Do it Best Expo reinforces margin opportunities

New products and new-product-knowledge took center stage earlier this month at Do it Best Corp.'s New Product Expo held in Woodburn, Ore. 

“Our members have a number of ways to get information about product launches and line enhancements through our website, markets, online catalogs and various other member communications, but the sheer number of great new items added to inventory can sometimes be overwhelming,” said Jay Brown, VP of sales and business development for the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based co-op. “And that’s where the idea for an expo first took root. Our field sales team, in full partnership with other divisions, created a model program for attracting our members to regional meetings where they could not only pick up the products, examine their packaging and learn about their margin potential, but also place orders right on the spot.”

The Woodburn event took place Dec. 2. The co-op's expos, held at retail service centers throughout the country, are the result of extensive collaboration between Do it Best's sales and business development, merchandising and retail logistics divisions.

Among the hundreds of new products added to inventory were more than 100 exclusive Channellock items, the company said.

Further enhancing the value of the New Product Expos was the addition of vendor seminars and informative Do it Best Corp. training sessions. “Along with the tables and tables of new items, we offered our members the opportunity to tour their warehouse to learn about the operational efficiency of the co-op,” said Regional Sales and Business Development Manager Dave Enmark. “At our recent Waco, Texas, expo we included training sessions on Do it Best Radio, Category Solutions, store design, paint, LBM, advertising and our Compete and Win program. Everything was well received, and our members left with a number of ideas to immediately implement in their stores as well as new products to attract and retain customers.”