The ice storm cometh

While snow and ice might be the last thing on most consumers’ minds during the summer months, it’s high on the list of priorities for hardware stores.

Many stores are getting ready to receive their first shipments of ice melt and other winter-related products, as getting them on the shelves early allows these stores to become a destination for winter products within their communities.

“You need to have winter products in the store and visible to consumers early -- in September and October, when it starts to get cooler,” said Randy Kipfer, Do it Best’s merchandise manager for lawn and garden, green goods. “The consumer might not buy it at that point, but he’ll know you have it and will think of that store when it comes to buying those products.”

The last two winters saw record snowfall in certain areas of the country, and many stores found themselves short of product. The co-ops, in turn, had to scramble to find supplies for their members. “At times, some stores had to wait a week before they could get more product, and that’s a situation you don’t want to be in,” Kipfer said.

It’s all about planning -- for ice melt manufacturers, co-op buyers and individual stores. According to Todd Stanojev, True Value’s global product merchant in the lawn and garden category, his team starts looking at ice melt and other winter products about a year in advance, starting around November. All decisions about how much to buy and who to buy from must be made in time for True Value’s spring market, which is usually in March.

Click here to browse the ice melt category in the HCN Buyers Guide and Product Directory.

In determining how much product should be ordered, the co-ops look at a number of factors, including members’ past orders, how much inventory remains within the stores and weather forecasts coming from a variety of sources. Manufacturers also use weather forecasting services to determine how much product to make for the coming season.

“This gives us a lot more traction with retailers,” said Niles Hysell, marketing product manager for Morton Ice Melting Solutions. “The worst thing that can happen is it’s snowing outside, and they don’t have product. However, demand is so varied from year to year -- there’s always a certain amount of risk involved on both sides.”

Northside True Value in Appleton, Wis., has built a formidable ice melt business selling to homeowners as well as professionals who serve hospitals, universities, highways and other major spaces. Owner Lee Vanevenhoven stresses the importance of his employees knowing about the features and benefits of the products.

“Like any other department, it needs the full attention of the staff -- right down to the 16-year-old cashier,” said Vanevenhoven, whose store sells more than 300 palettes of ice melt each year. “They should know everything from the temperature it melts at to how it affects the foliage. If the employees can’t tell your customers these things, you’re dead in the water.”

Vanevenhoven merchandises ice melt at the front of the store and in the window displays and posts prices on a large chalkboard, giving discounts to those who buy in quantity. He offers delivery for a fee, and to those customers who pick up at the store, he has a dedicated employee to help them transport product.

“Our assumption is that every person needs help getting it in their car, so we take the guesswork out of it for them,” he said.

In terms of product, industry research has shown that buying green is much higher on the priority list for consumers than it was five years ago, and natural products are becoming more prevalent in the ice melt category -- both in the area of packaging and the materials used to make them.

“We’re seeing more and more products using natural ingredients. A lot of attention is being paid to whether it’s pet friendly or how it will affect the environment,” Kipfer said.

Stanojev said that green ice melt products are also playing a larger role at True Value, as they are safer than traditional rock salt for pets, vegetation and for the environment in terms of runoff. However, the original demand for the green products was not all consumer-driven, he said.

“Suppliers changed their product formulations when the cost of raw materials began to rise and ingredients were changed,” Stanojev said. “The new ingredients also had environmental benefits, and suppliers are now able to promote their products as green.”

According to Hysell, consumer research also shows that 40% of consumers like to buy ice melt well in advance of winter to be prepared. “So the key is to put it on display early,” he said. “And it’s also important to keep in mind that normally it snows more after Dec. 31 than before, so you have to keep it on the floor through January and February.”