Spring 2013 Hardlines Strategies

STORE OPERATIONS

Merchandise Review Building Your Perfect Product Mix Starts at the Blish-Mize Mini-Store P roduct assortment and merchandising go hand-in-hand in

creating a successful retail strategy. Your assortments need to be relevant and up-to-date, but the merchandising and signage in your store also need to be arranged in such a way that they encourage shoppers to shop more. Last year Blish-Mize introduced a mini- store layout at the front of the Spring Buying Market to show you profitable assortments in key categories and to get you thinking about the important elements of an effective retail presentation, such as clear signage and promotional displays. As you take the time to browse the mini-store at the Spring Market, use it as a springboard for asking yourself questions about the product assortment and presen- tation at your own store. Look for ways to make improvements this year. As I determine my product mix, am I listening to my pro customers? If you’re going to build an excellent assortment of products, start by listening to your pro customers. Marvin Munger, owner of Munger Paint and Wallpaper in Oklahoma City, Okla., for example, didn’t build a successful paint store overnight. He’s had more than 35 years of listening to customers, asking them what brand names

At the Buying Market last fall, the mini-store included vendor-focused assortments in the paint category. This spring, the mini-store will focus on the plumbing and electrical categories.

they prefer, what tools work best and what specialty products they need for certain jobs. “We can’t stock everything,” Munger says, “so we listen to our professional cus- tomers and see what they use and find out why they like that particular tool. That’s what we stock, and usually when our do-it- yourselfer customers find out that’s the tool the pros use, they want to use it too.” Have I used Blish-Mize’s RMS tool? Not everyone has the advantage of Munger’s years of experience, however, so that’s why he believes Blish-Mize has the tools to help find the right product mix for a store. “Blish-Mize has people on staff with expertise in specific categories.

If you tell Blish-Mize you want to develop your paint department (for example), then they will make the commitment to help you do that.” When Home Hardware reset its store in Great Bend, Kan., store manager Vince Friess says Blish-Mize helped his store plan out every assortment so it would fit the needs of the local market. “We went over every category, line by line,” he says. “We ended up expanding several categories to better serve the needs of our customers. We wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without help from Blish-Mize.” Blish-Mize offers this help with the Retail Merchandising System (RMS) assortment planning tool. This tool gives

22 Spring 2013 • Hardlines Strategies