Wednesday marked the two-year anniversary of my father’s passing.
One hundred and four weeks not enough time to allow for dry-eyed writing about my former business partner.
A third-generation paint dealer from an era when cash was the prevalent a form of payment, Billy disproved Benjamin Franklin’s axiom that life has two certainties.
Recently, a friend shared that their parent, long suffering with illness, gracefully acquiesced to life’s one true certainty. The news bringing a reflexive expression of sympathy from my lips.
The 730-days since Billy’s passing contributing empathy not possible 731-days ago.
My Condolences
Google sends me daily emails with links to all new web pages making mention of the 24 Google Alerts I maintain. THE list required to stay current on the people, organizations and topics you come here to read about.
While efficient, the Google algorithm is far from perfect when it comes to determining which of the new pages are paint news, and which are merely coincidental to the search.
And while Google works on this technology, my condolences to the families of Benjamin Moore!
In my blog June 5th, I shared that I’ve been consulting with a European Union paint and décor retailer. The two-store hardware, paint and décor retailer looking for help growing sales to professional painters, and developing a plan to grow his store count as the young dealer takes over management of the family-owned business.
And while the brands and accents vary, the issues facing single-store and small chain paint retailers internationally parallel those faced by the genre here in the states: the absence of scale makes the path of a “small cap” paint dealer, a challenging one.
Unable to spend the marketing and sales support dollars (or euros) needed to compete with the corporately owned chains, big boxes and higher store count independent retailers small cap retailers often struggle to get noticed by DIY consumers and painters alike.
With fewer stores and customers over which to amortize the expense small cap dealers often eschew the expense of an outside rep and fleet of delivery vans.
Good luck growing your painter volume without making those two investments.
And while small cap dealers are not without means to compete with the larger market forces, the business model is still a fraught one with most single and small chain retailers still take daily shifts behind their counters and making deliveries.
The practice of manning the counter effectively making these dealers store managers, with bigger headaches!
Happy Father’s Day
Father’s Day came to Stamford this weekend; the presence of my daughter Buck Wheat transforming a Sunday into a holiday. And though the promise of a home cooked meal ended with a grab for my wallet and Jeep keys, at-least she didn’t make me pick the pizza myself!
