RETAILER FEATURE
went right to work. They helped develop
a new design for the store reset to
improve customer traffic flow and sug-
gest new fixtures and hooks with labels
for ordering.
They also replaced existing fixtures
with taller six-foot fixtures.
“It’s amazing how much better orga-
nized the product is with just those extra
two feet,” Johnson says. “We can more
clearly see what needs to be ordered.”
For improved customer traffic flow,
Hassenstab and his staff moved fixtures
90 degrees and upgraded the sales coun-
ter with a new point-of-sale system.
Inventory management was also on the
update list: to simplify that process, all
products received new front tags.
Once it was time to put plans into
action, Blish-Mize sent approximately 10
people, including Helget and Uhrmacher,
to assist with the reset. The team took
a week to break down the store’s old
fixtures, sort through existing product,
update signage and incorporate new
RMS assortments into the store.
“The RMS assortments allowed us to
bring product in and not have to spend a
great deal of money,” sales manager Phyllis
Heinen says. “We went through the RMS
assortments and filled in the quantities of
the most popular products. This gave a big
boost to our product selection.”
An Ongoing Relationship
Customers are amazed at the store’s new
look, Johnson says.
“They walk in and if they hadn’t been
in the store for a while, their reaction is
always fun to see,” she says. “The custom-
ers have been full of compliments about the
transition and how much easier it is to find
products they need.”
Even though the reset is complete, the
support from Blish-Mize continues. Just
like the service A&H Building & Supply,
Inc. delivers to its customers, Hassenstab
says it’s the reliable and personal customer
service he receives from Blish-Mize that is
one of his most valuable resources.
“We do have other options for buying
hardware, but we feel very comfortable
with our relationship with the people
at Blish-Mize, especially Chris and
Brad,” he says. “They have both been
instrumental in the growth of hardware
sales for our store.
Heinen says she also appreciates the
customer service representatives who are
on the other end of her phone calls at the
Blish-Mize office.
“The customer service team is very
helpful, and I have met a lot of them
face to face. It’s an ongoing relationship
between them helping us with questions
and new products.”
“Without the team of sales people that
came into our store from Blish-Mize, this
reset would not have happened.”
16
Spring 2014 •
Hardlines
Strategies
