MARGIN Builders By John Maiuri
INDEPENDENTS like Curtis Lumber, with 22 locations in New York and Vermont, hold their own against larger national competitors by leveraging their strengths. Pictured: Curtis’ VP of information systems Liz Irish.
The right tech helps independents compete with big boxes any large corporations, like Lowe’s and Home Depot, have been growing rapidly while their small business competitors have faced something of an apocalypse brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. In August, Home Depot reported its quarterly sales soared 23%; meanwhile, more than 400,000 small businesses have already closed, and millions more are at risk. In a landscape without much middle ground between those profiting and those struggling, the key to small business survival is remaining competitive with big-box retailers. Big-box retailers have emerged in almost every sector— including lumber and building materials—and have changed consumers’ expectations of retail by offering a large assortment of products at perceived or actually lower prices. Given their size, they also have state-of-the-art custom technology that helps manage the thousands of stores, employees and e-commerce sites—such as a Buy Online, Pickup in Store (BOPIS) e-commerce model. This model offers many consumers the option to search online inventory, purchase and set a date and a time to pick up in-store—an appealing prospect to someone who doesn’t want to wait for delivery and doesn’t want to spend time in stores during pandemic conditions. According to Home Depot’s most recent annual report, consumers picked up more than 50% of $10 billion in online orders in-store, proving it’s a popular option. But BOPIS is logistically challenging for smaller retailers that don’t have the technology infrastructure to manage a more complicated inventory system, potentially causing them to miss out on revenue. However, small businesses can thrive despite fierce com-
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petition. They need to compete intelligently by leveraging their strengths and maximizing the resources available to support their growth. Here are the three ways small lumber and building materials businesses can remain competitive with big-box stores:
Make being local your advantage
Being local is a tremendous advantage for independent retailers. Small business owners have a chance to connect with their customers face-to-face, something the big-box retailers really can’t do. By talking directly to customers, independents can create a hyper-focused target market and provide the items customers want to buy. To do this correctly, small business owners need to talk directly to customers, understand their work and plans, and learn how to be the best resource for them. It’s critical not to expand in every direction but instead become a local expert in the community on a particular area, providing items and advice customers may not readily or easily receive elsewhere. Because they don’t need to appeal to the masses, independents can also offer their customers harder-to-find items, such as supplies needed to restore antiques, custom millwork or unusual lighting—further separating themselves from the big-box behemoths. These in addition to easy and fast transactions without waiting in line can distinguish independents from the big-box stores.
Find the right technology
Small businesses might not think they can afford technology with the same capabilities as the technology the Building-Products.com
