Resets?

Joined: 25 Feb 2007 Posts: 11

I currently work as Hardware/Tools DM. As of Nov of 2008, I have four resets that have been pushed back from month to month. Resets for door locks, cabinet hardware, letters/numbers, and one more. I understand that Lowe's is having problems, but come on. My District Manager isn't happy about this, and blames me for this. I have emailed, talked, and called merchandisers. I get the same answers. The main reason is the lack of communciation within the branches of Lowe's. I would like to know if others are having the same issue?

Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 497

Put this off on your zone manager. Have either your zone 3 manager or ops manager for the store call corporate to insure that you have the proper products to perform the reset. I wonder what the z3 manager is telling the district manager when he asks why a reset hasn't been performed? Let them take the real heat on this since you really have no authority whatsoever. Move it along up the line.

Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Posts: 464

We just had the cabinet hardware and letters/numbers reset at our store. Still waiting for the others too, they've been pushed back until later this year though...

Joined: 21 May 2008 Posts: 6

Resets not being done is not your fault, but do everything you can to make sure it happens. Call the vendors involved, and get a hold of their district supervisors, set the expectation, and hold them accountable, forward all your emails to every member of senior management, and your district manager.

I would say do the resets yourself, but Door locks suck, I helped with a major door lock reset a few years back.

Joined: 14 Nov 2008 Posts: 36

You can call your vendors & merchants all you want, the VSM (Vendor Service Management) is responsible & that is who you should call. VSM took the money & now the manufacturer’s are laying down Lowe’s own law (why spend money on a service twice!). Evidently VSM has been trying to negotiate resets in certain departments for various projects with the remaining new store set companies, however the terms are all net 60 or even worse. No company in right mind would take a financial risk on a reset/project with terms more than Net 30. A good deal of these projects are basically on hold & the question is being asked “why isn’t it done?” The problem is everybody being asked, is calling another party asking the same question. A majority of projects were paid for by the category manufactures in early 2008 yet they’re still not done, & now it’s 2009. Manufactures are up in arms about the concessions that have been made & agreements that have been broken. Merchants are to politicaly intwined to challange. all the while certain catagories receive little or no attention to their basic best practice needs at the store level for normal stock, promotion & special items. This is not the store’s responsibility per say, it’s the PSA’s or company performing the specific project. Manufacturer’s are not necessarily demanding, but their raising the issue & acquiring proof of where projects that are PSA/VSM responsibilities, have gone untouched yet reporting says 100% complete. Incremental sales items not only make bonus for merchants but especially National Sales reps. The case is being made of how it’s NOT directly related to the economy & clearly sales had the opportunity to be better.

Case in point in November of 2008, both Lowe’s & Depot recorded the same number of average visits per customer, yet the average sale was $20 less at Lowe’s. That basically points to product being on the shelf at one store (depot), where it’s not across the street. If you ‘re at the store level & you don’t receive the information on a new project or promotion, would you necessarily know what is in the box marked hold for reset or special promotion?

Joined: 22 Dec 2007 Posts: 445

"Case in point in November of 2008, both Lowe’s & Depot recorded the same number of average visits per customer, yet the average sale was $20 less at Lowe’s. That basically points to product being on the shelf at one store (depot), where it’s not across the street. "

But that's a bit misleading but that implies the same products are carried by each. Look at how cub cadet and john deere kept switching. Also is that those numbers are an average. hd has more stores so automatically it is going to be easier to inflate the amount of a ticket price. You'd also have to factor in the average amount of returns as well and then the margin of the sales. Without margin sales are meaningless. HD long ago gutted their expo stores and expanded into the supply business...the expo ones were larger margin and the supply hardly any. Low margin and high volume is the walmart idea but it comes at the expense of quality.

The other thing I'd say is do ticket prices also include installs? HD lost a ton of install jobs where I am because they sent a sex offender contractor to a single lady's home. Not a bright move by any means.

There's only so much of a scale that can be used though...plenty of other chains sell the same products as either one but they aren't nearly as compaired. Watching them fight is like being in say south america and watching the battle of stalingrad!

Joined: 14 Nov 2008 Posts: 36

As always, Mdovell, you make a very valid point about apples to oranges comparisons. The numbers are a valid metric detailing the overall average spending per trip by any consumer. I don’t believe that metric includes installed sales but I could be wrong as I don’t have specific variables, but will make a reasonable assumption that it’s average sale data. There should be a new report for December but it hasn’t been released yet. It could be just a blip however it could also be a trend. With an average comparison, the same types of product categories are sold at both retailers. It’s not hard to imagine a situation of where one retailer has the things that consumers are willing to purchase versus the other one not having the same type of items on the shelf. Resets do a lot to get items out of the overhead and onto the shelf as well as cycle out non-performing inventory. Get the new programs in place & you have the ability to drive sales traffic.

Joined: 22 Dec 2007 Posts: 445

I think that there is some uneven responses with stores. In one store I know of they have a excellent Hitachi display. the logo is huge and the drills nearly mimic swords in a stone. BUT it's the only store I've seen (and I've been to about six) that has this. Not all stores even carry the same product. Some of this is natural as it makes little sense for snow blowers in florida or for a/c's in say northern maine. But some product could sell far better in other areas. The same that had the hitachi display is one that had marine hardware...it's located in a city...that's at least a good 50 minutes from seeing the coast!

Once I asked a sales manager if we could somehow rig up something to upsell on shop vacs. The larger ones have wheels and thus are easier to move...without wheels you have to either drag it or pick it up. I was thinking of putting a jug of the bottled water (which is 3 gallons) right by these...that's the capsity of some of the vaccums but this idea was denied.

I've seen SOS tool displays....and then a few days later it's empty because they were all stolen!

SOS knobs used to be on turnstyles...they sold pretty well. Yes kids used to sometimes try to climb on them but they did sell. Then corporate hiked them up out of the range of ANYONE from touching them. Customers wanted to climb the ladders to touch them! This makes no sense...what's the point of seeing an item to order right in front of you and not being able to at least touch it?

I agree that the presentation of a product is probably half the job of selling it. There are many products that frankly failed due to bad marketing...if retailers think they dictate 100% as to how an item should be displayed that's a easy way to drop them. Store brands are fine but it can take awhile to build them up. Maybe this is what they are planning...

Joined: 14 Nov 2008 Posts: 36

Well I don’t want to beat a dead horse about Blue vs Orange, so we’ll wait for the next batch of numbers & I’ll get a link out for everyone to make their own interpretation of the info. I was in a store yesterday, and there appeared to be a small (3-4 bay) pilot set for flooring going on. Standard norm for personnel, Lowe’s associates (2), merchant or merchandising VP (with an vest on!) several vendors (3 in vests & two plain) & at least an analyst of some type with his phone glued to his ear the hole time. I hung around for a while to note that no steal moved and it would appear that displays stayed the same. The Hardwood flooring boxes looked like they were just getting shuffled from one end to the other. From my vantage point, it seemed so counterproductive to have all those bodies, at least ten people, in one aisle. If you’re a big player, are you not better off looking like you know everything is handled from afar, rather than standing there with your arms crossed and nervous yet scowled look on your face. When you’re (Merchant or Big Shot) at the pilot set, you’re creating a false sense of perfection. Somewhat like driving on highway and a state trooper is two lanes over…everyone acts like an angel. I’ll never understand why everyone does just one set. Why not do 5 on the same day in different size & aged stores? That way as merchant and set leader you can float the next day & truly critic set for what is an evitable situation of where no two stores are exactly the same!

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