From owner-HARDLINES@cornells.com Tue, 06 Feb 1996 17:28:49 Date: Tue, 6 Feb 1996 17:29:06 +0000 From: Mark W Bates Subject: Introductions Cc: Jim Livingston My name is Mark Bates. I have been active in our store since 1976. Our store (Bell & Bates, Inc.) was founded in 1902. We have been on the Triad since 1984. In 1985 we opened a small engine repair shop which we closed in 1994. We opened a rental department in 1986. We purchased a Radio Shack dealership in 1989. We have a 4,000 square foot retail sales area and 4,000 square foot second floor storage area for hardware. The Radio Shack store occupies 1,500 square feet next to the hardware store. The rental POS area is currently crammed in our hardware store. We are looking at rehabilitating a building we own that has 11,000 square feet under one roof. Our biggest problems have been operating three business in three different buildings(in the same block) and not having enough hardware retail space. We have had Orgill Brothers do a MDR(Market Driven Retailing) Analysis of our business showing our strengths and weakeness. We have implemented their retail pricing plan which has made us more competitive. As mentioned above, not having enough retail space is a problem we hope to correct. The average hardware store has over 9,000 square feet and we are operating out of 4,000 square feet. We are not able to offer the depth in several departments like plumbing and electrical due to lack of space. We are located on the square in downtown Quincy. Our city has a population of 8,000. We employ 10 full-time people plus part-timers. Hardware accounts for 50% of our sales, electronics, 35% and equipment rentals 15%. Of our hardware sales, paint accounts for 25% of sales. Our primary paint line is Benjamin Moore. Orgill Brothers(Memphis,TN) is our major hardware supplier. We are a Trust Worthy dealer. I feel the program you are associated with has little effect in our small town. We have little growth and people purchase from us because we have been here for years. We have run circulars off and on for years(max of 6 per year) and have never gross what the circulars cost to purchase and distribute, much less made money on them. To Kip at Colemans Hamilton Supply. We have used Market Line Computers, Data Rental program for several years with good results. Contact Mike Acree at 904-875-RENT(7368) if you have questions. If Triad is listening, we would like to see a rental program you could run on the Triad. If any dealers have a Radio Shack franchise and use Triad, please contact us. We just converted our electronic store from Westec(PC based) to the Triad and we are trying to figure out how to transmit orders and the name file to Radio Shack. See our home page at this URL: "http://gcn.scri.fsu.edu/~mainst/b&bates.html" From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Wed, 14 Feb 1996 17:50:40 X-Sender: John Fix 3rd Date: Wed, 14 Feb 1996 17:49:27 -0500 From: John Fix 3rd Subject: Topics to discuss OK, this is aimed at the Triad owners...Robert Knudson, one of the list members, suggested that everyone list their favorite enhancement since Level 10. (his is MCR screen 4, but maybe he should tell us why). My favorite enhancement is MultiView, and specifically the Purchase Order view and Purchase History. Another suggestion for discussion is your pet-PCR. I'd suggest you think of the one thing you think you've been waiting the longest for Triad to fix. Triad folks read this list, so I'm sure the suggestions will be taken care of within a few weeks (chuckle). Meanwhile, not that I've stirred things up, I'm off to Florida for a week and a half... maybe even try and catch the shuttle launch next week. See y'all! John ************************************************************************* John Fix 3rd http://www.cornells.com/john.htm John3@cornells.com (914) 961-2400 Cornell's True Value Hardware Manager/Cashier/Webmaster ************************************************************************* From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Sat, 17 Feb 1996 20:01:45 Date: 17 Feb 96 20:01:10 EST From: "WILLIAM H. ROUND" <102753.622@compuserve.com> Subject: Fortune? Fortunate? Fortunately? Folks, Apparently, a recent FORTUNE magazine piece has bashed HOME DEPOT severely. I haven't seen it yet, but I thought John Fix might have a chance as he samples high-class amber beverages at the beach during his VACATION! Cheers, Bill Round From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Mon, 19 Feb 1996 22:00:56 X-Sender: John Fix 3rd Date: Mon, 19 Feb 1996 10:02:23 -0500 From: John Fix 3rd Subject: Re: Fortune? Fortunate? Fortunately? At 08:01 PM 2/17/96 EST, you wrote: What makes you think I'm reading my email while in Florida... good guess! Will look for Fortune tomorrow. John PS - Was your other note supposed to go to the list? It went to me. I can forward it when I get back. > > >Folks, >Apparently, a recent FORTUNE magazine piece has bashed HOME DEPOT severely. > >I haven't seen it yet, but I thought John Fix might have a chance as he samples >high-class amber beverages at the beach during his VACATION! > >Cheers, >Bill Round > >*************************************************************** > Hardlines Mailing List is an unmoderated Internet mailing list > for hardware and building materials industry members. > > Address articles you wish to send to list members to: > > hardlines@cornells.com > > To remove your name from the mailing list, send email to > listserv@cornells.com with the following line in your message: > > unsubscribe hardlines firstname lastname > > For any other questions, send email to postmaster@cornells.com >*************************************************************** > > > ********************************** Via John's new notebook computer. From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Mon, 19 Feb 1996 17:26:11 Date: Mon, 19 Feb 1996 14:26:39 -0800 X-Sender: RKnudson@popd.ix.netcom.com From: Robert Knudson Subject: Hardlines: Intro for CMC Builders Supply, new subscriber. Hello fellow Hardlines readers! John Fix just added us to the mailing list. CMC Builders Supply is located in Colorado City, Arizona, on the opposite side of the Grand Canyon from all the rest of Arizona. We are near the Utah state line. We are a True Value store that's part lumberyard, part homecenter, part hardware