Profitable pairings

Home Channel News, May 3, 1999 by Sarah Demaster

Manufacturers encourage dealers to match tools and accessories within coordinated displays

Walk through the tool department at Chicago's Menard's on North Clybourn Avenue, and you'll find that every power tool is paired with its accessories.

The circular saw blades are stacked above the circular saws: the drill hits hang from pegs above the drills; the grinding discs hang above the grinders.

Menard's display technique is very much to the liking of manufacturers that insist the more related products retailers can locate next to the tools, the better sales will be.

Were always looking for more ways to combine accessories with power tools, said Jeff Hohler, marketing director of accessories for Towson, Md.-based Black & Decker, which manufactures saw blades and drill bits.

"If you group accessories with the tools, it gives you more space to put more [related] skus in," Hohler said. He contended that retailers could increase sales between 10 percent and 40 percent, depending on the category. "The key is what you've done with the space you've gained and whether you really use the additional space to broaden your range."

The North Avenue Menard's practices this cross merchandising and has broadened the range in its circular saws, with 12 tiered rows sporting blades from Oldham, Black & Decker, Marathon, Vermont-American, Irwin and Morse. The display created by Burt, N.Y.-based Oldham Saw Blades, a leading manufacturer, includes signage that reads "Oldham Saw Blade Center."

The tiered racks -- which Oldham also offers in 4-foot and 6-foot lengths for smaller retailers -- allow dealers to fit more blades in the same amount of space than having straight-facing blades.

"At home centers, 70 percent to 75 percent of the accessories are saw blades. It's such a strong category, you need to have more than one manufacturer," said Scott Vilagi, vp-sales for Oldham Saw Blades. "We're the dominant anchor. but in order to have continuity' we give dealers the racks and other people use the racks, too. We think it's the best way to merchandise [saw blades]."

Black & Decker's Hohler agreed that tiering is a good way to raise saw blade sales. "The challenge is that most accessories have a small card, but saw blades take up a lot of space." he said. "If you do tiering, you get greater control of keeping [blades] within the confines of the circular saw department. You can cram more into a smaller space. so sales per square foot go up as much as 20 percent to 40 percent.

Vilagi also credited the saw blade center signage, which Oldham introduced two years ago, with boosting sales in what can be a confusing category. "There is a lot of different equipment, a lot of different sizes of saws, and a lot of different materials that people cut," Vilagi said. "It's a sku-intensive category."

Oldham tries to make blade selection easier with color-coded signs and pictures of materials to be cut. Without giving exact figures, Vilagi said comp-store sales increases were "great" when the signs went into stores. "It's been a very good move," he said.

Black & Decker also has been developing signs with more graphics to help consumers determine what size blade or drill bit they need to cut a particular material, and where to find that accessory on the shelf.

"We've done studies where we actually watch DIYers and pros use selection graphics, and if you put it at eye-level, they will use it," Hohler said. "It really helps them make a purchase, especially when the store is busy and they can't get help."