Bay area dealer moves up

Hill, Ca., to a renovated and upgraded 6,000-sq. ft. facility in Concord, Ca.

After battling for two years with the county, the company moved from the county-owned land to make way for a bike trail being built adjacent to the store. It took owners Jeff Hogan, Peter Brown and Kathy Hogan-Brown the full two years to find the desired parcel of land that had freeway access.

An old RV Center was converted into the new store from the ground up, which was led by Hogan-Brown, who planned the design of the store and worked 18 hour days for three months, and Rick Kelly, who was the project manager responsible for coordinating and developing the new site.

Jeff Hogan said he, sister HoganBrown, and Kelly spent about a year getting permits and working with subcontractors to get the store ready fbr merchandise.

Hogan said general manager Dan Easley was the driving force behind the expansion, as well as the upgrades to the state-of-the-art facility. The l5year-old Pleasant Hill location had been assembled piecemeal as needs arose.

Project manager Kelly transferred all the existing stock and trucks in one weekend. The business was closed for only one day.

Kelly has also worked for the company as an assistant manager, sales rep and trucking dispatcher.

The facility's design was thought out carefully with a focus on an "efficient flow for the workforce and customers."

The management team knew the most important thing they needed was enough space for the volume of products they now carry.

"We did it on our own," HoganBrown said when asked how she went about designing the layout.

"In many ways, we were babes in the wood," she added. Some of the so-called expert advice they received turned out to be misleading.

"Combined we have 75 years of experience, so if one of us didn't think of experience, So if one of us didn'tthink of what was needed, or how to get past an obsiacle. another one did." of what was needed, or how to get past an obstacle, another one did," said Hogan-Brown.

They also separated traffic flow by creating individual aisles for incoming and outgoing trucks to accommodate the business' 50 to 60 deliveries per day.

Inside the store is a state-of-the-art door and window showroom. Complete with glossy, marbleized, and stained concrete floors. and 22-ft.high ceilings, the showroom utilizes some of the newest technology in the industry, Hogan-Brown said.

They hung lights lower than usual for a home-like feel and used lO-ft. high soffit ledges for moulding displays.

"We're excited to know we, as a fourth-generation, family-owned company, can expand and grow a facility," Hogan said.

She said they made a list of every SKU number and plotted out a space for it "after making list after list."

There are much wider aisles in the store and separate loading aisles for stock in high demand. By using Krauter Storage Systems, the owners say the inventory is more orderly and easier to access.

Since its grand opening June 2, sales have gone up l5%o.

"Along with having an expanded facility, we are now in the sweet spot," said Hogan. "We hope we can grow it beyond even where it is at now."

Coupled with Ashby Lumber's facility in Berkeley, Ca., the new location gives shoppers access to the company in both Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

Since the move, they have hired three additional employees, and all existing employees and management transfened to the new location.

"My father believed in the saying, 'I'd rather serve one customer 1.000 times than 1,000 customers only once,"' said Hogan. "We strive to uphold his vision."