store. Our sales volume of about $3 million per year is about half lumber yard items, about half hardware store merchandise. We are located 25 miles from the nearest competition, and 45 miles from the nearest aggresive competition. But our potential customers will drive that 90 mile round trip to save a few dollars. Other lumberyards also deliver into our market. Our immediate market area is approximately 6,000 people and growing, resulting in a lot of new construction. We have been Triad users about four years. Our Eagle 486 system has 3 point-of-sale terminals, several back office terminals, and attached PC's. We just upgraded to level 16. We have used a portable computer as a terminal, connected by a wireless link (for inventory, mostly). We are agressive users of the accounts receivable software (I love MCR screen 4). We have made up our minds many times to implement matrix pricing, but still haven't done it. I would like some tips on starting a tiered pricing scheme. I look forward to reading the comments of other participants in this list! Robert Knudson CMC Builders Supply -- True Value Colorado City, Arizona From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Mon, 19 Feb 1996 20:14:39 Date: Mon, 19 Feb 1996 20:14:56 -0500 From: SteveWan@aol.com Subject: Re: Topics to discuss DEAR FELLOW TRIAD USERS: MY FAVORITE UPDATE SINCE THE INTRO OF THE EAGLE HAS TO BE THE VENDOR PRICING SCREEN IN IMU. iT IS ONLY RECENTLY THAT I HAVE FOUND WHAT POWER THIS SCREEN REALLY HAS! FOR EXAMPLE, DID YOU KNOW THAT THE VENDOR STOCK NUMBER FROM IMU(V) IS AUTOMATICALLY UPDATED IN MAP? MY STORE DOES A LOT OF COMPARISON SHOPPING. THIS SCREEN MAKES THE MULTIPLE VENDOR COST RETENTION A BREEZE! PET PCR. YOU KNOW THE WAY THAT YOU CAN UPDATE INVENTORY FILES VIA FUNCTION FIL? WELL, IN MY STORE, WE NEED TO UPDATE MCR INFORMATION FREQUENTLY. FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE LATEST BENJ MOORE PRICE INCREASE, WE WILL BE PLAYING WITH CONTRACTOR PRICING, AND NEED TO UPDATE THE STANDARD PRICE FIELD. HOW ABOUT AN FIL TYPE FUNCTION FOR MCR AS WELL? AND WHILE I'M ASKING, AN RICU TYPE UPDATE WOULDN'T SUCK EITHER REGARDS... STEVEWAN@AOL.COM WEINSTEIN DECORATING CENTER BROOKLYN NY From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Mon, 19 Feb 1996 20:20:39 Date: Mon, 19 Feb 1996 20:21:18 -0500 From: SteveWan@aol.com Subject: Re: Hardlines: Intro for CMC Builders Supply, new subscriber. TIPS FOR MATRIX PRICING. TRY THIS: MAKE YOUR RETAILS HIGHER THAN YOU WOULD WANT TO CHARGE MOST PEOPLE. USE EACH FOR THE MATRIX LEVELS FOR A DIFFERENT TYPE OF CUSTOMER (IE: P1 FOR CARPENTERS, P2 FOR ELECTRICIANS, P3 FOR PAINTERS, AND SO ON. IN EACH OF THE CATEGORIES, GIVE A SHARP PRICE FOR THAT THINGS THAT YOU ARE NORMALLY SHOPPED ON, A DECENT DISCOUNT ON OTHERS, AND, IF YOU'RE SO INCLINED (BUT WE KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT!) :) YOU CAN USE AN UN-DISCOUNTED PRICE ON BLIND ITEMS. I'VE WORKED FOR A FEW DIFFERENT TRIAD USER/OWNERS, AND HAVE SET UP NUMEROUS PRICE MATRIX TABLES, EACH FOR THE PARTICULAR NEED OF THE TYPE OF BUSINESS. IF YOU'D LIKE TO TALK DIRECT, YOU CAN REACH ME AT stevewan@aol.com REGARDS; STEVE WANGEL STEVEWAN@AOL.COM WEINSTEIN DECORATING CENTER BROOKLYN NY From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Tue, 20 Feb 1996 01:43:29 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 01:44:03 -0500 From: Colehard@aol.com Subject: Re: Topics to discuss Hi Steve, and everyone else! Rick Karp from Cole Hardware here in San Francisco writing: I am the original bug in Triad's side with regards to the implementation From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Tue, 20 Feb 1996 01:46:29 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 01:47:32 -0500 From: Colehard@aol.com Subject: Re: Topics to discuss Let's try that again... I am the orignal bug in Triad's side with regards to IMU-V. It is great, but would be even greater if you had the ability to print these fields somehow. I won't go into the politics behind getting this screen in the first place, but politics is what prevented these fields from being accessed via a report or RQ. Look for a promised "fix" to this oversight on level 17 (should have been on 15). Three cheers for the MCR suggestions. They would be great! Rick From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Tue, 20 Feb 1996 19:44:22 Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 19:45:35 +0000 From: Mark W Bates Subject: Re: Hardlines: Intro for CMC Builders Supply, new subscriber. Cc: Hardlines Mailing List I am interested in your use of the wireless computer. Did you buy from Cole Computer Products? Are you satisfied with how it works? Below is an example of what we did in CPP (Category Pricing Plans) on level 16. We always found 5 pricing plans was to restrictive for our store. We needed special pricing for our industrial supply customers as well as the plumbers, painters, etc. We at one time had small engine customers that had different levels of discounts. I went through all of our discount customers and placed them into one of 15 categories to start with. Then I tried to determine in which departments they would be sensitive to our prices. Using the old systems, we had to give plumbers and painters the same discounts. I am now able to divide my industrial customers into 3 different discount levels based on their purchases in 1995. About 4 months ago we started a pricing plan from Orgill Brothers(Distribution America) that lowers the retail on price sensitive items and raises the retail on blind items. We have lowered our discounts due to the decrease in price on our A moving items. We have also had to use RQ to track items where the new prices drop the gross profit below 35%. We are assigning these items to a separate product code that is non discountable. (Partial listing of departments, categories and representative discounts) DEPART PAINT PLUMB CONTR ELECT COMMR GOVER APART MISC Hand Tools -5 -5 -5 -10 -5 -5 -5 Power Tools -5 -5 -5 -10 -5 -5 -5 Automotive -10 -5 -5 -5 Lawn & G -5 -5 -10 -5 -5 -5 Builders Hardware -5 -8 -8 -10 -7 -7 -5 Paint -10 -8 -10 -7 -7 -5 Paint Sundries( -10 -8 -10 -7 -7 -5 My favorite addition on level 16 is probably the category pricing. My PCR would be to fix RPC when you calculate list price by increasing the retail by a percentage(i.e. 10%), the answer would be