Welcome to Assortment City

Denver -- The view around the show floor was generally familiar: vendors promoting products, retailers on the prowl, computer stations scattered throughout to facilitate the ordering process.

But something about that last item was a little different this year. A row of kiosks was prominently featured on the floor, surrounded by signs that alerted one to their whereabouts: Assortment City, population 35,000 sq. ft. of product.

Part of True Value's efforts to get "focused," as was the driving message behind much of the event, has been to consolidate its assortments into a one-stop shop for ordering.

"Isn't it great to see all those assortments in one place?" asked senior VP growth Tim Mills at the General Session.

According to VP and chief merchandising officer Heath Ashenfelter, the Customized True Blue assortment program has contributed to major category increases: light bulbs are up 7%, builders hardware is up 11%, powertool accessories, 14%; construction fasteners, 23%; construction hardware, 24%; and stepstools are up 29%.

"These are tried, true and tested, and they're working," he said. "This is not an opinion. It's a fact."

As True Value's Customized True Blue program continues to flourish -- Mills noted that by the end of 2016, members will have purchased 11,000 CTBs -- the co-op has been thinking about ways to make the execution easier.

Part of that effort, Mills said, has involved updating the implementation guide with learnings from the past two years and offering a guide with best practices for resets, among other things. Additionally, True Value has come up with a new retail workbench report to maximize stocking strategy. There's also a new report to better track inventory when demand is high.

Assortment City fits into that larger picture as a user-friendly CTB ordering tool with cartleg functionality and faster entry.

"Assortment City is part of our next-generation Reunion strategy," said Ashenfelter. "What we’re trying to do is engage members in a different way. We’re trying to essentially make the buying experience a shopping experience -- [one that's] easier for them. The idea is that we take all of our assortments, all of our “best thinking,” across all of our key product categories, and put them into one spot."

Not only does Assortment City make it easier to shop, but there's also a major technology component. Each kiosk features touchscreens with merchant videos, access to various planograms, and a platform for actually placing orders. Additionally, the booths are staffed with a combination of merchants and vendor partners.

Of course, that's not to say that retailers looking for inspiration wouldn't find it on the floor. But in the words of Ashenfelter, "Assortment City's going to convey our best thinking in one area. So I think that’s the place to start when a retailer’s looking to impact their shelves."

Members also get the benefit of seeing deals and discounts clearly laid out in front of them -- not to mention the POP, the in-store materials, and perhaps some merchandising inspiration as well.

"The adjacencies are laid out; it flows like a store," said Ashenfelter. "So a hidden benefit is it creates inspiration; it does provide guidance in terms of what categories should sit next to each other in a store."

Of course, none of this has been a simple initiative for True Value, but the payoff will only continue to compound over time.

"It’s a monumental effort, but we’ll take that from show to show," added Ashenfelter. "It’s the new standard here. I think the reception to it has been really good."