Spring 2018 Hardlines Strategies

CUSTOMER PROFILE

an elbow connection or a slip to slip connector. But I want to help people with their projects,” Ledom says. When it came time to open the store, location was key. Palace Hardware set up shop in a space across the street from the town government offices. Formerly a thrift market that sold items collected from storage units that had been auctioned off, the space offered both ample salesfloor square footage and warehouse space. Now, Palace Hardware has 7,500 square feet of total space, with 5,000 of that devoted to the salesfloor. Finding a Supplier The next step was choosing a wholesaler to partner with. King, Moreland and Ledom looked at several different options. However, Blish-Mize rose to the top of the list due to the flexibility and freedom involved with being a customer, King says.

“Blish-Mize’s customer service is the best,” Ledom says. “I can send a representative a picture of a product on my phone and get a response right away letting me know if we can order it.” The Palace Hardware team attended its first Buying Market in the spring of 2017, before the store was open for business, and went all-in on planograms and deals that would set the store up for success. A New Look As important as that first Market was, it was the Fall 2017 Buying Market that really made an impact on the new store. That was when Palace Hardware was chosen through a raffle drawing to get one week with Bobby Armstrong, Blish-Mize’s store merchandising specialist, to help set the store. For a group still learning the ropes of the business, it was a much-needed assist.

The paint center is on full display near the front of Palace Hardware.

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12 Spring 2018 • Hardlines Strategies