litive ligence Echoing success

By Carla Waldemar

laf HRIS Beilhartz was pretty confi\-,dent when he made the decision to purchase a lumberyard 10 years ago. Okay, a little nervous, too.

He was 25 and one year out of college, where he'd studied business. He always knew he wanted to go into business, just not the family business. Playing nice with a bunch of contractors and weekend warriors? Not every young entrepreneur's dream.

Chris had helped out in his father's hardware store in a neighboring town throughout his school years, but mixing paint and counting out nails were never high on his list of career choices: Time to flee to something more glamorous, like selling sports cars, or sports coats.

Maybe the paint fumes addled his thinking, for when push came to shove, he found it hard to leave. "I'd come to love what we did, dealing with people on a daily basis. 'Hey, this is pretty nice: Stick to it!"' he counseled his inner rebel. And bought a tiny store in nearby Echo Bay, Ontario, Canada. (He figured the family business would slice a small pie even thinner, "no opportunities for growth.")

"I was confident I could run the business," he says in retrospect, "but it was still unnerving. I inherited a staff of six experienced people, many of whom were twice my age."

Cut to the chase: In the 10 years of his ownership, sales at Echo Bay Home Hardware have rocketedTSVo.

First order of business was a complete turn-around. The 3,000-sq. ft. store served only pros, with a miniscule retail area in front for an almost nonexistent walk-in trade. Chris projected a complete home center-onestop shopping for retail customers and the contractor base alike. He tore out a little-used window shop in the rear, enabling him to convert the entire space into a 10,000-sq. ft. showroom.

In order to beat the nearby competition (including big boxes in Sault St.

Marie, 15 minutes away, where six lively independent yards also flourished), he expanded and added product lines to capture the whole project-and then some. New brands, new signage, new diversity: housewares, sporting goods, expanded electrical and plumbing, and more drew the d-i-yers and pumped up sales of lumber packages to pros as well.

During that first year, Chris drove profits from $1.8 million to $3.2 million. "We became a destination retailer," he notes. "And by adding more departments, like housewares and Christmas gifts, we could stay busier when home-building stops in winter. so we could keep pretty steady yearround and avoid layoffs."

No need for fancy ads. In a community like Echo Bay, all it takes is good word of mouth. "In a small town," he says, "that's huge. Everybody knows everybody. Plus, we're located directly on the Trans Canada Highway, with a lot of traffic."

His staff of six-"great people, happy to ciury on with a young boss," says the young boss-"were good with customers. They loved the change of focus, because now they could give advice, could actually help people with their projects. Of course," he adds, "there was a learning curve with whole new product lines and a new computer system."

Staff education has always been of prime importance for Chris, however. Today the crew numbers 18. "We have monthly staff meetings at which one person presents the ins and outs of a new product," backed by supplier huddles and a monthly SBTV (Success Building through Television) video on anything from products to customer service." Chris has installed a TV in the lunchroom to make in-service training a piece of cake (or sandwich, as the case may be).

Margins rose accordingly. "My philosophy is, don't be the lowestpriced. Be competitive, of course, but not a discount store. I'm selling myself on quality of products and great service-giving advice the boxes cannot. We talk to someone face-toface, backed by lots ofexpertise."

Speaking of expertise, Chris has added Installed Sales to the company's dance card. While other yards remain leery of angering their contractor-customers by appearing to cut into their business, Chris has actively sought to partner with them, and, he reports, "It works great! They love it! Customers had been telling me, 'Chris,I've heard horror stories, but I trust you. I just want to write one check. Can you do something for us?'

"I take care of the payment, deliv- ery, selling the job, and all the paperwork, while the contractors have the opportunity to do the work they love but not the paperwork, the administration, the going out in the evening after dinner to figure out bids," Chris says. "I'm not favoring one guy over another; it's equal opportunity among qualified people. It's strengthened my relationships with these contractors-no friction."

"We also install garages," he adds, "a big part of our business in Sault Ste. Marie. We've established a reDutation as the local leader."

Because he knows the imoortance of keeping fresh and clean and ahead of the competition, in 2007 Chris again remodeled the home center. "We tore off the front of the store and added an awning, to look more like a country store. Plus, under it we can store barbecue grills and lawn mowers," he adds. "It looks pretty sharp. With it, we added a garden center" to further diversify Echo Bay's multiple niches. "Plus, we greatly increased out kitchen department with new display areas and hired a full-time designerand it just took off!" he reports.

Echo Bay is currently experiencing the same economic travails as the rest of the globe, of course. "Last year was a really good building year-the best ever," says Chris. "We sold a lot of house packages and cottages. Today, it's mostly remodeling, but that segment remains strong.

"When times are tough, you buckle down and do what you have to. Lean times give you the opportunity to look at where you can save. But," he adds, "we've had no layoffs-my mode of operation from day one. Lots of stores hire extra part-time people in summer and then let them go when the season slows down. I'm just the opposite. In slow times, we do the remerchandising work we have to do. Full-timers are key to retain, because they're loyal and they know your products. In a small town, you've got to focus on that kind of friendly service."

Chris is quick to point to a key component of Echo Bay's success: "My wifel Her support. We work sideby-side, day in and day out. I tell people that working with your spouse is the greatest thing....and also the worst thing. You've got the same goals, but also a [potentially] stressful relationship. If it's a bad day at work, you might bring it home with you...."

Well, you could always open a second store to add to the mix and never lack for conversation. And that's central retail operations Dale MacPherson, area mgr. Brian Cook, Echo Bay owners Chris & Tammy Beilhartz, co-op v.p./c.e.o. Paul Straus. exactly what's next up (though not necessarily why). "I just completed a buy-out of my father's original store in my hometown," Chris shares.

"This will be a learning curve for me, to juggle two stores," he acknowledges. "I'm a hands-on manager, but I'll need to be more of a manager that puts policies and procedures into place and then trust other managers to implement them."

Hey, it'll keep a guy from getting set in his ways-even if he's only 35.

- A former award-winning LBM trade maga4ine editor, Carla Waldemar writes frequently on the industry. Contact her at cwaldemar@ comcast .net