shown to two places not three. The list price shown at point of sale calculated this way looks strange(i.e. Stanley tape $10.794 in stead of $10.79. To Wade Doss of Atlanta. I hope to see your store Thursday night. Orgill Brothers is having their trade show in the Galleria Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I have been in your store before and plan to take my store manager by. From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Wed, 21 Feb 1996 10:26:06 X-Sender: John Fix 3rd Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 10:25:24 -0500 From: John Fix 3rd Subject: Topics to discuss >From 102753.622@compuserve.com Thu, 15 Feb 1996 19:58:21 >Date: 15 Feb 96 19:58:04 EST >From: "WILLIAM H. ROUND" <102753.622@compuserve.com> >To: John Fix 3rd >Subject: Topics to discuss > > > >My favorite enhancements to Triad since level 10: > >The Multiview is nice, but the electronic receipt posting must take the price >as the best in my book. I could not operate without it. It is the foundation >of a reliable Cost-of-Goods Sold calculation. > >I think I'm going to like the bank card processing once they turn mine on. I'm >looking forward to it. > >The help system has been improving steadily, but nobody seems able to use it. >The system still closely-guards its functions. If you don't know what you're >looking for, you'll never find it. > >I put Windows 95 on my home PC, but have encountered chaos installing it on my >office machine. It serves as a reminder of how stable the Triad platform has >been. Our downtime has been minimal, and I have crashed a system only once in >ten years as a direct result of my button-pushing (pre-release software, at >that). I would like to see this same level of reliability brought to a >network in my store to run not only inventory, but also the financials (now on >MAS-90), personnel scheduling and "human resources," merchandising systems, >catalogs, sign systems, training, receiving control, warehouse control, >marketing, and the like. Triad is just not there, yet. I'm very tired of all >this "PC" stuff around which consumes vast amounts of time with disappointing >results. > >Biggest disappointments:failures: > >G/L and A/P have been disappointing and difficult to use. A real money eater >for those of us who've tried to make them work. Rudimentary pass-offs have been >too little, too late. > >The A/R just sits there with no real reporting ties to anything. RDJ's report >net changes to accounts, and good luck if you have to track things down. > >As I've said for the past several years, my Father's little black sales book >provides more usable sales infomation than my Triad. The MMR screen has been a >sump into which information is pored... and not enough of the right >information... and from which little can be pulled... and even that is blown >away at the end of every month. We should have a daily sales record page with >all vital statistic, promotions, etc. to chronical the business as it goes >forward. With the Triad system there are no daily sales past, and I am >beginning to think that my order point calculations miss an important component >when I run them to include sales made last year. What where the conditions >which drove (or killed) sales during this period last year? > >The POS is way out of date. Why the hell do I have to fool with "work-arounds" >for merchandise credits, rain checks, returns, special orders, coupons, cashier >and cash control, auditing, rentals, flip charts, training, documentation, etc. >The Triad makes it difficult to present a professional retailing front to the >public. > >Got to run. > >Cheers, >Bill Round, Jr. > > > > > ********************************** Via John's new notebook computer. From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Wed, 21 Feb 1996 10:26:06 X-Sender: John Fix 3rd Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 10:25:34 -0500 From: John Fix 3rd Subject: Pet Peeves >From RICKSS1@aol.com Mon, 19 Feb 1996 11:19:16 >Date: Mon, 19 Feb 1996 11:20:41 -0500 >From: RICKSS1@aol.com >To: John Fix 3rd >Subject: Pet Peeves > > > >Yep - Multiview is Great >in tie with Mutiview is SEQ and PC Access (even though EZ is easier). > >Pet Dislike - The amount of Blank Pages in a Day!!!!!!!!! the kiddies like >them > >Have fun, > >Rick > > > ********************************** Via John's new notebook computer. From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Thu, 22 Feb 1996 09:38:38 X-Sender: John Fix 3rd Date: Thu, 22 Feb 1996 09:36:05 -0500 From: John Fix 3rd Subject: IMU-V screen I have to agree that this is a great enhancement as well. We made good use of the data from this screen when trying to get snow shovels, ice melter, etc. in this snow season. It makes it easy to track shovels from different sources, pricing, model numbers, etc. Level 17 (and possibly 16) does have an update to RQ that also adds mapping to some of the data that has been missing. I haven't had time to check, but I believe the IMU-V data is there. Direct Mail data files are also now mapped (for Cotter folks... don't know about others) so you can do your own RDM report. Greetings from Florida... back next Monday! John ********************************** Via John's new notebook computer. From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Thu, 22 Feb 1996 12:11:01 Date: Thu, 22 Feb 1996 09:09:46 -0800 X-Sender: batesace@netcom.com From: batesace@netcom.com (Wade Doss) Subject: Re: IMU-V screen John Fix said: >Level 17 (and possibly 16) does have an update to RQ that also adds mapping >to some of the data that has been missing. I haven't had time to check, but >I believe the IMU-V data is there. Yes the RQ data dictionaries are there for IMU-V on level 17, RQ verion 3. I do not recall if IMU-V was on the previous version of RQ. Wade Wade Doss Bates Ace Hardware Atlanta, GA 404-351-4240 fax 404-350-8402 batesace@netcom.com WDoss@msn.com Compuserve 76050,3511 From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Thu, 22 Feb 1996 17:58:51 Date: Thu, 22 Feb 1996 17:59:33 -0500 From: SteveWan@aol.com Subject: Re: GUARDED FUNCTIONS WITH REGARD TO THOSE "HIDDEN FUNCTIONS" (CAN'T FIND WHAT YOU WANT UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR) IN A RECENT UPGRADE, A LIST OF FUNCTIONS WILL APPEAR IF YOU PRESS AT THE MENU OR FAST PATH WINDOW. THE LIST IS ALPHABETICAL, OR YOCAN START