Clara's Hardware Store
Opportunity
Problem & Solution
Problem Worth Solving
Today, over 40% of the area’s homes are owned by women. In addition, 60% of the area’s rentals are owned by women. More often than not, it’s a woman who will now head to the hardware store for repair parts and advice. Today’s hardware store, which more and more are dominated by the mega-store chains, are cold, uninviting and usually involve more driving time.
Our Solution
The mission of Clara’s Hardware is to offer quality hardware products in a customer-friendly shopping environment. Our customers will get assistance quickly and will leave the store prepared to get the job done right the first time. Clara’s Hardware will also focus on anticipating the seasonal needs of its customers and providing the best products at competitive prices. Most importantly, Clara’s Hardware will make the additional 15 minute drive to a mega-hardware store, too far to go and too expensive to entertain.
Target Market
Market Size & Segments
Clara’s Hardware will focus on three significant customer groups:
- Women home owners: Many women home owners perform their own home repairs and home improvement projects. Clara knows this first hand since she has helped many of these women in mastering the skills needed to do the work successfully. Clara’s Hardware will be uniquely designed to be responsive to the shopping environment that will attract and retain this important customer group.
- Customers who need assistance in planning a project/repair: This customer group can have the most frustrating experience in the hardware mega-stores. If they can’t make the scheduled demos or trainings, they are left to sort thing out with whoever they can flag down in the store help them. Clara’s Hardware will be set-up to provide resources and assistance as soon as they walk into the store.
- Local repair and home improvement professionals: The South Gate area supports a good number of repair and home improvement professionals. Currently, the hardware mega-stores have their business but Clara’s Hardware can win a increasing share of this customer group through aggressive marketing. Time is money and if Clara’s Hardware can save them a trip outside the area, they will buy there.
Competition
Current Alternatives
In the past ten years, most local hardware stores have closed due to the success of large hardware mega-stores drawing away local customers. The attraction of the larger stores has always been price and and a large inventory. Customers would rather drive 20 minutes and make sure they will find what they want rather than drive five minutes and hope the local store will have it at a low price. Yet these same hardware mega-stores are sterile and not customer-friendly. Customers can wander the aisles, aimlessly lost, looking for a two dollar item. And when they do find the right section, they will most likely select the most popular brand no matter how large the selection is. What these store offer in price and selection, they lose in creating a confusing, frustrating maze for their customers.
Clara believes that a local hardware store can provide a reasonable selection in the most important product areas, be competitive in pricing, and offer the customer a shopping environment that will assure repeat business.
Our Advantages
Clara’s Hardware’s competitive edge is:
- Location: Clara’s Hardware is located in South Gate Plaza. The foot traffic in the plaza is very strong. The closest hardware store to the South Gate area is a twenty minute drive.
- Seasonal Products: Each season has it own unique demand on a homeowner. Clara’s Hardware will focus on this pattern and bring in local customers by marketing these items at competitive prices.
- Repair/Project Resource Area: The first section customers will find when they enter the store is a repair/project resource area that they can use to plan repairs or projects. There will be a repair/project resource person there to answer their questions and direct them to the section of store where the needed products are.
- In-Store Expertise: Store employees will be knowledgeable in home repairs/projects. In addition, the repair/project resource area will be used to conduct short trainings and demonstrations in home repair and home projects.
Keys to Success
Keys to Success
Keys to Success
- Location: Clara’s Hardware is located in South Gate Plaza. The foot traffic in the plaza is very strong. The plaza’s primary tenants are the area’s successful supermarket, drug store, and appliance store. South Gate Plaza has easy access points on both of the area’s major cross streets and is the biggest shopping center in South Gate’s residental area. The closest hardware store to the South Gate area is a twenty minute drive.
- Seasonal Products: Each season has it own unique demand on a homeowner. Clara’s Hardware will focus on this pattern and bring in local customers by marketing these items at competitive prices.
- Repair/Project Resource Area: The first section customers will find when they enter is a repair/project resource area that they can use to plan repairs or projects. There will be a repair/project resource person to answer questions and direct them to the section of store where the needed products are.
- In-Store Expertise: Store employees will be knowledgeable in home repairs/projects. In addition, the repair/project resource area will be used to conduct short trainings and demonstrations in home repair and home projects.
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