Get the carry-away items up front and nail down those do-it-yourself dollars

66fT'S WHAT'S UP front thar counrs."

I A tired old cigarctte commercial. perhaps, but a slogan that hundreds of western dealers are finding most appropriate during the recent building slump. Simply stated, dealers with a good store up front and an aggressive retail merchandising prograrn have enjoyed reasonably good business this year; those geared strictly to builders, whether large or small, have had their problems.

Sure it cos:s real money to remodel, to say nothing o{ increased inventories of often expensive store items, but with the right location and management the retail trade is more than worth the time and capital layout.

Wayne Davis, manager of Davis Lumber Sales, 13685 San Pablo Avenue, San Pablo. has long enjoyed a good contractor business, but also he has been increasinelv aware that the operation was lopsided..-Hi. Io"u. tion was right and the walk-in trade was there, so it was not a gamble, merely a good investment, to triple the size of his existing store and go all out for his share of the do-it-yourself dollar.

Wayne's investment has paid off handsomely. Store and fencing sales have soared. an especially welcome development in view of the currently lagging home-building picture.

This is not to say that dealers should turn their backs on the contractor. His dollars are important too. But the old adage that "contractor and retail sales don't mii" is simply not true.

Outside the Davis store, screen doors and wheelbarrows-still in the carry-away items category, await buyers. Throughout the interior, well-placed sales racks attract the customer's eye, while screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches and a bevy of other items needed for the do-it-yourselfer, line walls of wellmarked display sections.

If we must adopt a new proverb, let's use the old one of "don't put all your eggs one basket." are

Today, hundreds of western dealers mighty glad they didn't !