True Value 2012 Annual Report Download - page 10

 TRUE VALUE  ANNUAL REPORT
FOURTHGENERATION HARDWARE RETAIL PASSION IN KANSAS
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER.
True Value owner Joe Long’s daughter Megan Menzer definitely inherited his
passion for hardware retailing. Her drive and new ideas helped launch a successful
new DTV store.
AN INSPIRATIONAL
GRANDMOTHER Hardware is
in Joe Long’s blood. He’s third
generation. “I literally grew up in
the store,” says Joe. One of his
three daughters, Megan Menzer,
became the fourth generation to
make it a career aer she finished
college. Joe’s grandmother, one of the founders,
was active in the business until the age of .
“My grandmother always encouraged me to try
my ideas,“ Joe recalls. “Not all of them worked,
but I learned.”
AN OPEN MIND LED TO DTV AND THE
DECISION TO EXPAND Joe inherited his
open-minded approach from his grandmother.
“You have to be open to change,” he says.
“I listen to the younger generation. Talking with
Megan has kept me more in touch. She’s the
one who convinced me to look at opening a new
store in addition to our existing Cherryvale,
Kan., location.”
“I just thought it was time to expand,” says
Megan. “Our True Value retail consultant
suggested our Independence location and his
team did a full market study for us, which
made the decision a lot easier. The DTV process
is a real timesaver — with the opening stock
order, we didn’t have to go through line item by
line item. True Value has done the research.
They know what will sell.”
Joe adds, “We took full advantage of the free
opening stock program. That made a big
difference. We didn’t want to borrow for the
merchandise, and we needed all the cash
we could muster to open the store. We also
participated in True Value’s low-interest loan
program, which was a real plus for us.”
A GREAT START FOR THE SECOND STORE
The new ,-square-foot Newton’s True
Value opened in Independence, Kan., in October
. “Our grand opening was phenomenal,”
Megan says. “We did , in sales the first
three days, and the results since then have
been great. We think we can beat our first-year
projections by  to  percent.”
NEW STORE, NEW SHOPPERS Joe and
Megan have been surprised at the difference in
customers at their two stores. Joe explains. “The
shi in demographics at the new store has blown
me away. At Cherryvale, I’d say the average
age of our shoppers is in the s. At the new
Independence store, it’s in the s. They come in,
grab a cart, and shop. That’s driven a much higher
average transaction size, which is great.”
“OUR AVERAGE
TRANSACTION
SIZE REALLY
GREW.”