Stine Home & Yard's original success story
Be yourself. It’s advice that applies to people, as well as companies.
In the case of Stine Home & Yard in Sulphur, La., the concept of being true to your own mission and your own style has played a significant role in the success of the 12-location retailer, including its 2014 Retailer of the Year award presented during the Golden Hammer Awards ceremony in Las Vegas on May 6.
Be yourself. It’s advice that applies to people, as well as companies.
In the case of Stine Home & Yard in Sulphur, La., the concept of being true to your own mission and your own style has played a significant role in the success of the 12-location retailer, including its 2014 Retailer of the Year award presented during the Golden Hammer Awards ceremony in Las Vegas on May 6.
The company is no stranger to accolades. CEO Dennis Stine, a second-generation retailer, earned the North American Retail Hardware Association’s 2013 “Top Gun” designation. And third-generation Jeremy Stine was recognized as a Young Retailer of the Year.
The company ranks 51st on the HCN Industry Scoreboard of Top 300 retailers, with 2013 sales of $165 million, up 9% from the prior year. Also in 2013, the company completed a major overhaul of its largest store.
The company has grown into Louisiana’s largest independent home center. And the undisputed first family of Louisiana retailing — six sons of founder J.W. Stine — guided the company from its humble, single-location beginnings.
VP marketing and merchandising David Stine said: “[The brothers] all entered the business in the late 1960s and early 1970s. And we realized that this one little store with only 15 employees had to grow, or we had to get out and do something else. So we decided to grow.”
In 1975, sales went from $1.2 million to $2.5 million. New stores were added in each of the next two years. The rest was Louisiana retailing history.
Success has come often to the family business, but not always. When mistakes were made, the brothers learned from them. “The 1980s were tough,” David said. “We opened a couple of stores in Baton Rouge that just weren’t our model.” The stores — described as “spartan,” which “didn’t provide the customer service that we’re accustomed to” — closed within a year.
“It was a humbling experience, but we realized we had to be who we were and not try to copy someone else,” he added.
Stine now operates stores measuring up to 100,000 sq. ft., with about 20,000 sq. ft. of lawn and garden and drive-through lumberyards.
“They’ve become bigger stores, but just so we could compete and go after both consumer and contractor business,” David said. “We’re kind of a unique hybrid — there aren’t many of us left that have done what we have done, selling nearly as much to the contractor as to the consumer, but I think it’s because we started with serving all of the customers in small communities and worked our way into the big markets.”
Hence, be yourself. But also: Keep your eyes open, and be willing to adapt. David describes the operation as one in constant adaptation mode, with its people, its product lines and its strategies. Following the competition (for instance, into the appliance business) or leading them (with drive-through lumberyards) are both part of the plan.
It was no coincidence that when David first learned his company was selected as Retailer of the Year, he was in the process of giving a tour to a visitor from Foxworth-Galbraith (HCN 2000 Pro Dealer of the Year). Collaboration with fellow retailers is a valuable tool, he said, and Stine takes advantage through participation in roundtable groups and store tours. “We do a lot of visiting,” he said, listing McClendon’s, Friedman’s and Jerry’s Home Improvement as recent stops on the retail knowledge tour. “There are great retailers all across the country,” he said. “You just need to find them and be willing to share ideas.”
New this year is the slogan: “Better brands, lower prices.”
“For the first time, independents can get brands that are as good or better than national chains, and in our case, we’ve got Stihl power equipment,” David said.
“Through Ace Hardware, we’ve also got Craftsman. Home Depot and Lowe’s can’t get that brand. We’ve got Benjamin Moore. Lowe’s and Depot don’t have that brand. So we’ve got some premium brands that the boxes don’t have, and this is a game-changer for the independent channel.”
Another game-changer was Hurricane Katrina and Rita. After they hit in 2005, Stine spent the next three years growing on the back of the demand that it created and investing in five new stores, which the federal government helped make possible through its Gulf Opportunity Zone program. All of this may have felt unwise when the recession hit in 2008, but it also meant knowing that the company would be in even better shape coming out of the downturn.
If David could thank any one factor, it may well be his associates, however, who made sure Stine Home & Yard was the last store to close and the first door to open when the storm came.
“They all worked hard; they all stepped up,” he said. “It’s humbling and we’re very grateful for the loyal associates we have, and as a result, we’re in a good position moving forward.”
“THERE ARE GREAT RETAILERS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. YOU JUST NEED TO FIND THEM AND BE WILLING TO SHARE IDEAS.” — DAVID STINE