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Tallmadge hardware retailer Henry Bierce Co. now selling products made on other side of circle by Martin Wheel Co. in partnership that benefits both
By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Monday, Sep 14, 2009
They're two old dogs learning a new trick.
The 99-year-old Henry Bierce Co. and the 63-year-old Martin Wheel Co. — two Tallmadge institutions less than a mile from each other — are boosting business by boosting each other.
Bierce is a retailer, selling general hardware at 50 Southeast Ave.
Martin Wheel is a West Avenue manufacturer, making wheels for just about everything but automobiles.
Last spring, employees from the two companies — both of which have seen sales fall in this recession — started talking about how selling Martin Wheel products at Bierce could be mutually beneficial.
Martin Wheel stopped its own retail operation in 1999 to concentrate on manufacturing and distributing, but the local populace still hasn't quite gotten that message.
''I remember going to Martin Wheel when I was 10-12 years old and getting tires for my go-karts and minibikes,'' said Bierce employee David Denholm. ''The people of Tallmadge remember going to Martin to get what they needed . . . and they still get 10 people or so a week coming there wanting to buy from them.''
But for the past decade, the best Martin employees could do was give the walk-ins a list of distributors to order from — an unsatisfying solution for the company and potential customers.
Now, however, they can simply send customers to the other side of Tallmadge Circle, where Bierce employees are waiting to help them out.
Customers don't have to pay shipping, and at most they'll only have to wait 48 hours if the wheel they want isn't in stock.
The hardware store has sold about $3,000 worth of Martin Wheel products in eight weeks.
There are no advertising expenses for those
additional sales, noted David Bierce, president of the hardware company: ''Just our good friends sending them down the road to us.''
''Plus when they get here, we know they already want to buy something, so they're coming in the door as a live one,'' Bierce said.
''If half of those people have never been in our store before, that's a home run for us. We might sell them a $10 wheel, but if we're good cross-merchandisers, they'll see what else we have.''
To make room for the Martin Wheel display, Bierce said, he took out a nail counter that customers had ''shot the breeze around'' for decades.
He said big-box stores have trained consumers to buy nails by the box and not by the pound, so the counter and scale had become more nostalgic than useful, and ''it took five seconds to say, let's boot the nail counter and do something new with this space.''
The store invested about $750 in a used tire-mounting machine so employees could put customers' tires on their new rims, and that work can easily be absorbed by the three full-time mechanics Bierce already employs for tool rental and truck fleet operations.
Despite Martin Wheel's longevity, Bierce admitted he had no idea the manufacturer had such an extensive product line until he saw its catalog.
Its primary business is slow-speed wheels for lawn, garden and industrial vehicles, and high-speed rims for trailers. It also sells tires, which come through parent Kenda, a Taiwanese company that purchased Martin Wheel in 1999.
''As a retailer, we hate to say no, so [the new relationship with Martin Wheel] is giving us the ability to say, 'Yeah, we can get that weird trailer tire for you.' It's enabling us to do what we like to do best and that's solve problems. . . . We don't have to say no to anyone who needs something round with rubber on it,'' Bierce said.
Tom Hartmann, president of Martin Wheel, said his company's new partnership is a good lesson for all businesses.
''You have to think outside the box,'' he said.
His regional sales manager, Dave Nowlin, nodded in agreement.
''Look in your backyard. Everybody is eager in this economy to partner with each other, especially time-tested businesses like these two,'' he said. ''It was just a natural fit.''
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.
They're two old dogs learning a new trick.
Get the full article here.
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somewhere near you, US
Posted 12:26 PM, 09/14/2009
Make me laugh. If Martin was worried about their sales, they would take care of the customers they HAD before they chased them away with poor customer service when dealing with their own errors.
