CUSTOMER FEATURE
“He’s in the stores all the time,” he
says. “He knows every one of our employ-
ees, from sales people to receiving dock
workers to managers, and they all know
him. We almost need to give Doug an
office here.
“He’s in tune with what we’re doing and
has become a trusted partner. We can’t say
enough about how important he is.”
That knowledge goes both ways. Patrick
says Blish-Mize is probably the only sup-
plier or vendor Star works with where it
knows all the employees.
“We have toured Blish-Mize’s
Distribution Center, and we know
the employees on the shipping dock,”
Patrick says. “There’s an immense
amount of trust when you know every-
one in an organization and have access
to everybody. We value our opportunity
to partner with them. We think we do
a great job with Blish-Mize, and Blish-
Mize does a great job with us.
“Blish-Mize knows what we’re looking
for, and that extra communication
on their part helps make us more
competitive. We feel like we’re really in
tune with the employees there, and they
with us.”
Star also works with Blish-Mize on mer-
chandising ideas, store remodels and more.
“The Blish-Mize team has helped
us on a number of store remodels,”
says Patrick. “And they’re available
for anything—they even have moving
gondolas we’ve been able to use. When
we’re doing something major like a
remodel, Blish-Mize is our go-to for
ideas, help, everything.”
Blish-Mize also helps Star Lumber main-
tain its independence, something Patrick
says is of high value to the company.
“We value our flexibility and want to be
able to adapt to our customers,” he says.
“We don’t want them to think they’re buy-
ing from a national chain, because that’s not
what we are. Our customers buy from Star.
Blish-Mize allows us to be extremely com-
petitive and still have our independence.”
Continued from Page 10
Star’s selection of Hardware House products has become very popular with its customers.
Blish-Mize also helps Star Lumber maintain
its independence,
something Patrick says is of
high value to the company.
14
Fall 2014 •
Hardlines
Strategies
