it.

Cowling: (Assuredly) Well it's time you saw how we improved it. It's a fantastic store.

Me: (Defensively) Improved it! It was one ofthe best operating home center units in the country. That store won the Home Center of the Year Award.

Me: Tell you what, Bill. Meet me at the Convoy store any day

December 1987

next week, and we'll walk it together. Let me see the new Dixieline through your eyes.

Cowling: Next Thursday at 9:30. Me: Good.

Cowling: We'll meet out front.

The day after that phone call, I was on the way to the airport. I had plenty of time and the Dixieline Convoy Street store was less than five minutes out of the way. I pulled off the highway and headed for the store for a sneak preview before next Thursday's meeting.

I was prepared to see a store slightly upgraded from one of the Dixieline stores which is closer to home. I was also anticipating that the store would be substantially less d-i-y oriented compared to the Handyman unit that once occupied the same four walls.

I was wrong! The new Dixieline is a beautiful store. Easy to shop. Wide aisles. Well lit. Fairly well staffed. The di-y merchandise selection is outstanding. It's far more complete than the Dixieline I shopped before. The store features many display innovations of big ticket merchandise that make it easy to step up to quality.

While the high profile format was ideal for the Handyman goals of a few years ago, the more moderate gondola heights fit the Dixieline strategy.

I wish that the unit near home had the square footage needed to get this transformation.

Epilogue

I showed this column to Michelle and Joanne in my office. "What do you think?" I asked.

"It reads like you're trying to apologize to Bill Cowling," they replied.

"This store is different. Had I known about the newer Dixieline I would have not included the professional tag in my last column," I retorted.

Debt Reduction Strategy

The following responses to excuses offered by those who owe you money have been successful for many creditors.

If "the check is in the mail," ask when it was mailed and the account number. Volunteer to call the bank about its status.

If the bill hasn't been paid because the product isn't working, offer to send a repairman immediately to fix it and accept a check for the balance due:

The bill has been lost, destroyed in fire, earthquake or flood. Sympathize and offer to give all information over the phone so the debtor can pay immediately.

FlSHll{G trip sponsored by Louisiana-Pacilic down the lower Klamath River in Ca. resulted in a dozen lish, totalling nearl! 90 lbs., caught by (l-r) Randy Hayden, L-P; Mark Herms, Industrial Forest Products; Brian 0'Hagen, Lattice Works of Oregon, and Steve Baugh, Industrial Forest Products.

Seattle Co. Logs 75th Year

Blackstock Lumber Co., Inc., Seattle. Wa.. celebrated its 75th anniversary last month, continuously operated by first, second and third generation Blackstocks since 1912.

Carl Blackstock founded the company and passed it onto his son, RaY. Now semi-retired, Ray is turning the business over to his sons, Scott and Jim.

The company has been at its current location since 1924, offering retail lumber, building materials, customer manufacturing, millwork and pre-hung doors.

FRED CARUSO executive secretary

llfllr-tnu "Bill" Boddington,

I I founder of Boddington Lumber Co., Colorado Springs, Co., has been named an honorary life member of the MSLBMDA.

He is honored for his 40 years of dedicated service as a supplier to the retail lumber trade. In receiving the honor, the 70-year-old Boddington said, "What impresses me most about the lumber business is the quality of the people. When I accepted my first job in this industry in 1947, I accepted happily, saying that selling to people of this class would be pleasurable and surely profitable. Forty years later, the retail lumber industry still attracts wonderful people."

Boddington founded his wholesale moulding and millwork company in 1954 with the commitment to sell onlv to retail dealers, with no preferential deals and to build an organization of loyal employees eligible to participate as stockholders and share in the profits.

A member of MSLBMDA since 1975, active in its convention, trade show and educational activities, the company has locations in Denver, Co., Cheyenne, Wy., and Albuquerque, N.M., as well as Colorado Springs. Boddington is officially retired although he goes to the office every day.

Plans are underway for the Building Materials Buying Show at the Denver Merchandise Mart, March l0 and ll. The number of exhibit spaces is now 136, a 340/o increase in the size of the show since 1983. The Intermountain Building Materials Buying Show, a new activity to debut in 1988, will be held April 14 at the Salt Palace Convention

(l'lcasc turn to pogc 76)

NORTHEAST

GEORGE MCQUESTEN CO.

Iron Horse Park North Billerica, MA 01862 (617) 663-343s

MID.STATE LUMBER CO. 2OO Industrial Parkway Bmnchburg, NJ 08876 (2O1) 7254SO soulltEAsr FURMAN LUMBER CO. 8l9l Annapolis Junction Rd. Annapolis Junction, MD 20701 (3Ot) 792-2234

EARL RAIFORD LUMBER CO. PO. Box 5498 Ashwille. NC 28813 (7041253-sffi7

EPPERSON LUMBER SAIES. INC. PO. Box 1559 Statesville, NC28677 (7O4) 8734321

WOODFORD PLYWOOD PO. Box 1731

Albany, GA 31703 (el2) 8834900

Branches in Alabama, Georgia & Florida

NORTIIWEST HUMPHREY LUI'BER CO. PO. Box 99943 Tacoma, WA 98499 (206) 5U-6263

I'PPER MID WEST CANTON LUMBER CO. P.O. Box 9328 Minneapolis, MN 5544O.E328 (612) 42s-t4ffi

WEST

GARY

L. SMITH

executive vice president

Llftfg All Of The Media Attention

I I given to the admissions of public officials regarding what they used to smoke, I am ready to make my own past public. The withdrawal of Judge Bork's name from nomination for the Supreme Court and criticism of presidental candidates Babbitt and Gore for using marijuana seems pretty silly to me.

I have never used marijuana, but because of my age and background, I really feel more of a misfit than they are. I don't know why I was never exposed to the drug in high school or college, but my lack of experience probably puts me in the minority for my generation, nonetheless.

That's not to say Mrs. Smith's middle son was a perfect angel. I had some experience with the "legal" drugalcohol - at an illegal age, but that was more or less accepted. After all, I could go to war for my country, so why shouldn't I be entitled to act silly at night and be sick the next day like other adults?

I guess what I'm saying is I don't really blame these public officials just because it was available and they tried. In fact, I would almost be surprised if a number hadn't, since it appears the majority did. I'll never try it now, legal or illegal. I already have enough expensive vices.

Enough about drug use. What I really want to talk about is experimentation. I officially do not condone it when it comes to things illegal, immoral or dangerous to life or limb. In our business, however, I think a certain amount of it is essential.

Most of today's surviving lumber

AII{OAST FOREST PRODUCIS, INC PO Box M Chino, CA 9l7OB (7t4) 627-855r

HEDLUND LUMBER & MACHINE SAINING PO. Box 6@38 Sacmmmtq CA 95860 (916) 331€6il

IMPERIAL WHOTESAI,E PO. Box 256O5 Salt Lake City, UT 85125 (8Or) 972-s656

CEDAR WESI CORP PO. Box 5224 Denver, CO 8O217 (3O3r 2e4-OO77