TYPING THE FUNCTION NAME (LIKE FINDING FIELDS IN RQ) AND THE MENU GOES TO THAT FUNCTION. PRESS TWICE TO GET INTO THAT FUNCTION. ps: THERE IS NO "WHAT'S NEW" DOCUMENT ON THIS ENHANCEMENT REGARDS; STEVE WANGEL WEINSTEIN DECORATING CENTER BROOKLYN NY STEVEWAN@AOL.COM From owner-Hardlines@cornells.com Fri, 23 Feb 1996 10:13:29 Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 10:13:59 -0500 From: RICKSS1@aol.com Subject: Improvements To All: On the Subject of Ehnhancements that make our lives easier (is that possible??), the feature in A/R that if you have an account mode in B with finance charges lost in the Balance Forward Figures - you can find them if you switch the account mode into the O (open item) and the system will change the Balance Forward figure into an invoice and list out the Finance Charges built into it - neat in housekeeping. After you can change the account back to B if so desire. Have fun. Rick From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Fri, 23 Feb 1996 19:07:49 Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 16:08:18 -0800 X-Sender: RKnudson@popd.ix.netcom.com From: Robert Knudson Subject: Re: Hardlines: Intro for CMC Builders Supply, new subscriber. At 07:45 PM 2/20/96 +0000, Mark W. Bates wrote, (in part): > > >I am interested in your use of the wireless computer. Did you buy from >Cole Computer Products? Are you satisfied with how it works? > > Yes, we bought their Wireless Inventory Station (WIS). Yes, we primarily use it for inventory, and it's much better than a ream of RPI reports, or dragging power and communication cables all over the store. >Below is an example of what we did in CPP (Category Pricing Plans) on >level 16. Thanks! This is the best, most detailed plan we've seen. Robert Knudson Cooperative Mercantile From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Fri, 23 Feb 1996 19:47:54 Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 16:47:33 -0800 X-Sender: batesace@netcom.com From: batesace@netcom.com (Wade Doss) Subject: Re: Hardlines: Intro for CMC Builders Supply, new subscriber. >To Wade Doss of Atlanta. I hope to see your store Thursday night. >Orgill Brothers is having their trade show in the Galleria Friday, >Saturday, and Sunday. I have been in your store before and plan to take >my store manager by. Just picked up your message Friday. Hope I didn't miss you. Feel free to visit any time. Thanks, Wade Wade Doss Bates Ace Hardware Atlanta, GA 404-351-4240 fax 404-350-8402 batesace@netcom.com WDoss@msn.com Compuserve 76050,3511 From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Mon, 26 Feb 1996 07:51:42 Date: Mon, 26 Feb 1996 07:52:34 -0500 From: RICKSS1@aol.com Subject: Time Saver Hi: Tried something different with our EOM Statements - Self-Sealing Envelops -> saved an entire step. The envelop is a fraction more in expense, but we saved about 1.5 hours in sealing. Took 10 minutes to add the extra postage on the envelops that needed it. Yup we still stuff copies of invoices (that too will save time, but what about the service??). Have fun, Rick >From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Mon Feb 26 09:04:37 1996 To: Multiple recipients of list hardlines Sender: owner-hardlines@cornells.com Reply-To: "Hardlines Mailing List" X-Sender: "John Fix 3rd" Date: Mon, 26 Feb 1996 09:04:31 -0500 From: "John Fix 3rd" Subject: Home Depot article For those who are interested, here's an article from the current (3/4/96 Fortune magazine. You can find this and other articles from Time Inc publications on the World Wide Web at http://www.pathfinder.com/. Sorry it's a long file, but it is worth a read. --------------------------------------------------------------------- CAN HOME DEPOT FIX ITS SAGGING STOCK? After years of astonishing growth, some say america's most admired retailer is hitting a wall. the assessment infuriates ceo marcus, who says, "this is not a numbers company. it's an emotional company." PATRICIA SELLERS REPORTER ASSOCIATE WILTON WOODS BERNIE MARCUS, co-founder and CEO of Home Depot, has a big pile of problems. One of his key executives and board members, Jim Inglis, has burned out on the job and is leaving for a while. Home Depot's president, co-founder Arthur Blank, has a combustible management style, and many people worry that the intense former accountant can never be the inspirational leader Home Depot needs after Marcus is gone. Marcus, who is 66, is concerned about this too. He's picked the brain of his friend Jack Welch for ideas on succession. He also just hired back Home Depot's all-but-forgotten third founder, Pat Farrah, to rekindle some of the old fire. Farrah, who quit Home Depot a decade ago, is a certified wild man, a self-proclaimed "radical" who has singed almost every business he's touched. Talking for two hours about Home Depot's odd turnabouts and troubles, Marcus is calmly forthcoming. But he's not composed at all on one other subject: Home Depot's stock price. The shares have shot up 28,000%--yes, 28,000%--since the company went public in 1981, but the stock has been as flat as a two-by-four since the start of 1993. The view of many investors: Home Depot is hitting the wall on growth. On this point, Marcus turns apoplectic. "If Las Vegas had odds on us 17 years ago when we were starting this company, they would have been 1,000 to 1 against us," he raves. He waves his arms, and his limber, 6-foot-2 frame nearly convulses in the high-backed leather chair. Doubters about Home Depot today, he says, are "just like those 1,000-to-1 bettors. They're all wet." Home Depot, which is America's most admired retailer (and No. 18 on FORTUNE's overall list), is at a very difficult midlife juncture. The biggest concern is the stock price. This is any CEO's yardstick, sure, but at Home Depot, the price of the shares is really important. It literally drives the business. Home Depot is one of those model, progressive companies where every full-time employee is a shareholder. The guys who founded the company in 1979 decided to motivate employees not with sales commissions, as most retailers do, but with stock and options. Marcus and Blank personally train every manager, eyeball to eyeball. The pitch is this: Do a few simple things, and the stock will take care of itself. "Serve the customer, serve the customer, serve the customer, serve the customer, serve the customer. And