Merchants point to “difference makers”

While economic analysts across the board may see the light at the end of the tunnel, 2010 is sill going to be a difficult year for retailers to navigate. True Value’s strategy is to position itself as a guide—a merchandizing GPS—for the Chicago-based co-op’s dealer members.

True Value’s Spring Market is just around the corner, and Mike Clark, senior VP and chief merchandising officer, and his merchandizing team shared with Home Channel News some of the new programs they’ll be offering their members.

Along those lines, True Value identified 10 key categories that alone accounted for a quarter of its retailers’ sales.

“We call those the ‘Difference Makers,’” Clark said. “We want to make sure they’re spending time on these categories.”

And while Clark didn’t want to let all the cats out of the bag before the market, he did share four of them: light bulbs and solar lighting; building hardware mending and repairs (to include mending plates, hinges and lock sets); cleaning chemicals and cleaning supplies; and lawn and garden.

Clark said True Value will also be expanding some of its private-label brands to include Master Mechanic and West Point CFLs, as well as solar lighting, faucets and plumbing and paint.

“The paint department is huge business,” he said.

Clark said that retailers are looking to spend more on merchandising than the last two years but are still hesitant to spend too much too soon.

“We have our merchandising department to get focused around a small number of product categories that retailers can really capitalize on,” he said. “We’re really trying to get them to think about the geographic space of their stores.”

It’s the next logical step in True Value’s “Merchandising for Success” program, which was launched at the end of 2009. The initial program was a combination of endcap initiatives coupled with advertised items to help retailers cross-merchandise.

“The program brings to life the merchandizing goals of our stores,” he said.

Another key element to the new merchandising program will be environmental friendliness and energy efficiency. New federal tax credits and rebates are now available for a myriad of green products, with a possible “Cash for Caulkers” program coming soon. Bob Tellier, divisional VP global sourcing, said True Value is looking to educate its retailers and help them wade through the green waters.

“There’s a lot of confusion and misinformation out there about what products actually qualify for the 30% rebate,” Tellier said, and many products in a typical hardware store don’t qualify. “We tried to close the loop on the confusion related to energy efficiency programs,” he added. “We try to steer them toward Energy Star-rated products as a way to help them save money.”

Additionally, True Value is trying to help its members understand their local state’s energy efficiency programs. Through their Members Online and True Value Online Web sites, the co-op provides links to the individual state’s programs.

“We’re trying to capitalize on the projects homeowners can do on their own, as opposed to those that require hiring a professional to do,” said Jennifer Zerwer, merchandising and communications specialist.

Another venture for True Value features a chance for the co-op to take its merchandizing theories out of the lab and into the real world. The company is taking the lessons learned from its model store setup in Chicago, and will be opening a corporate store in the Chicago area. “This is where the rubber meets the road,” Clark said.

While the store will be managed by an independent True Value retailer, the store itself will be owned by the co-op in an attempt to put its merchandizing programs into action and see what it’s really like to be a retailer.

“Unless you have that real life customer experience, you don’t have a real gauge on what’s working and what isn’t,” Clark said.