Spring 2018 Hardlines Strategies

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

Hitting the Books Customer Uses Scholarship To Build Industry Knowledge

Matt Engle, owner and president of Webb Home Center in Abilene, Kansas, was in such a situation, having come to the retail business from a construction background. That experience provided plenty of product knowledge, but the specifics of running a retail business weren’t part of his toolkit. To further his education, Engle enrolled in the North American Retail Hardware Association’s (NRHA) Retail Management Certification Program (RMCP). Launched in 2013, and working in conjunction with Ball State University, the six-month, college-level program is designed to instill advanced knowledge and techniques of the retail world into participants. Engle is the second recipient of the Blish-Mize scholarship for RMCP, which is designed to assist customers in covering the costs of the program. “Matt is an extremely qualified candidate for this program,” says Jonathan Mize, CEO and president of Blish-Mize. “With this opportunity, he’s ready to take his business to the next level. classroom, especially for those directly responsible for running the business, or anyone who may not have years of experience in hardware retailing. D ay-to-day experience offers hardware retailers an unmatched opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the business. But some skills are best learned in the

Matt Engle of Webb Home Center in Abilene, Kansas, presents his Business Improvement Project as part of NRHA’s Retail Management Certification Program. Engle’s project focused on training.

At Blish-Mize, we’re totally committed to the success of the next generation of independent retailers.” Getting Started For Engle, the thought of taking on an educational program on top of his responsibilities at Webb Home Center was daunting, but he liked the idea of a scholarship opportunity available exclusively to Blish-Mize customers that would cover half of the cost of the program. “I contacted our Blish-Mize representative, and they were more than willing to jump in on the scholarship,” he says. RMCP includes three visits to NHRA’s Indianapolis headquarters. Classes cover a variety of topics with the goal of assisting students in taking what they’ve learned and translating it back into their businesses, says Scott Wright, executive director of the Retail Leadership Institute. Each visit has brought a new experience, says Engle, with sessions

ranging from reinforcing business principles to those with specific focus points in store design, merchandising and pricing. One of the most important takeaways has been contacts made during visits with both program instructors and fellow attendees.

Bringing It Back One of the most important components of the program is a

Business Improvement Project, which each student completes as a way to make a tangible improvement to some area of their business. Engle’s project focused on training, an area he felt would be of particular importance, given his goals of expanding Webb Home Center in the future. “That’s where I really see the return on investment for the course,” he says. To learn more about RMCP, visit nrharmcp.com. To learn more about the scholarship, contact Clay Uhrmacher at clay.uhrmacher@blishmize.com.

28 Spring 2018 • Hardlines Strategies