No. 6, kick ass," says Blank. <><><> A VIRTUOUS circle built Home Depot into a company with $16 billion in annual sales. The firecracker stock sparked a fanatically dedicated, entrepreneurial devotion in the company's workers. They in turn powered the stock. Now, with the stock stuck, morale is slipping away. "The people who have had a hard time are the new assistant managers," says Bruce Berg, a blunt, irreverent man who heads Home Depot's largest store division, which is in the Southeast. "These people thought they'd crossed over into the promised land. And now they're asking, 'Where is it?' " So what do you say to them, Bruce? "I tell them, 'The movement of the stock is dependent on us.' " This is a conundrum for Marcus, who is a visionary strategist/ stock promoter/inspirational cheerleader to more than 80,000 employees. He says, "Keeping the spirit alive is the most difficult task we have." That's going to be an enormous challenge. While Home Depot pounded out 40%-plus earnings gains through 1992, profit growth got sawed to an estimated 15% last year. Wall Street predicts that profits will increase at least 20% during the next few years, but then expects a slowdown. First of all, Home Depot isn't such a nimble category killer anymore. A few years ago, rivals such as Lowe's in the Southeast and Eagle Hardware in the Northwest got smart and started building hangar-size warehouses just like Home Depot's. Industry experts say the service gap narrowed too. Says Blank: "The competition got better. They have their copy machines on clearer focus, running at higher speeds." Even more significant, Home Depot seems to be running out of room to grow. This is essentially a national company now--a distinction the ad guys will hammer into consumers' brains this summer during the Olympics, which will be held in Home Depot's hometown. But cross-country presence is not entirely cause for cheering. Home Depot outlets already are in all 12 of the largest metro markets, and in 30 of the biggest 40. There are now 423 Home Depot stores; Marcus and Blank want to plunk down almost 400 more over the next four years. Where will they go? Into a lot of smaller markets, particularly in the Midwest. The Midwestern states generally have less dense populations, lower-income shoppers, and tougher competition than areas like California and the Northeast. David Bolotsky, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, argues in a recent report that incipient market saturation is one main reason sales in the typical Home Depot store have flattened--even as the company has been opening larger and larger outlets. Bolotsky likens Home Depot to Toys "R" Us and Circuit City, companies with slowing growth and contracting profit margins. These companies, he says, "are aging growth retailers." The label stings Marcus. "This is not a numbers company. It's an emotional company. What David doesn't understand is the emotion that drives Home Depot." He adds, "If we keep doing what we're doing today, David may have a shot at being right. But I know things we're going to do that he doesn't. You can't measure the creativity that's possible." ------------------------------------------------------ WHICH BRINGS us to the return of the native. Who is this guy Pat Farrah, and what's he going to do? "A lot of people have been asking that," laughs Farrah, 52. Even though Marcus and Blank have gotten the credit as co-founders, Farrah, a jaunty, friendly Irishman, is the real inventor of Home Depot. He was 34 when he bought an old discount store in Long Beach, California, and converted it into the world's first home-improvement warehouse, called Homeco. It was right at this time that Marcus and Blank got fired from Handy Dan, a now defunct home-center chain. The two men were looking for a business to launch, and they happened to visit Homeco. They'd never seen anything like it: humongous assortments of merchandise stacked on pallets, super-low prices, and licensed tradespeople prowling the aisles to help ham-handed homeowners become deft fixer-uppers. Instantly, Marcus and Blank knew: This was the magic mix. They wanted to buy Homeco. But they didn't. Farrah's business, they found out, was essentially bankrupt. "I'm definitely not an operator," laughs Farrah. So he shut Homeco down, moved to Atlanta, and joined his new friends to start Home Depot. Farrah was brilliant and erratic back then. In the very first Home Depot stores, when the partners couldn't even afford to buy enough merchandise to fill the aisles, Farrah stacked up thousands of empty paint cans and hundreds of empty boxes. "It was a heck of a sales job," he recalls. People who worked at Home Depot during the Farrah years say he was the company's real merchandising innovator. "I take a backseat to Pat," says Marcus. "Pat's the most alive person you'll meet in your life. He's like a rocket ship." Farrah's fuel, unfortunately, was liquor. "I wasn't real good at moderation," he says. "I worked more than I should have. I drank more than I should have. I did everything to the extreme." Sometimes he got physically violent at work. Once he jumped on a forklift and drove it through a Depot store wall--just to make a point. Recalls Marcus: "Pat was self-destructive. He was going to kill himself." The "prince merchant," as Farrah was known, left Home Depot in 1985. He bought a house in Hawaii, sailed for a few years--even won a couple of ocean-racing trophies. "Overachieving again," he says. He quit drinking. As a businessman, though, Farrah still veers toward excess. He bought a lighting manufacturer, MG Products, overexpanded it, and lost millions. His return to Home Depot is a mutual convenience. "Bernie and Arthur needed me, and I needed them," he says. Farrah, who owns nearly $100 million of Home Depot stock, has no actual title at the company. "I have the best title of all: Pat Farrah," he says. Officially, he reports to Bill Hamlin, executive vice president of merchandising. Unofficially, he reports to no one. So he's crisscrossing the country, visiting stores, working the selling floors, training workers, and essentially trying to battle entrepreneurial arthritis. "This is a basic and simple business," he tells employees. "People create problems by not trusting their own judgment. By creating a committee. By constantly needing validation. You guys are