Fall 2019 Hardlines Strategies

Change is Coming From the first thoughts Tony and Joyce put toward creating Triple B, the choice of distributor didn’t waver from the same one Tony’s brother had used. The relationship had grown over the years to the point where Tony and Joyce felt extremely comfortable with that company’s leadership and product selection. What followed was years of positive relationship building and strong sales. However, the distributor began to show signs of trouble and, in January 2019, the business shut its doors. While he quickly recovered, Tony admits his first reaction to seeing the only distributor he had known go out of business gave him doubts about the future. “We were disappointed to see them close, because we had great relationships with everyone all the

way to the top. I wondered where there was to go,” Tony says. “But we realized a few things. First, closing our doors would be doing a disservice to ourselves and our community. Second, we’ve built too much of ourselves into this store to let one setback shut us down,” Joyce adds. So, Triple B was on the lookout for a new wholesaler. After being courted by a number of co-ops and other national distribution operations, Tony and Joyce decided to partner with Blish-Mize. The selection of Blish-Mize was for a number of reasons, with the most important being the kind of personal connection Tony and Joyce had so craved and had thought could not be found outside of their previous distributor. Also crucial was the ability to remain a fully independent business

without sales benchmarks to meet or add-on restrictions to buying. Another reason for the switch was sales rep Jason Ealand, a representative from the Bielamowicz’ previous distributor who had taken a similar position with Blish-Mize. Ealand had already been serving as Triple B’s sales rep, and he would continue on in that role if the business chose to work with Blish-Mize. Face-to-face meetings and special attention from Blish-Mize also played a role in the decision, Tony says. “We saw more faces from Blish-Mize during that period than anyone else, and more than we expected, given our location,” Tony says. “We had some jitters, which I think is natural when making such a big change, but having a familiar face like Jason to work through it was great.”

Triple B Hardware became a new Blish-Mize customer in 2019 after its previous distributor went out of business. Owner Tony Bielamowicz says it was a combination of available products and personal service that led to he and wife Joyce choosing to partner with Blish-Mize.

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