True Value 2012 Annual Report Download - page 6

 TRUE VALUE  ANNUAL REPORT
A BIG, BEAUTIFUL NEW DTV STORE IN OKLAHOMA
HE BUILT IT, AND THEY CAME.
When DeWayne Tripp decided to open a brand new, ,-square-foot
True Value one mile outside Hinton, Okla., some may have thought he was crazy.
Sure. Like a fox.
DEEP ROOTS IN TOWN
DeWayne Tripp was a successful
plumbing/electrical/HVAC
contractor when he bought Hinton
Hardware in . It was a typical
cramped and cluered small-
town hardware store with a
history that went back to the
early s. “Merchandise was stacked so high,
many women wouldn’t come in to shop — they
were afraid something would fall on them,”
remembers DeWayne.
DECISION TIME DeWayne switched from
another co-op to True Value soon aer taking
possession, and sales grew at a steady clip
year by year. Soon, the store was bursting at
the seams. “I was going to build a warehouse
outside of town, but decided to go all in with an
all-new store,” says DeWayne. “It was a big risk
in today’s economy, but my True Value rep
was a big help with planning and projections.
In fact, I’m not sure if I’d have goen the loan
without True Value’s expertise and support.”
BIG MOVE, BIG IMPROVEMENT “Some were
wondering whether the store was too big for this
town,” DeWayne says. “Maybe, but I kept thinking
about a line I heard in a movie: ‘If you build it, they
will come.’ Well, that’s what’s been happening.”
The new store has far surpassed expectations,
with sales exceeding plan by  percent in its
first year. Since the grand opening in March
, Tripp has seen a whole new customer
segment at the store: women. “The new space
is big and easy to shop. It’s clean, it’s bright —
some women have been coming in, grabbing a
basket and just walking the aisles,” he notes.
“And our customer base has expanded to
many of the surrounding towns. I didn’t believe
everything True Value told me would happen,
but I’ve had to eat my words a lile bit.”
MORE THAN A HARDWARE STORE OWNER
DeWayne loves his work. “I just love helping
people solve problems,” he says. “It’s such a good
feeling, I almost hate to charge people.” He’s
active in the community, too — town fire chief
for nine years, past director of his church Sunday
school program, recipient of two True Value
Foundation grants, which he used to support
several area schools, and much more.
Passion. It’s what makes True Value and its
retailers the best in the business. DeWayne Tripp
has it in spades.
“I JUST LOVE
HELPING
PEOPLE SOLVE
PROBLEMS.”