Abundant Inventory Makes For One-Stop Shopping

From Yard & Garden Magazine, October/November 1997

A significant investment and business restructuring will be required to adapt to the new market demands. To meet these increased demands the next generation will have greater capital requirements.--From YARD & GARDEN's White Paper, "Catalyst for Change".

Dwight Sherman thinks of store inventory -- whether it's compressors, cordless drills, chain saws, angle grinders or mitre saws -- as little piles of $20, $50, and $100 bills.

He defies business strategists by stocking an inventory of tools worth $4 million on average between his two locations in the suburbs of Chicago. This inventory and a knowledgeable sales staff are the secrets to success at Berland's, which aims to offer virtually everything a professional contractor needs.

"Our auditors and all the experts say we would be more profitable if we carried $1 million less in inventory, and if we didn't run our business on what looks like a good ratio," Sherman says. "Every year we try cutting back, but we start to get complaints from customers."

What started as a masonry business back in in the late 1960s gradually evolved into a jack-of-all-trades tool store by the Sherman family.

"To me, outdoor power equipment is a growing niche market, " Sherman says. "We offer only quality products and we've recently stepped up our outdoor equipment offerings."

Savvy advertising and promotion is another investment Sherman is willing to make. His "Tool TV" program, broadcast six days a week in the Chicagoland area, boasts approximately 1.75 million viewers per show. Each show runs over a six-week period. To help subsidize this venture, Sherman shares production costs for "Tool TV" with the equipment manufacturers featured in the program.

"The manufacturers feel justified spending the money because it reaches so many people," Sherman says. "Not only that, but the people it reaches like tools."

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