Got Beer? Sales are brewing at Karp’s Hardware

They say if you make your hobby your occupation, you’ll learn to hate it. But whoever “they” are obviously never met Alan Talman, owner of Karp’s Hardware and Homebrew store in East Northport, N.Y.

Karp’s, which hit its 75th anniversary this year, has been in the home beer- and wine-making supply business since about 15 years ago, when Talman discovered the art of homebrewing from a neighbor.

Since then, the store has devoted more and more retail space to the beer side of his business. It began as an 8-ft. section, but Talman later took out an old loading dock and expanded his selection, eventually even using much of his warehouse space for it.

“It will never take over the hardware store, but it is a significant department in terms of sales,” Talman said.

Just how much? About $150,000 worth of beer-making kits, malt extracts, brewer’s dry yeast kegging equipment and other brew-related items a year.

As a niche, the homebrew industry is seeing growth. According to the American Homebrewers Association, Americans spent approximately $250 million in 2009 on their beer- and wine-making hobbies. According to Gary Glass, director of the AHA, that’s up approximately 16% from 2008. In fact, he added, that growth figure is down from previous years, in which there was as much as 20% growth. To date, the AHA estimates there are more than 750,000 homebrewers in the United States. The Brew Shop at Karp’s, and its corresponding Web store, (homebrewshop.com) attracts attention from well beyond the store’s normal reach. “We had one guy who was in New York City on his honeymoon from Argentina, who showed up with 15 pages printed up from our website of items he wanted to pick up,” Talman said.

Talman credits the Internet with much of the store’s success. “It made everybody a potential customer of Karp’s hardware. And now my 5,000-sq.-ft. of store, including the office and the bathroom, we’re now selling to everyone, everywhere.”

At Karp’s, the immersion into the niche market of homebrewing has benefited his hardware store—and vice versa. That kind of synergy supports those who for years have recommended that independent stores find a niche as a way to compete against larger competition.

Talman described the synergy this way: “All day long people buy homebrew products and hardware products on the same visit. While they are thinking about ‘I’ve got to go and pick up the stuff I need to make my pale ale,’ at the same time when the light bulb goes out in the bathroom they think, ‘I’ll be at the homebrew shop next week. They have light bulbs. I’ll get them while I’m there.’”

“If they’re coming here as part of a habit, then their shopping list gets bigger and bigger,” he added.

Talman’s love of beer, football, blues music and his customers has helped turn Karp’s into a Mecca of manhood, and possibly an escape from chores at home.

“It couldn’t be a better mix,” Talman said. “It’s a place where men go. At our place, we’ve got ESPN showing on the TV, they’re happy to be here, and their wives call the store to see what’s taking so long.”

Talman is no stranger to using different methods to draw customers into his store. As a Do it Best member, he credits the co-op’s e-commerce site and ship-to-store availability as a big draw.

“It’s another revenue stream. It’s a very good attractant to get people into the store for the first time. We get a lot of people who we’ve never seen before, and we get people from way outside our normal terrain. I’m a fan of ship-to-store because all business will be conducted through the Web at some point,” he said.

Alan said it’s a key difference in the way people shop their local hardware store. He said the basic hardware store customer is still shopping for the same products to fix his house as he was 50 years ago. “The primary difference is how they’re looking for it, rather than what they’re looking for. And they’re looking for it on the Web,” he said.

Homebrewing is not for everyone in the retail business. But it’s important to find something that taps into customers’ interest and spending.

“You have to keep people in the habit of coming into your store,” Talman said. “Maybe they do model race cars, maybe they’re really good gardeners or they do something that appeals to the homeowner with disposable income. This discretionary money is something you have to tap into.”