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FLASHBACK
FLASHBACK: 1977 THE ONE-MAN SHOP
A HALF-CENTURY AGO, the lumber industry was filled with hundreds of one-man office wholesalers who commonly held exclusive representation for certain products from a mill in a specific geographic area. But the landscape had already showed signs of drastic change.
Forty-five years ago, publisher emeritus David Cutler sat down with Los Angeles area wholesaler Jack Tweedy (no relation to the better known lumber retailer from Indiana or the lesser known millwright from Northern California), to hear his take on the fate of the independent wholesaler. After nearly 15 years of working for other lumber wholesalers, Jack launched his own company, Tweedy Lumber Co. of Beverly Hills, on July 1, 1963. “I picked that date,” he shared, “as I could celebrate my independence over the July 4th weekend.”
He, in fact, welcomed the lessening of exclusive representation. “I believe it takes more than one man to sell the product of the mill and the log,” Jack said, “and whereas in the past a wholesaler might prefer to sell only one or two items from a mill, he is today involved in selling as much of the log as he can.
“Today’s independent wholesaler must invest the time to know the mill, what they are cutting, when species may change, and how the mill handles its product. It’s a different business in many ways.”
How products were priced had also changed. “In years past,” he observed, “most mills quoted a price
JACK TWEEDY
less 5% to the wholesaler. And today, with very few exceptions, prices are quoted on a net basis.”
Over the last 20 years, economics also demanded “that the entire product of the log be sold.” He noted, “There’s no longer the waste we used to see, and we no longer see what we used to call ‘cats & dogs’.” Certain items he considered were “gone forever.”
As for competition, Jack considered them better informed and better salesmen. “I’ve developed a clientele,” Jack said, “and like other independent wholesalers I realize that I cannot sell everyone. The answer to continued success in this business is to give a consistent level of service to both your suppliers and customers.”
Tweedy’s typical week found him spending about 40% of his time talking with mills, and the balance of his time in contact with his customers. While getting out of his office occasionally, most of his conversa-
The cover of the September 1977 issue of The Merchant Magazine spotlighted Rounds Lumber Co.’s new distribution center in Cloverdale, Ca.—currently the Asti remanufacturing, planing, drying and distribution facility operated by Redwood Empire.
tions with customers were by phone. “And the telephone in my automobile,” he added, “is very useful. I use it for outgoing calls only, and it has saved me considerable time in making sales and in buying.”
Four or five times each year, Tweedy visited central California or southern Oregon, the regions supplying the bulk of the lumber he handled principally ponderosa and sugar pines, Douglas fir uppers, and incense cedar. He occasionally called on Utah and Idaho, from where he shipped certain grades of spruce.
Is the independent wholesaler here to stay?
Jack emphasized, “The business is always changing, but the fundamentals are not. It’s a matter of working 10 hours a day, selling what the mill produces, and giving customers dependable service. And that’s true in any business.”
He concluded, “You can eliminate the wholesaler, but you cannot eliminate what he does. Someone has to do it.”
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