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Gazette Article - Winter 1996
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(This article was in the DoIt Best Gazette in the Winter '96)
Hardware and Touch of Country Make Profitable Mix
Winter 1996
An old-fashioned shopping experience wrapped in country warmth is not a slogan one might expect to find at a hardware store. But visitors to Zoller Hardware in Cashiers, N.C., understand why it's so appropriate to this store.
Zoller's blends into its surroundings -- a woodsy, mountainous region of western North Carolina.
From the outside, the store draws customers onto the large porch, dotted with deck furniture and barbecue grills. The interior offers a warm, rustic feel created by attractive merchandising, a majestic green roof, beamed ceiling, fireplace and loft.
"We wanted the interior to have a woodsy look," said owner Jim Zoller, a 20-year veteran of the business now in his second year in Cashiers. "We built the outside to make people want to come inside. We could have done it for less, but we wanted it a certain way."
Larry Thomas, retail development specialist, said Zoller is able to serve customers well because of commitment to quality. "It's a great store, located right among the pines. It's very rustic, like a cabin," Larry said. "It's got the personality which draws traffic to help them sell a lot of hardware. They're doing well in an area of North Carolina that has really developed in the past few years."
Cashiers has approximately 1,000 full-time residents but swells to more than 30,000 in the summer.
The constantly changing customer base creates the need for a unique mix of products.
Understanding customers' needs is something Zoller has been doing for a long time. He started his retail career in 1970 with Crowder Bros. Hardware of Winter Haven, an HWI member in Florida.
While serving in a variety of positions, from corporation vice president, to treasurer to general manager, the average annual increase in sales was more than 20 percent.
His wife, Paula Crowder Zoller, is also no stranger to the hardware business. If her name seems somewhat familiar, it's because her father, John Crowder, is a former HWI Director.
Using their expertise to provide a unique product mix to customers and relying upon the support of HWI has the Zollers operating deep in the black. "Because our store is small (5,000 sq. ft.)," said Paula, "we can't stock a lot of items. But through HWI we can special order any item a customer needs. People appreciate that they can get an item without having to drive off the mountain. We'd be sunk, as a small business, if we always had to order large quantities. Through HWI, we have access to more than 50,000 items within a week."
"About half our store is hardware and the other half is gifts," said Zoller. "And in a loft at one end of the building is our Christmas shop, which is very popular." Paula buys the gifts for the store and takes special orders for items such as braided rugs and lace curtains. Everything from accent furniture, pottery, collectibles and tea sets to natural linens and dolls can be found in her section near the entrance.
"When people come in, men go to the left and women go to the right," Paul said. "It's fun. If a man finishes shopping he may go sit in a rocker by the fireplace and wait for his wife, or if the woman gets done first, she may go wait out on the swing."
"We have created a very country-store feel. We want to be a quality hardware store. We're in a very high-income area, and some very wealthy people vacation here during the summer. We want to convey that image in our store," said Paula.
The image that has been created, said Thomas, is the result of the Zollers' commitment to meeting the needs of the customer and will ensure the store's viability and profitability in the future.
"The Zollers really have done an excellent job of making their store fun to shop," he said. "This will keep them successful for a long time." |
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