Last August, Saline Journal ran a feature examining mainstream assertions that “American retail had reached a historic ‘tipping point.'” It cited challenges faced by shopping malls as evidence that the future of retail will be online. Almost exactly one year ago, Forbes ran a headline that began with this unequivocal sentance: “Retail is Dead.” [1,2]
Fast forward to March 2018 and the same publication proclaimed that “physical retail is clearly not dead — adding, as if oblivious to its own prognostication, “Far from it, in fact.” [3]
In stark contrast to the shifting winds of such reporting, Junga’s ACE Hardware store has been a Saline stalwart since 2010. It anchors The Oaks plaza, which thrives literally all around and in some cases even in front of its current location on the south side of East Michigan Avenue, off Hopper Drive.
A little under two years ago, owner Jim Junga and a group of others with related interests met formally with Saline City Council to propose development of property further east of his current location, across from Rentschler Farm Museum. This story has largely been covered in the time since with a focus on the Best Western Premier hotel construction that came from subsequent agreements.
But the plan also includes a new Junga’s ACE Hardware building, to open no later than October of 2020.
That suggests a brick-and-mortar retail environment that not only differs from the future predicted by Internet-based commerce, but one that might have elements that could be applied to the benefit of other local enterprises here. Saline Journal sat down with local store owner Jim Junga to find out more.
One of the foundations that drives Mr Junga is the thought that this is a legacy business. “Most owners are people like me,” he began. “ACE stores tend to be in families for generations.” Integral to this, he noted that “ACE is a co-op, not a franchise. So we own shares in the corporation. In the hardware category, ACE is the eight-hundred-pound gorilla; ACE is the best. That’s why I chose it.”
It’s important to understand the substance behind this mindset because “competition” for this business isn’t merely the Internet. It’s the big box store, the large scale establishment that serves both consumers and contractors, and alternatives on a peer scale with ACE.
Recognizing this, Mr Junga has sought to differentiate his hardware store based on customer service, convenience — which includes visibility — and a strong, wide presence with brands.
Such statements are not cliché. Strategically, he carries some exclusives such as STIHL and Benjamin Moore. Other products are stocked because they are more convenience oriented, responsive to immediate need. Location is part of that, too. “For most people, I’m a minute to five minute drive,” he said. “Maybe seven to eight minutes on a bad day.”
Ask Jim Junga for specifics and he’ll easily tell you.
How is any customer generally greeted when entering the store? What happens next if they’re looking for something in particular and don’t know where to start? just here to check out new seasonal items? how about a highly skilled individual who knows what they want, not to be distracted from maximized efficiency at every step, from entry to exit?
“People are pretty good at telling you want they want with their actions,” he concluded. One of his primary roles in helping his people help the customers, then, is to serve as coach to his employees, helping them learn to read the cues.
This orientation instructs store layout, too. It’s a balance among placing heavier items for convenience of loading-out after purchase, providing spaces for comparison shopping, and stocking aisles with parts organized for ease of right-size selection. Corporate prospects for new ACE locations routinely visit Saline for a prime example of best practices.
As alluded to above, plans are already in place to move Junga’s ACE Hardware store into a brand new facility that will start construction some time after the hotel is finished. For more on that, return to Saline Journal tomorrow for an exclusive titled “It Wasn’t the Internet That Drove Plans for a New Brick-and-Mortar Hardware Store in Saline.” [5]
References
- “How You Shop Determines Where You Shop (and Retailers Notice)” Dell Deaton (August 23, 2017) Saline Journal.
- “Retail is Dead. Here’s What To Do Now.” Annabel Acton (May 16, 2017) Forbes.
- “Physical Retail Is Not Dead: Boring Retail Is” Steve Dennis (March 19, 2018) Forbes.
- “Document Center” (City Council Work Meeting Agenda July 11, 2016; 2016; Work Meeting Agendas; City Council).
- “It Wasn’t the Internet That Drove Plans for a New Hardware Store in Saline” Dell Deaton (May 9, 2018) Saline Journal.