empowered. You can find 99% of the answers in the aisles, where the customers are." Farrah describes Home Depot's 120 buyers--whom he calls "merchants"--this way: "They're pencil whippers. They sit in their office and make buying decisions." He has asked them to conduct their meetings with suppliers right in the stores--where the customers are. No surprise, Farrah is also cutting into strategic issues. He says Home Depot shouldn't try to look like Lowe's, whose fancier, brighter stores attract a lot of female shoppers. "We have to distinguish ourselves from that 'softer side of hardware,' " he says. Marcus agrees. ------------------------ IN ADDITION to being coach and adviser, Farrah is something else at Home Depot: the soulful, charismatic counterweight to Blank. Says Marcus, "If I'm out of the picture, there has to be someone with my style to balance Arthur out." Not that Marcus plans to retire anytime soon. He is remarkably vital and fit for 66. "When I lose my fire, I'll go," he says. He began formally preparing for succession about a year and a half ago, during a golf game in Florida. That's when Jack Welch told him that one of his most effective tools for developing senior executives at General Electric is the 360-degree review. That is, managers get evaluated by their subordinates as well as by their bosses. Home Depot developed its own program; the evaluations focus on skills such as taking care of customers, getting the job done, and building relationships. Blank, 53, got reviewed first of all. What came to light was what everyone already knew: He's a smart, aggressive Mr. Hypercontrol. If you want to meet with Blank, you have to schedule a session several days ahead and write him a memo on the issues you want to discuss. "Yeah, I do this, to impose discipline on the meeting," he says. He picked up the habit from his good friend Jimmy Carter. "I'm one of the best people I know at time management," he says. ---------------------------------- A FITNESS BUFF who has raced in five marathons, Blank is the picture of order and discipline--until he blows his stack. "There's nothing wrong with people losing their temper," he says. "I want to see people at this company show spirit and passion. And maybe even a temper. You can't tell them to stop showing emotion when they become an officer." Some managers say they so fear Blank's wicked temper that they tend not to argue or openly disagree with him. "I certainly don't think I lead that way," he says, trying not to let the temper flare. He says his new marriage--his second, to Stephanie Wraye, a 28-year-old who used to work in an Atlanta Home Depot store--has calmed him, made him a little looser, less intense. Marcus defends his partner. "If this company had been run by me alone, I would have dreamed about 400 stores and opened 20," he says. Is Blank his choice to be Home Depot's next CEO? "There's no question about it. It's the board's decision, of course. But if I'm here to recommend my successor, it'll be Arthur." He adds, "We have the exact same vision of what the company is and what we have to do. We just express ourselves differently." Step two of succession planning involves finding a new partner at the top for Blank. He and Marcus have always believed that their contrasting personalities are key to Home Depot's success. "This is the beauty of the Home Depot," says Marcus. "You have a choice. You can become Arthur. Or you can become me. Or someone anywhere in between." Wanted: a "Bernie" for president. Could it be Pat Farrah? "I don't know that Pat could be in an operating position," says Marcus matter-of-factly. Farrah agrees. He's an expert at killing companies, after all. Executive vice president Jim Inglis was once viewed as presidential material. Then he burned out. "Have you ever heard of Pecos Bill, who jumped on a tornado and rode it across the West?" asks Inglis, 52. "Well, I'm like Pecos Bill." Inglis, who came to Home Depot 13 years ago, was the longtime merchandising boss. But two years ago he asked for a lighter workload. Since then he's been in charge of international development --insignificant at Home Depot--and new concepts. One Inglis invention appears to be a winner: upscale home-decor warehouses called Expo. The company has opened Expos in four cities. Home Depot recently ditched another Inglis idea called CrossRoads, which were hardware/farm supply stores that opened in rural markets. "Jim has worked 100 hours a week, literally," says Marcus. "He isn't thinking as sharply as he needs to be." Inglis started a six-month sabbatical in January. The buzz in the retail industry is that he's been job-hunting. But he denies that. "I hope Jim comes back," says Marcus. "He'll be one more genius we need in merchandising." Inglis is obviously off the succession ladder. Climbing fast: Larry Mercer, 49, who started almost at the bottom rung. Mercer joined Home Depot in 1979 as an assistant manager of its first store. He's been heading the company's Northeast division for the past few years, and in February he got promoted. He's now an executive vice president, in charge of Canada as well as the Northeast. "There's a lot of Bernie in me," says Mercer. True, he's passionate and infectiously upbeat. But some people think Mercer is too "Arthur" to be his president. Another superfit marathoner, he runs on discipline and goal setting. Blank is his mentor. The best guy to balance Blank, many people believe, is Bruce Berg, the freewheeling boss of Home Depot's Southeast division. Says Berg, 47: "I'm not your typical corporate animal." He operates primarily out of his mobile office, a black Suburban. Considered a terrific motivator, he spends at least half his time inside his stores. "Home Depot is a tough place to work. Your feet hurt. Your back hurts," he says. "That's why I want to keep letting my associates know that I feel what they feel. What I want to do is wear out my shoes on the floor of a store." Berg has 24 identical pairs of Reeboks--in case. His weaknesses? Volatility and impatience. "I have 27,000 employees. It's not like I'm running a football team," he says. "So I need to become more organized, more exacting, less impetuous." Berg, with everyone else at Home Depot, is learning, quite simply, to deal with maturity. The wisest perspective may belong to Donald Keough, one of Home Depot's board