Higginbotham's Sprucing Up New Stores

Higginbotham Bros. & Co., Comanche, Tx., has begun remodeling the first two of its 33 HigginbothamBartlett building centers it acquired late last year.

The company eventually will repaint, refixture and revamp the new locations as complete Do it Centers to coordinate with its previous stores. Work has already begun on stores in Eastland and Hereford, Tx. Next should be a vacated Kmart building in Sweetwater, Tx., which the company is negotiating to buy to replace its under-sized local yard.

The chain now operates 50 Higginbotham's, Big Tin Barn and Higginbotham-Bartlett locations throughout Texas. All stores will retain their existing names.

"We plan to operate the new locations in West and North Texas as complete building centers, offering hardware, lumber, lawn and garden, paint, tools and a complete line of building and home improvement supplies," said Bill Robinson, chief operating officer of holding company HigginbothamBC Holdings, Ltd.

The company will maintain

G0ttlP0stft

]IIIUBIS E||d BTilIflI$

6) Helps eliminate "mushrooming" in - composite decking material.

6l Dual thread design provides optimum - holding power and displaces less material.

6l Ovenized top thread traps most loose - composite material during installation.

@ Undercut head traps ily additional ." loose material, pushing it back into the hole while countersinking.

@ Sure Drive USA@'s exclusive Rustguad@ - cmting prcvides exellent mrcsion irotetion.

fi Patented WoodmasteP thread design starts - faster and slices through decking with minimal material distort.

ff The original Robetsono squile drive recess - provides positive bit engagement md eliminates driver bit cam out.

6) l0l8-1022 cme hildened steel for - maimum strength.

ai Available in TAN md GRAY ro match the - most populr deck colors.

Higginbotham-Bartlett' s headquarters in Lubbock as a divisional office. Jim Porter, Higginbotham-Bartlett president since 1982, is now a v.p. and division manager.

When both firms were founded, much of Texas was still wilderness, and the stores offered frontier settlers essential merchandise, including building and lumber supplies.

Higginbotham Bros. began in 1881 as a general mercantile store in Deleon, Tx. Established by brothers J.M. and R.W. Higginbotham, the company grew with the introduction of the Texas Central railroad. Higginbotham-Bartlett Co. began in1905 with a lumberyard in Roscoe, Tx., under the name of Higginbotham-Harris Co. and within six years grew to 10 locations across West Texas. By 1919, the company owned 16 yards, moved its headquarters to Dallas, and changed its name to Higginbotham-Bartlett Co. Ir added 15 yards in 1922, retained its existing locations through the Great Depression, and in 1972 relocated its general offices to Lubbock.

"I am especially excited about hav- ing the two Higginbotham family companies together as one chain," said Rufus Higginbotham Duncan Jr., a fourth generation grandson of founder R.W. Higginbotham and c.e.o. of HBC Holdings.

Depot Expands Enviro Policy

Home Depot has vowed to purchase wood products only from suppliers committed to environmentally friendly harvesting practices.

The move expands on the chain's intention, announced in 1999, to stop selling wood from "endangered forests."

Since then, Depot has increased the amount of certified wood it buys and decreased sales of lumber from areas with questionable forestry practices. In 1999, Depot had five Forest Stewardship Council-certified vendors; it now deals with 40.

In addition, nearly all of the cedar it now buys comes from second-and third-growth forests and it has reduced its Indonesian lauan purchasesby 1OVo.

Each year, Depot sells about $5 billion of wood products-97o of its annual revenues.

CURVED staircases help sell homes faster-and for a higher price.

Steer Builders To Curved Stairs

How can dealers increase their own profits while helping their builder customers speed up sales, reduce home inventory and increase a home's sales price? According to

Staircase & Millwork Co., the solution may be a curved, flared, or spiral staircase.

The company has been concentrating on curved staircases to satisfy dealers, builders and homeowners.

According to Les Allegood, v.p. of Staircase & Millwork, "Many of our customers have found that their home value is enhanced by a curved staircase. It brings a new level of luxury to the entrance of the home, the first impression of the most important purchase of most people's lives."

Says Jeff Thomas, co-owner, Profile Signature Homes, Duluth, Ga.: "A curved staircase helps us differentiate our homes in the marketplace."

Ed Levin, president, Design Construction by Craftmaster, Atlanta, Ga., says, "The ambience of a curved staircase raises the perception of market value in the customer's mind. Most of our homes are custom contracts; the client and the architect have designed circular stairs into the plan."

Dealers can enjoy the high margins curved staircases provide by showing builders how the products can improve the profitability of their business. A builder wants to build a home and sell it as quickly as possible. Because of the financing costs, it costs the builder money every day a home is in construction and during its time on the market. By outsourcing the staircase, the builder is able to build the home faster because of our precision manufacturing process.

Builders also discover that homes with a curved staircase sell more rapidly because of the luxury appeal and elegance that high end customers desire. Quick building time combined with a faster selling process adds to the builder's bottom line.

"Reducing our carrying cost is very important," emphasizes Thomas, "and often a curved staircase can help sell a home faster."