Emigh’s Outdoor Living has been a part of the Sacramento, California, landscape for more than 100 years, both as a hardware store and later, as a retailer of high-end patio furnishings.
These days, store President Brian Lawrence is overseeing two retail locations, both of which combine an Ace Hardware franchise with outdoor patio furnishings and accessories in the mid- to higher-end price points. One of the two, which is in El Dorado Hills, California, was added just last year. And Emigh’s has recently added a warehouse, about 10 miles from each store, to stock both businesses.
Lawrence represents the latest generation of the founding family to run the businesses.
Not surprisingly, he is in near-constant motion.
When asked whether merchandising, product assortment or lead times, would be most important for outdoor retailers in 2023, he responded with a simple answer:
All of the above.
“Lead times are very important to us,” says Lawrence. “Two years ago, three years ago, we couldn’t get anything — we had a hard time getting product. The special-order business is coming back this year. We are sitting with a glut of inventory — everybody ordered and everything came. We are having inventory challenges — we are trying to sell it at full mark when we bought it at higher freight and higher costs.”
Lawrence says that sales started off slower through April, in part because the rains came to California and didn’t leave.
“We don’t normally have lakes and mountains full of snow — we have February and March (with temperatures) in the 70s and 80s but not this year,” says Lawrence.
Slower sales have prompted Lawrence to focus more on the sales-associate-to-customer relationship on the floor, to make sure that sales associates on staff are committed to selling and communicating the features and benefits of the products. Those who are not committed are no longer there.
To get more employees, the store relies on conventional sources like Snag-A-Job and Indeed and word of mouth, because store employees often know of people who are looking for work. But Lawrence will tell you that he has found that many of those who get an opportunity to work at Emigh’s often need to first work on themselves.
The first task at work? Put DOWN the phone. Look up and engage the customer.
“We are looking for friendly people who can look customers in the eye and talk to people, people we can train,” he says. “The whole phone thing has changed the world. We are trying to teach them and coach them. A lot of kids don’t get it at home anymore — we have to pump them up. Get them excited about things, put their phones down and talk to people and build relationships.”
Lawrence says that the store is in the process of introducing new sales tactics, having moved recently from commission sales to hourly pay with bonuses. Lawrence says that more training programs, perhaps more spiffs with vendors, are needed.
“It takes a lot of time and you have to make sure it is fair,” says Lawrence. “You have to pay people for their production and you have to have a carrot in this industry.”
He says that the choice of manufacturers depends, in part, on how they treat retailers, including the sales process — and in helping resolve problems that customers have with the products.
“They have to be partners with you,” says Lawrence. “Every one of our vendors are direct to consumer. We tend to lean more on vendors if (consumers) have to go to the local dealer to buy it.”
Lawrence says he requires manufacturers to work with him.
“Contract sales are competing against residential sales and residential is competing against contract,” he says. “There’s a lot of ego with some manufacturers — they think they are better than everyone else, but at the end of the day, it’s just patio furniture. Some of these guys think they are making a cure for cancer, but they are just making aluminum and acrylic. There has to be give and take from both sides. We have to work together. The biggest thing for me is a partnership.”
To get the word out, Emigh’s is using some social media, like Instagram and Facebook, as well as using Ace Hardware flyers, along with the tried-and-true radio and TV advertising. Now that Covid is over, the retailer has restarted get-togethers for employees and grill demonstrations on the weekends.
“We try to tell our story,” says Lawrence. “We’ve been doing this a long time. Our people differentiate us — they are good people who are friendly and want to help. Our reputation is solid and that’s what really sets us apart.”
He said he has seen some competition from furniture stores that carry some outdoor, but has found that full-line furniture stores can help outdoor be more top-of-mind with furniture customers. Lawrence says he is more concerned with big-box stores like Costco, some of which carry some of the lines he does, but at lower prices.
“We can’t compete with that,” he says.
He does say, however, that he fights with online sellers by doing what the store does best.
“It is a fight every day — we try to differentiate ourselves with quality and service and convenience,” he says. “We deliver it built. It’s not showing up on someone’s doorstep in a box. You can order a sofa on Overstock or Wayfair and it will show up with three legs. You have to return it and you are making three or four phone calls. It is us, telling our story more than anything. It is blanket wrapped, white gloved to your backyard. You have got three kids, a cat, a dog and a life. We make it easy.”
Any advice for struggling casual retailers?
“Watch your purchasing,” he says. “We had to tighten up our buying. It’s our expenses we can control. We still try to go to shows but we have curtailed some of that — we will go to Las Vegas and Atlanta. You’ve got to get out and see new stuff, but you have got to keep it within reason. And be available to customers when times are tight and be out there servicing.
“I went to Home Depot and Lowe’s, and there was no service in those places. It was cringy how there was no service. I think our society is starved for service. We see it with our customers who are coming in the store and they want to be helped by humans and they want to ask questions.”
