Do it Best May Market wraps up
Indianapolis The Do it Best May Market, held here over the weekend, officially unveiled the co-op’s new green-focused “EnviroLINK” program and promoted a theme of “Compete & Win” to member attendees.
In an interview with Home Channel News, Do it Best’s vp-marketing Bill Zielke described EnviroLINK as a matter of communication and information.
“We really did decide our job as a retailer is to help a consumer make a good product purchase,” Zielke said. “We start with identifying things that are environmentally friendly.”
The marketing director pointed to member involvement in the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based co-op’s AdPak local advertising program as a reason for optimism for the rest of 2008.
“If you look across the country, overall ad budgets are down maybe 5 to 10 percent,” he said. “Exactly the opposite is true here at Do it Best. Every one of our AdPak components has higher member participation and higher distribution.”
The Do it Best co-op has 4,100 member-owned stores.
In a Friday morning session on store design strategies, Dan Crandall described high performance retailing as a combination of convenience and selection:
“I want somebody to come into our store with a list of 10 things and walk out with 12 things,” said Crandall, owner of Springfield Do it Center in Springfield, Mich.
Some of the tactics promoted by Crandall and other panelists included providing a comfortable shopping experience, quality products, knowledgeable staff and a strong seasonal department.
Other trends and notes from the show:
• Home & Hardware buyer Tom Witta described garage storage as the fastest growing storage area.
• Do it Best sees an opportunity in home canning -- glass canning jars and related equipment.
• Through an arrangement with supplier Coast to Coast, chocolate candy is available to members year round -- shipped in dry ice during summer months.