Entrepreneurial Spirit

Orgill customers include home centers, lumberyards, hardware stores, and farm and ranch businesses. They operate throughout the United States and Canada, in rural markets and urban settings, and bring different skills and strategies to their specific markets.

But there is at least one thing these businesses share, and that is their willingness to take risks, to invest in their businesses when the economy is struggling or competitors are encroaching.

HCN spoke to some of these entrepreneurs about what makes them unique and successful in their markets, and about decisions they made that improved their operations in the past year.

Investing in a down market

A wise businessman once said, “During the good times prepare for the bad times, and during the bad times prepare for the good times.” Many home improvement businesses took bold action during the years-long downturn, investing in their stores — whether through hiring or expansion — when economic conditions were dire.

For Al Schoeneman, owner of Schoeneman’s Building Materials Center, Sioux Falls, S.D., the desire to enhance his business, no matter the doom and gloom, always trumps the hunker-down approach. “Even though we were in a down market, we were not afraid to invest in people,” he said. “Our philosophy has always been that if a promising young candidate comes along, we would hire that person, and we’ll weed out the poorer performers. In other words, we will invest in a down market if it means the potential of longer-term benefits.”

H.G. Page, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., operates in a similar fashion. General manager Jim Morrison said the addition of key salespeople in recent times has helped the home center better serve an expanding territory. The result: a 10% increase in sales.

Brent Perry, president of Alf Curtis, a home center in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, responded to the arrival of Home Depot in his market by building out his existing store. Today, the expanded Peterborough location consists of 3,200 sq. ft. of merchandise with a separate 1,400-sq.-ft. showroom, a 1,600-sq.-ft. contractor sales building and 60,000-sq.-ft. warehouse, plus an 18-acre outdoor storage yard.

“We were able to expand our product lines and selection, and therefore were better able to service our existing customer base along with being able to draw in new customers,” Perry said.

Step two for Alf Curtis was to concentrate on serving the professional tradesman, contractor and builder, essentially becoming a one-stop shop. “Now when the contractor gets us to deliver the lumber, insulation and drywall for the renovation, they also get their electrical, plumbing and paint from us,” Perry said. “This saves the inconvenience for my customer having to go to two different places for his product. It gives me the sale and, best of all, it removes the opportunity for my competition to get the chance to talk to my customer.”

Likewise, Hooten’s Hardware in Emory, Texas, strives to be the one-stop shop in its market. “We have everything from building materials, paint, plumbing, tools, kitchen supplies (cookware, dips, sauces, pots, pans, spices, etc.), appliances, guns, knives, outdoor power equipment and repair, ag equipment, welding and fabrication,” said Kirk Reams, store manager. “We are always listening to what the customer needs, not what we think they need.”

Pro dealer Sticks & Stuff in Vermont made a bold physical expansion at its Derby location, which is currently in its final stages. When complete in February, the new 54,000-sq.-ft. building will include 14,000 sq. ft. of retail hardware and home supplies, 5,000 sq. ft. of kitchen and bath, a flooring showroom, and a millwork showroom of Marvin windows and doors. “The remaining 35,000 sq. ft. is a drive-through U-shaped, full-service lumberyard with building materials,” said Kris Bullock, co-owner.

Winning assortment, smart merchandising

For Barrows Hardware, Worcester, Mass., refreshing the assortment by rotating more than 50 endcaps weekly separates it from other stores, according to owner Brian Barrows. “We keep things current, fresh and exciting with timely items that our customers want,” he said. “And we are big on presentation and merchandising; we’re easy to shop.”

Barrows has been able to maintain consistent sales by finding new pockets of revenue in the urban market of Worcester, population 180,000. “We have taken advantage of opportunities in small urban repair work,” Barrows said. “In our city, there are many older buildings, some of which are antiquated and in need of constant upkeep. Many of our customers are in the apartment rental business with multiple units. So we find there is great demand, for example, for toilet parts, sink faucets, water tanks, locksets ... endless repair items.”



To refresh its look, H.G. Page worked with Orgill to redesign all of its stores. The result has produced a more modern layout, and deeper product selection for its customers. “We are more efficiently utilizing our existing store space, which has made it an easier place to shop, and that has enhanced our customers’ overall experience,” Morrison said.

Going green

Although it does not immediately show up on the bottom line, being good corporate citizens and stewards of the environment is meaningful to businesses like Sticks & Stuff. Bullock said the company is demonstrating its commitment to the green-leaning state of Vermont by using biodiesel fuel to run its business. Bullock explained that by transferring to this cleaner form of energy, “we not only use up a waste product of the restaurant industry and cut our own heating bills, but we are also able to reduce our own carbon emissions by as much as 75%. In focusing on developments like this, we are taking large strides to truly help the people and environment of Vermont.”

Other Orgill customers are making similar investments in green operations. H.G. Page, for example, installed energy-efficient lighting in all locations, and re-evaluated and purchased newer equipment. “This allowed for our daily operations to run more effectively and efficiently,” Morrison said.

“We are always listening to what the customer needs, not what we think they need.” — Kirk Reams, Hooten’s Hardware