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Bob Vareen, DIY in Europe, USA
In the United States, as elsewhere in today's world of retailing, changes are happening faster than ever before. Which means that nimble and flexible management is required to avoid being overtaken by competitors or changing consumer desires. While Home Depot's new CEO Frank Blake tries to recapture the vigour with which the company came to dominate the US hardware and DIY market, its major competitor, Lowe's, is racking up higher sales and profit gains. Its upgraded stores and better service seem to have a special appeal to customers.Meanwhile, independent stores and small chains of the hardware, DIY and timber/building material variety, continue to prove that better qualified employees and “convenience” are factors of great importance to many consumers and local businesses. Their efforts to survive depend largely on the support and cooperation from their major wholesaling sources, which keep costs down through direct shipments, pooled buying and out-of-warehouse deliveries. Two dealer-owned wholesale cooperatives, Ace Hardware and Do It Best, are serving more than 7 000 stores between them, and the resurging True Value seems to have stabilised and is beginning to grow once again.Orgill Bros. of Memphis, the biggest traditional wholesaler, has surpassed the $ 1 bn sales mark and just announced plans for another gigantic distribution centre. The other wholesalers that have survived are stronger, more powerful and more versatile than typical wholesalers used to be. They offer retailers an alternative to dealer-ownership, or act as very strong and supportive secondary sourcing options.What makes this industry so interesting is that such a variety of other retailers are now selling their products: thousands of drugstores, thousands of supermarkets with limited ranges, and thousands of dollar stores are all offering low-end tools and many other homeowner items. And none of these are “consumables”, but can last for years.Isn't competition grand?
In the United States, as elsewhere in today's world of retailing, changes are happening faster than ever before. Which means that nimble and flexible management is required to avoid being overtaken by competitors or changing consumer desires. While Home Depot's new CEO Frank Blake tries to recapture the vigour with which the company came to dominate the US hardware and DIY market, its major competitor, Lowe's, is racking up higher sales and profit gains. Its upgraded stores and better service seem to have a special appeal to customers.Meanwhile, independent stores and small chains of the hardware, DIY and timber/building material variety, continue to prove that better qualified employees and “convenience” are factors of great importance to many consumers and local businesses. Their efforts to survive depend largely on the support and cooperation from their major wholesaling sources, which keep costs down through direct shipments, pooled buying and out-of-warehouse deliveries. Two dealer-owned wholesale cooperatives, Ace Hardware and Do It Best, are serving more than 7 000 stores between them, and the resurging True Value seems to have stabilised and is beginning to grow once again.Orgill Bros. of Memphis, the biggest traditional wholesaler, has surpassed the $ 1 bn sales mark and just announced plans for another gigantic distribution centre. The other wholesalers that have survived are stronger, more powerful and more versatile than typical wholesalers used to be. They offer retailers an alternative to dealer-ownership, or act as very strong and supportive secondary sourcing options.What makes this industry so interesting is that such a variety of other retailers are now selling their products: thousands of drugstores, thousands of supermarkets with limited ranges, and thousands of dollar stores are all offering low-end tools and many other homeowner items. And none of these are “consumables”, but can last for years.Isn't competition grand?