members. Keough is the retired president of Coca-Cola and a director of McDonald's--so he's sampled the fountain of corporate youth. About Home Depot, Keough, 69, says: "Of course there are problems, but they're the problems of success. What people have to keep in mind is that you don't put your stock in an elevator every day and just press the button to make it go up. Intense competition is the price of leadership. When you're successful, you get imitated. It's that competitive juice that Home Depot needs to move to the next millennium." Home Depot, he observes, has a particular challenge: "Retailing is a wild beast. Success or failure depends on the attitude of the employees." Bernie Marcus, of all people, understands this. He says, "Home Depot now has to be a more professionally run company. It can be that, and keep the heart and soul."And, he hopes, get its stock price moving up again. -------------------------------- Copyright 1996 Time Inc. All rights reserved. ************************************************************************* John Fix 3rd http://www.cornells.com/john.htm John3@cornells.com (914) 961-2400 Cornell's True Value Hardware Manager/Cashier/Webmaster ************************************************************************* >From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Mon Feb 26 10:41:08 1996 To: Multiple recipients of list hardlines Sender: owner-hardlines@cornells.com Reply-To: "Hardlines Mailing List" Date: Mon, 26 Feb 96 09:31:09 CST From: Derek Subject: tru trac Does anybody have a tru trac computer out there? All I hear on here is the word traid! We have a tru trac and I love it. When we started to go to computers the owner looked into traid and he liked tru trac better. I have not played with the traid system, but hear alot about it. The traid rep in our area comes by every once in a while just to see if we want to change. Well not much going on in Alabama besides it is 80 degrees today! Hard to sell the rest of our winter inventory when it is like this! I am praying for a snow storm to get rid of all of our kerosene cans, candles, lamp oil, and batteries we have. Another note, has anybody got in their lawn mowers yet? we have and personally I do not like the new lawn chief. I wish we would not have sold our factory to MTD. Well life goes on! Praying for a snow storm, Derek King Argo True Value Hardware >From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Mon Feb 26 21:05:05 1996 To: Multiple recipients of list hardlines Sender: owner-hardlines@cornells.com Reply-To: "Hardlines Mailing List" X-Sender: ahanson@maine.maine.edu (Unverified) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 1996 21:08:06 +0300 From: ahanson@maine.maine.edu (Anne Hanson) Subject: Introductions Hello from Bangor True Value, Bangor, Maine. My brother and I run a third generation business that was established in 1914. The business operated as a wholesale and retail business until 1964 when the wholesale was spun off. We sell pretty basic hardware and have a really packed 8200 sq. ft. sales floor and about 18000 feet total. We have used a Triad since late 1987 and have upgraded to an Eagle. I am so far behind in everything and I find as we become more automated more duties are transfered to me. I would like to know how other True Value/Triad users are coping with all of the data we receive from EFM? I really appreciate the updates on UPC's and packs but I can't cope with all of the description changes, etc. Probably most Triad users have used our longer description field to improve on Cotters inept abbreviations. Some of the description changes are appropriate but most are a step backwards for us. Has anyone decifered Cotter's usage of _ _ _'s and /'s in the manufacturer's part number field? I would like to know what fields you download and how you find time to edit the changes. I am very pleased with so many of Triad's updates I find it hard to pick just one favorite. I am looking forward to improvements in Request with level 17. What is the expected release date now? Thank you John Fix 3rd for all of your efforts. Thank you John Fix, Jr. for letting him perform this service. Tom Hanson >From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Tue Feb 27 09:46:05 1996 To: Multiple recipients of list hardlines Sender: owner-hardlines@cornells.com Reply-To: "Hardlines Mailing List" Posted-Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 07:39:45 GMT Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 06:48:18 +0000 From: "Peter J. Cailotto" Subject: Re: tru trac Hello everyone! We have a tru-trac and it works for us. We were quite suprised to find out that Cotter is going to go with Triad, but I guess the number of Triad users far outweighs the tru-trac. We first looked at systems back in 1985 and to get a Triad system back then, you needed about 60k. We weren't willing to shell out that kind of money. We also went to an IBM seminar that same year in San Jose and almost bought a system 36 for 20k. Later on that year, we went to a market and Cotter was supposed to come out with its own system. So we waited and waited and waited.... Triad kept coming by to try to talk us in to there system, but quite frankly, I couldn't see how they could justify there maintenance expense. Finally, in 1991 we bought a Tru-trac. The hardware configuration was far superior to Triad back then, Triad was only going to give us an 80 meg hard drive for 30K (wow what a deal!). Of course the Tru-trac was overpriced too, but $20k was the cheapest system we could find and it appeared to be able to do the things that we wanted done. After buying the Tru trac, we discovered the system strengths and weaknesses (mostly weaknesses). Still to this day, they have not updated the A/P system at all. I guess A/P's not important to Cotter, nor is G/L, because they never came up with there own system. Budgeting is also not a concern, why would Cotter members need budgeting control, isn't seat of the pants management best? Well enough with the bad stuff, (and I could go on longer, but I won't) tru trac has done alot to improve the current stuff they do have. I commend Dick Michell for the work he's done with the LDT, wonderful machine it can help you with inventory control, setting of max/mins, order receiving, ect. The inventory control module in tru trac has come a long way, and