Turning the corner

fN 1946. rwo GIs RETURNING from the battlefields of lEurope-brothers Abbott and Harold Wiley, farm boys from upstate New York-found jobs hard to come by back on the home-front, so they signed on at the local feed and coal company and felt themselves lucky. Luck, paired with hard work and ambition, paid off, and pretty soon the brothers bought the owner out.

When the passing railroad called it quits, they did, too, and moved the operation to a 13-acre site in Schaghticoke, New York, where today Wiley Bros. still flourishes.

Well, that's a bit of an understatement. Last year the outfit was named PRO Hardware Retailer of the Year by its co-op, the Toledo, Oh.-based Bostwick-Braun Co., and then went on to become a finalist for the outfit's 2010 Paul L. Cosgrove Memorial Award, presented to retailers in recognition of superior commitment to the principles and ideals of effective hardware merchandising.

Today, the family-owned business is run by Abbott Wiley's nephew, Timothy Wiley, vice president/treasurer, who oversees customers and products, and president David Moore, who, as he humbly puts it, "runs the programs."

Moore is another of those accidental participants in our industry. Wandering over for a summer job in 1975, he was hired with the mandate, he recalls, to "straighten out the books." (He's still trying to get them straight, he jokes 35 years later.) "When you've finished school, come back and see us," they invited. He did, and the rest is-well, you know the saying.

With Moore in the driver's seat, the company has turned a few corners. Ask him what's changed, and he's ready. "A couple of things," he begins, starting with the product mix: "less wood, more PVC and vinyl and everything that goes with it."

Customers have changed, too, he observes. "They're much more knowledgeable, both in the retail sector and the pros. They're now telling us, rather than asking for, guidance, as before. They've done their research and they know what they need for a project. Also," he adds, "the turnaround time has to be quicker, which makes a big difference. We've added more people and gone with vendors who are more timely in their delivery, vs. cheaper; we've moved to vendors we can rely on to keep to their delivery times. And we've updated our technology-definitely!particularly when it comes to quotes and take-offs. Plus, driven by customer feedback, we recently bought a boom truck. We heard that others were doing deliveries that way and didn't want to lose the business."

There's still no tacked-on fuel-supplement at Wiley, however. "The 'free' delivery cost is built into the original pricing so that a customer isn't faced with surprises, making it easier for him to predict expenses without incurring any penny-pinching effect on our part," Moore explains.

Services have expanded, too, and include everything from repairing broken window screens and cutting keys to wash pump repair and installation and a rental servicewhich, Moore agrees, is not a cash cow, but rather a customer convenience, allowing folks to try before they buy.

Wiley's customer mix is a healthy 60140, and that's exactly the way Moore likes it. "We try not to specializejust handle what our customers want and help them on their projects." And that fuels the operation's staying power, enabling them to withstand the onslaught of the boxes, 12 miles away. Not only just l2 miles, but stationed right smack on the highway commute from Albany, where many of the town folks work-"so, if they need something in a hurry, they'll stop at the boxes on their way home. But if it's something they're thinking over-a bigger purchase-they'll come in here first," he maintains.

Moore has faced up to this fierce competition by sharpening the entire business operation, starting with the margins. "We've adjusted prices so that they're in the ballpark, if not the lowest (we don't claim to be the lowest). The purchasing power we gain as a PRO Hardware member helps keep us competitive without having to invest a lot of upfront money," he explains. "Plus, we provide better service. At the boxes, you never get the same employee twice, so you have to explain your project two, three times, which is a little frustrating. employees, most of whom have been on the payroll over 15 years. "If we find a good person, we hire 'em, even if we don't have a job. We can't let 'em get away. And if I need to hire someone, I never run an ad; I just put it to the employees to find someone. They tend to know how someone will fit in."

"We've also worked to clean up our [in-store] presentation." In the process, Wiley also has examined its SKUs and made some transitions to keep up with the times, adding, for instance, more air nailers, electric guns, air guns. "Hand-nailing has gone down tremendously," Moore notes.

Foreseeing and acting on customers' needs is what singled out Wiley for the PRO award, he opines: "I think it's based on two things: one, maintaining and growing sales in hardware, and two, a partnership in every program that goes on."

Okay, Dave, easy to say but not so easy to do: How did you grow those sales? "Two things happened," he responds. "Last year, more people that had shopped at the boxes came back to us as the shine wore off. Plus, we made a concentrated effort to suggestive-sell the hardware systems with other orders. If they came in for lumber, we'd ask, 'Do you need X with that?' Customers appreciate that, too, to keep them from running back in the middle of a project.

WILEY intentionally doesn't specialize-but rather provides what customers want.

And clearly, the crew likes it here. Wiley, says Moore, pays fair wages and extends good benefits, including flex schedules that allow parents to catch their kids' football games, or whatever: "We cover for each other."

Wiley also is respected as a good corporate citizen in this small community 20 miles north of Albany. "We support 80 organizations a year, both with money and with materials," Moore documents. The company also awards the Abbott J. Wiley Scholarship each year to a promising student enrolled in the construction technology program at a nearby community college. "Two reasons," Moore elaborates: "One, it honors our founder. Two, it's an investment in the continuation of this industry, feeding more people into the field-our future customers." Also as payback, and just because it's time, Moore will step up to serve as chair of the Northeast Retail Lumber Association next year. "To keep up the strength of an organization, you've got to participate," he believes. And he's one to put his money where his mouth is. Look for him working toward the future by lobbying his Congressional reps during NLBMDA's annual Washington conclave.

"Yes, a contractor can certainly find things cheaper [elsewhere], but labor is such a big part of the job cost that he can't afford to have his people idle because of some rejected product. The quality of our merchandise is a big factor in how we do business."

And that's at the crux of Wiley's continued success. "What we do-and this is very important with our builders-is get them what they need when they need it. By working with somebody more than once, we can come to know what to expect and be ready."

Which boils down to the R word: relationships. "I really do believe that's the starting point," Moore asserts. "You get them to trust you; then they'll open up and give you more orders.'Get this for me!'they'll say.'I'm tired of dealing with X, and I don't care if it costs more."'

So-what it takes is good stuff, and good staff. Wiley's got the latter, too. There's little turnover among its 20

And, yes, there is a future, according to Moore's vision. Sure, the economy stinks-no one's building-but Global Foundries, a computer chip company, is starting up down the road, which means people moving in, which means people needing houses. In the meantime, "a couple things happened. When things slow up. you've got a few more minutes to examine your operation: Do you have the right product mix? The right price point? We found that some things hold true despite the recession: People want quality." And Wiley is prepared to deliver.

Carla Waldemar cwaldemar@comcast.net