ligence Buy-Rite? You bet he did.

By Carla Waldemar

True Value. and it came down to a lot of reassurance on their parts. They went to bat for me. I knorv." he swears. "that without them. it rvould have been a real struggle to get over that hump."

Reps from True Value and Mr. Koopman both joined him at meetings rvith the owner. "l rvas rvorking at Koopman while I was trying to buy my own yard. but they knerv that and still helped me." Michael gratefully notes about his mentor. So on January 19.2003. the business became his. "It had been declining. but I sarv the potential. I had lots of ideas."

f ISTENING. Guinness? Here's I-Jone for the record. At 23 years old, Michael DiVirgilio became the proud owner of Buy-Rite Building and Home Center. And no, he's not the boss's son. He didn't even grow up in Danielson, Ct., where the yard is located. He found it on the Internet.

And yes, he knew what he was doing. By 14, he was stocking shelves at Koopman Lumber in Massachusetts. Then, while earning his BA in Communications plus Associate of Science degrees in Small Business Management and Business Administration in Lyndon, Vt., he put in 25hour weeks at Lyndonville True Value. Both owners divined his keen interest and provided hands-on train- ing. "They saw I had a passion for the business and rvanted to excel." as Michael states the case.

After briefly flirting with the idea of becoming a TV rveatherman on the way to his degree, "l got hooked wholeheartedly. I rvanted to own my orvn business." And what better one. as all you fellas knorv. than a lumberyard?

"So I went on the Internet and searched the Northeast for a True Value store for sale."

Buy-Rite's owner, who had built the yard from the ground up 30 years ago, had his doubts. "He didn't knorv how to take me-asked about things like 'unencumbered cash.' But he checked with Mr. Koopman and rvith

The yard needed a facelift. for one. "Before." Michael recalls. "it rvas simply 6x6s piled rvith lumber: you couldn't even see it from the street. It didn't present itself rvell and didn't make it easy for the pros-rvho didn't do much business there. anyrvay.

"l put in a 65 by 2O-ft.-high cantilevered rack on one side: it looks great from the road. People are coming in rvith. 'Worv! I didn't knorv you guys carried so much.' It's really helped business."

Making such improvements as he can afford them. next summer Michael plans to build another rorv opposite the first one and truss over a roof betrveen them to create a drivethrough yard.

Inside. True Value's AIM inventory program clued him into rvhat to stock. "We got rid of the X movers to provide more A and B movers. We also added linear footage and trvo feet in height to the aisles. We replaced the surfaces of the customer-service counter and generally cleaned up the place." he says.

To add value for the pros he rvished to lure his rvay. Michael recently added a line of Benjamin Moore paints ("the former orvner had neglected to acquire new lines"). put in a propane station. and bou-eht a boom truck. (Horv the heck did the kid have money for a boom. you're asking? Well. so did this reporter. "Mr. Koopman helped me." Michael once again acknorvledges in arve. "I bought his old one." he explains.)

"With it. rve sell a lot more shingles and rvhole-house frames. rvhich the company never did before. Contractors used to come in just for odds and ends. but rve rvanted a piece of the action."

Not that the pros have to make the trip anymore. Buy-Rite norv boasts its first outside salesperson-actually an inside salesman who now spends part of his time on the road, visiting jobsites, pulling permits, and letting contractors know that the yard now offers those house packages that make their life easier. "It's a big step for the store," allows Michael.

"Adding outside sales has doubled business. I'll go outside, myself, and knock on doors. They tell me, 'We didn't know Buy-Rite had been sold.' It had a reputation that needed improving."

He continues. "We used to deal only with cash-and-carry." He's entered into an advertising campaign via full-color newspaper inserts to grow that 40Vo d-i-y trade. But pros these days may open charge accounts on a 30-day receivable basis, "which I watch very carefully," Michael notes. "I tell them, 'I need your help [in prompt paymentl to keep prices low.' I learned that in business school. But from Koopman, I picked up other techniques, like what to carry, and not settling for the first price for commodities, but the 'best' price."

Buy-Rite's existing kitchen and bath center now has a full-time designer on board, "and I bought her a laptop for when she's on the road, to provide professionalism and keep up with the times," says her boss.

"We also carry longer lengths than in the past-24 ft. instead of l6-and offer free contractor delivery," he adds, noting The Depot charges $75.

"The yard used to carry only economy grade; now, we stock better quality, so you don't have to dig through 30 2x4s to get two to use. It's hard to compete with a Home Depot in a price war, but for builders, it's quality, quick in and out, and service."

The store's technology was hopelessly outdated. "We had orange VDT monitors," he gasps. "That had to gol I upgraded every computer to a Windows-based program from Activant. That meant a lot of staff training, but everyone now loves it; they can show customers catalogs online instead of thumbing through pages. And we've upgraded our billing-no more of those green ledger pages where everything's entered three times."

His inherited staff of 14 showed a bit of justifiable apprehension when

Michael, straight from school, took over. But his easygoing ways won them over. "My advice to a young boss is, just listen to them; they've got the knowledge. Don't be a tyrant or there'll be a huge resistance to change.

"For the first six months, I kept the status quo while I looked at what worked and what didn't-something I learned by second nature, not college," he allows. He's grown loyalty by launching a tradition of Christmas bonuses, Thanksgiving turkey giveaways, and pizza with staff meetings.

Supported by his wife (whom he met at Koopman, by the way), "l come in every day with new ideas, new goals. But I remember that it takes TLC to be in a growth mode. Right now, our margins are pretty much status quo because we've been going for more contractor business. and that means lower margins [on those accountsl, but we'll make it up in volume and special orders," he says, satisfied. "We're getting lot of repeat business from remodelers, too, who refer us. Our customer count is uP."

The secret, he says, is to create a happy atmosphere, which trickles down from employees to customers. "You've got to enjoy what you do," says Michael, who's clearly got that mastered. "I'll keep at it until I can't walk anymore."

- A.former award-winning, LBM trade mag,az,ine editor, Carla Wttldemar writes frequently on the lumber and building material industy. Contact her at cwaldemar@mn.rr.com.