THE FUTURE Yard is Ready for Huge "New City"

A N OLD Los Angeles retail firm is ap- A plying the old military stratagem to 'oget theie fustest with the mostest" in the battle for the building materials dollar in the lucrative southern California market.

Anawalt Lumber & Materials Co., an "old campaigner" with almost half a century of "front line" sxperience in suburban Los Angeles, added the fourth link to their chain on October 1, opening a new build- ing materials center in Newhall, Calif.

Situated on Highway 99, about 10 miles north of the San Fernando Valley, the quiet community of Newhall (population: about 22,000) is serving as the nucleus of a mammoth development which promoters are calling "the nation's biggest new town." Valencia, as the new city will be called, will encompass a 4,000 acre portion of the 44,000 acre Newhall Ranch now being de- veloped by the Newhall Land & Farming Co., who predict ihat the area will boast a population of over 350,000 within 10 years.

"Weore about a year ahead of the area,tt says Hal Anawalt, vice president and general manager of the chain. "S[e don't expect to operate at full tilt for about two years, but we thought it would be wise to get in early so that the yard would be well-established when building activity reaches its peak in the area," he elaborated. With an eye toward future expansion, the new yard is situated at the apex of a pieshaped, seven-acre lot. As the area expands and develops, Anawalt plans to extend their operation forward to include a variety of building-related firms to provide plumbing, electrical and other such services. As projected, the operation will comprise a sort oI builders' "department store," offering every conceivable product and service for the construction, remodeling and maintenance of both homes and commercial buildings. The Anawalt yard will serve as the hub of all this activity.

The new yard is the culmination of three years of careful planning and of 45 years experience in retailing techniques compiled in the operation of Anawalt's yards in Pacoima, Montrose and Tujunga.

The main store, 12,000 sq. ft. of it, was designed to be run by a minimum of employees. Each item is departmentalized and individually price-tagged and shopping carts are available for supermarket-style browsing. Only four employees are needed to operate the store, with an occasional helping hand on weekends from an employee "pool" which Anawalt maintains to provide extra help for four yards during peak periods.

Out back, a 5400 sq. ft. storage shed houses the lumber, with all species marked as to size, grade and price. Self-service Berkot carts allow customers to build their own loads,

"We've tried to organize the new store so that we could sell one 2x4 or a carload and still come up with a profit," mused Anawalt.

Anotler area where the Anawalt operation's experience in retailing has paid off is in determining the proper mix ,between contractors, tract builders and do-it-yourselfers. "We're a little weary of the feast or famine that comes with relying on tract builders as a main source of business." savs Anawalt. "The Newhall store is oreanized so that when one phase of the business slows down, we can concentrate on another,t' he added.

Manager at the new yard is Blake Blakey, who began 20 years ago with the Hayward Lumber Company in Los Angeles. He managed Hayward's yards at Newport and Barstow and operated his own yard for several years in Mojave, closing it earlier this year to take over the Newhall operation.

I0EAL for retail ooerations is the Lancer "300," shown here in ooeration at Minton's Lumber & Supply in Mountain View.