2009 Young Retailer of the Year Honoree
CHRIS BEILHARTZ
One Up On the Competition
When ideas are bigger than reality, reality will have to change. That was the approach Chris Beilhartz took when he walked into his recently purchased lumberyard ten years ago. His decision to flesh-out his dream for the business didn’t come a minute too soon, either. Just a few years later, three discount chain stores and another independent lumberyard had opened nearby, saturating the market with competition.
Of course, Beilhartz may have been tempted to stay in the comforts of home. Since he was 13 he had worked in his father’s hardware store in Bruce Mines, Ontario. The number of family members working at the store seemed to be growing, however, while opportunities in the surrounding market were not.
So in 1999, when he was 25, Beilhartz made the decision to purchase a lumberyard in nearby Echo Bay, Ontario. To see the potential in the building, he had to look past the 3,000-square-foot retail space and limited hardware offering. What he really wanted was a home center that would attract more than the store’s current base of contractor customers.
The first order of business was to renovate the building and expand the sales floor to 10,000 square feet. Diversity would be the key to growth, he realized, so he began filling out departments and adding the new ones, like housewares and sporting goods, that would attract a wide range of customers. He knew if he could capture the whole project, he could capture the whole sale.
“In customer’s minds, the previous owner had the reputation of having some of what you needed, but not everything, so you might as well not bother going in the first place,” says Beilhartz. “My goal was to carry a broad enough selection that they would not be missing those one or two items that would make them go somewhere else.
During his first year, Beilhartz boosted store profits from $1.8 million to $3.2 million. He won achievement awards from his wholesaler, Home Hardware, and began pouring himself into the community with donations of time and money to local charities and events. He also hired more staff and began pushing education through seminars and online courses as one of the key components to profitability.
Still, heavy competition from nearby retailers was crouching at his door. Knowing that keeping a fresh look about the merchandising was necessary if he were to maintain growth, Beilhartz directed another store remodel in 2007. This time, he targeted the kitchen department. To take it to the next level, he hired a full-time kitchen designer that could help customers design their own customer kitchens.
Next, he partnered with his contractor customers to offer an installed sales program for homeowners looking for a one-stop solution to their projects. He also added a garden center to the store’s exterior. The changes further solidified loyalty from his customers, and he hasn’t been loosing them to his competitors.
In the past 10 years, sales at Echo Bay Home Building Centre have grown 78 percent. Of course, Beilhartz knows he’s not immune to the ups and downs of the market or the slower winter months. But as a savvy retailer that knows how to stay on top, he’s not likely to loose his edge, either.