Joe Waytula and Company have done a wonderful job in listening to members and correcting the problems and adding enhancements. The Relay extracting deal was a really nice feature -- I hate going through all those pages, putting the items on a work order is really nice. Market Order reports are a great help, very simple, very comprehensive. I could go on and on about the pros and cons of owning a tru trac, but why bother, Cotter is going with Triad anyway. If anyone knows any more about that deal, please let me know. I hope Triad has a better handle on business administration than tru trac. Regards from Central California, Peter Cailotto Jr. >From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Tue Feb 27 05:25:39 1996 To: Multiple recipients of list hardlines Sender: owner-hardlines@cornells.com Reply-To: "Hardlines Mailing List" Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 05:28:10 -0500 From: RICKSS1@aol.com Subject: Re: tru trac Dereck I guess you did not go to the PowerRamma to see the LC before production. Let's see how our customers like them. Granted they do not look as fancy but the price is better (even the margin). However, I do have the concern on restock - will there be any?? TRIAD vs TT ->TRIAD. Have fun, Rick >From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Tue Feb 27 10:39:50 1996 To: Multiple recipients of list hardlines Sender: owner-hardlines@cornells.com Reply-To: "Hardlines Mailing List" X-Sender: "John Fix 3rd" Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 10:39:43 -0500 From: "John Fix 3rd" Subject: Tru Trac and Triad >We have a tru-trac and it works for us. We were quite suprised to >find out that Cotter is going to go with Triad, but I guess the >number of Triad users far outweighs the tru-trac. The number of users really isn't the issue that Cotter is considering. Cotter wants to build a system for the future, and be able to support the hardware and software. With Siemans dropping out of the picture, that meant Cotter needed to find a company with a national service force to repair the hardware. They also need a company to provide full service 800 support staff, which is being done in-house by Cotter right now (for Tru Trac). Cotter is not really "going to Triad" so much as attempting to create a new "Cotter" system that might happen to be made by Triad. One reality of a move to a new system down the road is that the present Triad system owners would probably need to make more hardware and wiring changes. Triad systems are mostly wired via four wire telephone wire, but any new system would likely be modeled after an ethernet network such as that used for Tru Trac. That means Triad owners would need to rewire their stores to upgrade their systems. Also, newer technologies will probably require smart terminals (i.e. PC's) rather than "dumb" terminals. Most Triad owners would need to upgrade at least some of their terminals, while Tru Trac folks already use PC's (of course, they are 386 machines which might need to be upgraded or replaced as well). I know that Cotter is making attempts to involve the Tru Trac team in any future development efforts, whether with Triad or some other vendor, so they also are not really dropping Tru Trac. Most things have not been worked out yet, so stay tuned. John ************************************************************************* John Fix 3rd http://www.cornells.com/john.htm John3@cornells.com (914) 961-2400 Cornell's True Value Hardware Manager/Cashier/Webmaster ************************************************************************* >From owner-HARDLINES@cornells.com Thu Feb 29 08:50:49 1996 To: Multiple recipients of list HARDLINES Sender: owner-HARDLINES@cornells.com Reply-To: "Hardlines Mailing List" Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 08:48:53 EST From: MCKV44A@prodigy.com (MR KENNETH E HULTGREN) Subject: SCANNING WE ARE IN THE PLANNING PROCESS FOR IMPLEMENTING SCANNING AND WOULD APPRECIATE ANY WORDS OF WISDOM THAT ANY OF YOU MIGHT HAVE. WE ARE INTERESTED IN HOW THIS AFFECTS THE WAY WE USE THE TRIAD AND THE CONVERSION OF THE STORE TO NO PRICE TICKETS ON MERCHANDISE. THANKS KEN HULTGREN ELMHURST ACE >From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Thu Feb 29 21:18:47 1996 To: Multiple recipients of list hardlines Sender: owner-hardlines@cornells.com Reply-To: "Hardlines Mailing List" Date: 29 Feb 96 21:15:23 EST From: "WILLIAM H. ROUND" <102753.622@compuserve.com> Subject: EDI Stuff Dear Folks, We have been doing the Triad SIERRA DIRECT EDI for the past month or so. We are currently testing with Angelo Brothers light bulbs. Hillman and National Manufacturing are running smoothly; probably too smoothly. Something must be wrong. It costs some cash to get set up, and so much per PO and/or fax PO. I don't recall what the ERP charge was. It is worth the money. Accurate inventory receipt posting is, of course, the cornerstone of reliable cost-of-goods sold calculations, which of course bubble up to the G/L and then filter down to some sort of net profit somewhere on which taxes must be paid, etc. EDI is a step in the right direction. The problems: The software is still too involved. The autopilot is not working yet. It is on the bi-sync still. Hillman and National (and every other manufacturer for that matter) need an alternate part number in IMU screen V to enable the ERP to function to work with skus where the sku number is not a mfg-part number. This is definately the unpolished, un altered primary vendor ERP product used with Cotter, etc. I was very disappointed with the extra prep work I had to do to get around this fact. A part number is a part number, and we should not have to copy it from one place to another. That's computer's work, not my (expensive) office staff's.... or that fantastically over-priced employee... me! I've got to run. Cheers, Bill Round >From owner-hardlines@cornells.com Thu Feb 29 22:00:27 1996 To: Multiple recipients of list hardlines Sender: owner-hardlines@cornells.com Reply-To: "Hardlines Mailing List" Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 22:00:17 -0500 From: RICKSS1@aol.com Subject: Re: EDI Stuff Gotta To Second the EDI Stuff Got National Up and running (except National is changing SKU's now to meet UPC Codes). A lotta of legwork - but will save in errors and labor in the long investment Rick Schwartz