| HBSDealer.com
House-Hasson Hardware reported an increase in attendance of at least 15% at its recent summer dealer market, which took place June 15-17 at the Wilderness of the Smokies Resort in Sevierville, Tenn.
The mojo behind the boost? More product offerings and stronger vendor partnerships, said Don Hasson, the company’s president.
“There’s a greater appreciation among vendors that we have a common goal, and that working with us in partnership for the benefit of our hardware store and lumberyard dealers is in vendors’ interest as well,” Hasson said. “Dealer profitability is our daily focus. Our vendors understand that and work with us to bring about greater dealer profitability.”
“Infusing new offerings into the deals offered on the market floor was a boost to the vendor base,” said Jason Monroe, House-Hasson’s vice president of merchandising.
“We branched out at this market with more vendors offering products for outdoor living, outdoor cooking, and for sporting goods,” Monroe said.
“We had an expanded number of vendors offering eco-friendly products,” he added. “In the past dealers have had the impression that eco-friendly products weren’t as good or cost too much. They’ve seen that these products have improved, are high quality, and there’s a real market for them.”
The approximately 600 vendors at the House-Hasson dealer market also saw many new dealers’ faces, said Pat McCutcheon, House-Hasson vice president of sales.
“What stood out at the market apart from an increased number of vendors were the new faces among our dealers who came to the market for the first time,” McCutcheon said. “Some of them were dealers who have converted to House-Hasson, who are learning about us as we expand our outreach in Louisiana and Texas, and others were dealers we’ve had for some time who we’ve been encouraging to come and enjoy the House-Hasson experience.”
McCutcheon said he’s also seeing a generational changeover among dealers.
“Among some of the dealers we’ve been working with for a long time I’m seeing their sons and daughters come to the market either because they’ve been handed the baton and assumed responsibility for the family business or are being groomed for the role.”
http://www.hbsdealer.com/article/house-hassons-summer-market-gets-boost