After carefully considering a variety of
regional and national distributors, Chappelear
quickly realized the combination of product
selection, price and service Blish-Mize offered
was the best solution for his store, Chap &
Sons, LLC in Fort Cobb, Okla.
“We chose Blish-Mize because we wanted
a supplier with a good product selection
and competitive pricing,” says Chappelear.
“Their customer service is also much better
than anyone else we’ve done business with.”
Chappelear’s choice has paid off, too.
He has been able to focus on investing his
money into inventory, rather than paying
the fees associated with a co-op. He
knows that in today’s competitive retail
environment, it’s increasingly important to
lower costs while improving margins.
Whether you’re new to the Blish-Mize
family, like Chappelear, or are a long-time
customer, you don’t have to look much
farther than your balance sheet to realize
Blish-Mize specializes in cutting your costs
and keeping money where it should be: on
your bottom line. Here are just a few of
the ways Blish-Mize does that.
1. Blish-Mize doesn’t require
investment fees or require
you buy stock.
Unlike membership in a co-op where
you are required to buy stock, being a
Blish-Mize customer means you have full
control of where you spend your money.
“We believe in your independence,” says
Blish-Mize Vice President of Sales Doug Long.
“We think you should spend money where it
will do the most good: in your business.”
Investing money into a regional or
national co-op doesn’t always guarantee
a return on the investment, either. In the
past, home improvement retailers have
lost large amounts of money due to co-ops
that mismanaged their customers’ funds.
Even if the percentage paid to a co-op in
fees amounts to only a couple of percentage
points of overall sales, during the leaner
times of the year, those two percentage points
may be the difference between a positive or
negative number on the bottom line.
2. Blish-Mize doesn’t
charge hidden adders or
program fees.
The prices you see in the Blish-Mize
catalog are the prices you’ll pay; there are
no hidden or additional fees tacked on to
the end of your bill. Another benefit of
buying from Blish-Mize is the ability to
order small quantities. You can order as
many or as few of an item you need, making
it easier for you to manage your inventory,
and while most distributors will charge you
as much as a 5 percent fee for breaking a
case quantity, Blish-Mize has an adder of
only 30 cents per line for items ordered
not in full-sell packs or case quantities.
Finally, Blish-Mize knows that it isn’t
just the products you buy that make your
partnership with your distributor valuable;
it’s your sales representative who acts as
a retail consultant and comes to you with
The Blish-Mize
Competitive Advantage:
More Dollars to Your Bottom Line
W
hen Michael
Chappelear
left his job as a
manager for a large home
improvement store to open
his own store with his
family, he didn’t assume
that the co-op supplier he
had belonged to for many
years would be the best
fit for his new business.
He decided to look around
at other options—and he’s
glad he did.
4
Fall 2013 •
Hardlines
Strategies
Michael Chappelear decided to buy fromBlish-Mize because of its price, product selection and service.
STORE OPERATIONS
