etitive ligen ce Anew man in the White House

By Carla Waldemar

real trouble." Another reason for the launch was to forestall anticipated competition: "If we built it," he figured, "it would keep Lowe's and Home Depot out."

It's working. "Once people find us and come in, they're loyal. If we can get 'em in, show 'em what we do, then they come back." And although the town itself is miniscule-6,000 households-the store serves half a dozen neighboring communities, which adds up to 230,000 potential customers. The only problem was, who knew?

White House doesn't anchor a major interstate, so to make the destination memorable, Jeff designed the new store to mirror the White House in Washington, D.C., from the curved facade with a balcony on the mezzanine to a flag fluttering on top.

Next, he rethought the company's ad campaign-or, to get real, its lack thereof. "We'd spent $400 a year," he has to laugh. "Last year, I spent $10,000-mostly on cable tv and lots of print. And it was money wellspent," he reports. (Now that people can find the store, he's been able to cut back to $7.500.)

f OOKED like a great idea at the I-ltime: On a spur-of-the-moment impulse, Jeff Christian bought the aging lumberyard in White House, Tn., when its owner died in an accident.

"I didn't know a whole lot about the business," admits Jeff, himself a builder, "but with my marketing and sales background, I figured I knew how to sell, no matter what the product, and," back then in 2004, "there was a lotof building going on. " Things were humming in the area,2o miles north of Nashville.

That was then. This is the recession. But Jeff thinks he's got that covered, too. Right at the outset, however, he was boomeranged with a painful learning curve. "Business was good; I had no difficulty getting people in the door," reports this able businessman. "But the worst part-the most difficult thing-was learning who to sell to and who not to. Collections in arrears were out of hand," he recites with lingering horror. By October 2007, bad debts had mounted to $700,000-"so the first thins I did was to cut half of our customer base-'You can't shop here anymore.' I had to! They'd pulled us into the red, and I had to stop the bleeding." So those good ol' boys were history.

"I looked for new customers who were more professional and could weather the storm" now gathering on the horizon. Another way to counteract its potential havoc was to work toward a more balanced mix. "Formerly our customers were 98% contractors; now, my aim is 70130. Today," he can report, "we're at 72t28;'

That's in great part a result of another of Jeff's bold initiatives. He gave potential customers a whole new reason to check him out-in fact, a whole new store that debuted in 2001 with a new name that spells out its new purpose. No longer known for lumber alone, it's now the White House Home Center, expanded from 6,800 sq. ft. on two acres to 6l,000 sq. ft. on an eight-acre site.

"That saved us!" he declares. "If we had not had that new building and the d-i-y trade to go after, we'd be in

And what a find: White House has morphed from lumber and windows and such into a complete home center, including lighting and plumbing, lots more hardware, flooring, cabinets, appliances, you name it, all showcased with improved displays and spot-on signage.

White House staff, which has grown to 22, also has a leg up on the competition, benefiting from Jeff's background as a builder: "You get a lot more accurate assistance here than at the boxes," the boss maintains.

And you get lower prices, too. "We're 5 to l57o lower than the boxes," Jeff indicates, adding, "and that'sfairly easy to accomplish. What's hard," he underscores, "is to overcome the mentality that the boxes are cheaper-that because they're larger, they have better buying power. In reality," he says, "they also have larger overhead. But we can't just tell that to people, we have to show them. Then, after they've checked out the box store, they come to us. Slowly but surely, we win 'em over."

To help drive that traffic, Jeff has come up with a few new niches, leading off with a surplus business-"not a flea market," he's quick to emphasize, "but wood, lighting, things like that, because today, especially, people are looking for a chance to save money. Adding a surplus department is an effort to get people that wouldn't otherwise come here. It gives them a reason to drive by the others to get to us.

Still more reasons: a new rental department, "the only one in town," and an installation program, launched in September and carried out by vetted, trusted subs. "We need to do 20 installs a month for this to fly," he figures. "We've got 15 so far and are working on it. Ar $1,000 an install, it generates decent revenue. Plus," he adds, "people tend to buy more if it's to be installed, as in 'While you're here...."' Customers are also offered free in-home design service for fixtures such as lights and plumbing.

Contractors still get free delivery, including White House's core base of remodelers. "We take good care of our smaller customers," he notes, especially as the bigger builders are falling by the wayside.

Yes, they are-White House isn't immune to what's hitting the fan around the country. Jeff's dress code doesn't go in for rose-colored glasses, and he levels with his staff. "When I first opened, they knew I'd invested all my money-and I made them aware of the stuff we couldn't collect, how difficult it was. That scared some away," he says, "but those who stayed on, well, they're the ones really behind you: good, solid, loyal, hardworking people. I believe that employers should share the good times, but they need to share the bad times, too."

"In fact," he says, "this has actually boosted morale. They know, and fully appreciate, what we're going through. No one wants to shut the door."

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

OWNER Jeff Christian attributes his comoany's good fortune in tough times to paring out bad pays, reaching out to d-i-yers, expanding its facilities, and adding new niches.

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