Fall 2012 Hardlines Strategies

STORE PROGRAMS

Building Your Dream Store How Blish-Mize Can Help Your Next Store Reset I f you could build your dream store, what would it

Mike runs a lumberyard in nearby Adair, Iowa, and knew there was a market in Anita for a large store with a merchandise mix tailored for a wide range of customers. Building the second store would also present a great opportunity for his son, Brian, and daughter-in-law Kim. The three of them didn’t just dream about it; they got to work. After asking Blish-Mize to help plan their assortments, set up the merchandising and interior design, they opened the doors to their new store. Through its store planning program, Blish-Mize has an arsenal of affordable tools that can help, whether it’s for resetting a single assortment or planning a brand new store. The upcoming Fall Buying Market is a great place to start. On the Market floor, a mini-store will be set up where you can browse two assortment sets from the Paint and Paint Sundries and the Lawn and Garden areas. These areas represent just a sampling of what Blish-Mize can do throughout an entire store for a minimal investment. See Market Preview on Page 12 for more information. There’s never a better time than the present to look around your store and start thinking about the benefits of a reset. look like? Ask Brian, Kim and Mike Wendt, about their new store, Anita Supply Center, in Anita, Iowa.

Blish-Mize helped Brian (left), Kim and Mike Wendt of Anita Supply Center find the right product mix that would appeal to a mix of pro and D-I-Y customers.

Getting Started: Your Personal Retail Consultant Brian doesn’t think of his Blish-Mize sales representative as a salesman as much as he does a retail consultant. When they asked Blish-Mize to help them plan out their store, the Wendts knew they had the flexibility to use the information as it best suited their needs. “Blish-Mize showed us their book with all of their recommended assortments, and we went

through and picked every four feet,” Brian says. “But they don’t try to sell us on stuff we don’t need. Our sales representative is there to help us when we need help.” During the planning process, Mike says Blish-Mize allowed them the flexibility to add niche departments to the floor plan. “Blish-Mize realizes that in a small town like we’re in, it’s not enough to be just a hardware store. You have to make it a one- stop shopping center for a variety of items.”

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Fall 2012 • Hardlines Strategies