Fall 2017 Hardlines Strategies

CUSTOMER PROFILE

business in high gear for the two lumber- oriented locations, but servicing such diverse areas means offering different product mixes for each, says Grothues. “Each store is pretty different, and that presents challenges we deal with every day,” he says. “It would be really simple to bring in the same product mix to all three, but it wouldn’t be as beneficial for our customers. For example, our Farm and Ranch category works really “Lighting, which is a popular Hardware House department for us, does well in our newest store.”

well with the two locations that have lumberyards, but we don’t have as much success selling those products in our third store, which is closer to the city.” That diversity also means there isn’t one real leader as far as category sales for Guadalupe Lumber. With so much business involved in contractor work that can reach even across state lines, Grothues and the management team handle a variety of categories in San Antonio, a town that features many large, independent lumberyards for competition. Grothues says that Guadalupe Lumber’s newest store does about half of its business in lumber sales, but they are always looking to diversify. “Plumbing does well in all three stores, while we do really well with scratch- and-dent tile at our original location,” Grothues says. “Those work really well

with contractors in apartment work. Lighting, which is a popular Hardware House department for us, does well in our newest store. We’ve found a lot of success with Hardware House items in both lighting and in plumbing fixtures. “We’re really trying to increase our presence in paint in all of our stores, too,” he says. “That’s a big future investment.” Another area where Grothues is looking to improve the stores is its ecommerce offerings. By changing computer systems, he is hoping to bring Guadalupe Lumber into the digital world. Working With Blish-Mize In a market where independent retailers are the norm rather than the exception, the ability to remain independent to handle its stores the way

—Kyle Grothues, general manager

General manager Kyle Grothues and Guadalupe Lumber sell several types of Hardware House products in their stores, including lighting.

20 Fall 2017 • Hardlines Strategies