Orgill Case Study | 29 customers see as they enter. A 1,600-square-foot paint storage area provides the inventory space needed to bulk up on inventory, a necessity for dominance in the pro and consumer paint market. The addition of a separate exterior entrance leading directly to the paint department gives professional painters direct access to the paint service desk, helping strengthen Germantown Hardware’s service offering with this customer base. The new layout also consolidates the grilling department into one dedicated display area directly off the power aisle—where before, grill displays were scattered throughout the store. The space also allowed the Orgill team to bring in more grilling parts and accessories to enhance the overall transaction size of a grill sale. Germantown Hardware was also known in the community for its strong lawn and garden offering. Through the store planning process, the team identified several ways to build up that department. “Lawn and garden was one of the hallmarks of Germantown Hardware,” says Jason Burdick, operational project manager for Tyndale Advisors. “We wanted to take what they were doing well and bring it to a whole new level. We looked at other retailers who were doing very well in the category to see what lessons we could learn and what enhancements we could make.” Inside the store, Burdick and the team more than doubled the linear space allotment for lawn and garden. The expansion included a greater SKU offering in ancillary categories such as wild bird, with the addition of new merchandise features, such as an arbor above the birding aisle for hanging bird feeders and houses. That category is also now visible to any customer entering the store. Outside, the garden center increased from a 3,900-square-foot space for live goods to a 10,162-square-foot dedicated nursery area. In addition to a greater offering of plants, the area offers more fountains, statuary and other accessories. Outdoor power equipment and rental received dedicated display areas toward the back of the store. The major addition to these departments was an enhanced and updated small engine repair shop with new equipment, new sales counters and a modernized shop. Both now and in the future, Germantown Hardware will serve as a testing ground where Orgill can envision, test and develop newmerchandising ideas for retailers who want to reset or remodel their own stores.
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