Building their business

Tyler Garrett celebrated his 18th birthday by getting dropped off above the Arctic Circle for 10 days, without a guide, to hunt with his father, Pat Garrett.

They bagged a caribou and bonded as they endured freezing temperatures with only a tent as shelter. Their love of problem-solving their way through intense situations is part of what makes Moscow Building Supply and Pullman Building Supply successful.

Their business wouldn't be what it is today if they didn't thrive on meeting challenges others might find intimidating.

Take the Garretts' expansion of their Moscow location in 2002. Just before moving across the street, Moscow Building Supply had a 3,000-square-foot retail space and 10,000 square feet of outside storage heavily focused on construction contractors.

Based on data from the Do-It-Best buying cooperative, they upgraded the facility to a 28,000-square-foot showroom and a 65,000-square-foot drive-through, covered lumber yard. It provided more service to contractors and sold a large variety of products for do-it-yourself renovators and builders.

Their old location was so tiny they didn't have a chance to test any of the new merchandise they planned to offer before committing to the millions of dollars needed for the new store.

"The threat was if we didn't do it, someone else would," Tyler Garrett said.

Their research and calculations proved to be on target. Sales doubled immediately and have continued to grow ever since, most notably with the addition of Pullman in 2015.

Business Profile talked with the Garretts about the history of their business, their approach to retail in the age of the internet and how their knowledge of the contracting industry drives sales.

Business Profile: Pat, you acquired Moscow Building Supply in 1986. Describe what the store was like at that stage.

Pat Garrett: It was a very small contractor yard with very little retail. We sold building materials such as lumber, plywood, siding and insulation. We had two forklifts, one truck and eight employees. We didn't break $1 million in revenue annually in the whole store.

The employees we had were very contractor-based. They were accustomed to a customer who would walk into the store and know what they wanted.

BP: You immediately began to grow your sales in that sector. How did you do that?

PG: We got very aggressive in trying to take care of all our contractors' needs. We purchased a boom truck that can lift pallets of items such as lumber onto trailers. We used it to transport materials to work sites of our customers so they wouldn't have to spend extra time driving to our store to make purchases. That's important to builders. They often can get more clients if they have reputations for completing jobs on time. We hired outside salesmen to visit job sites. It was their responsibility to help the customers' jobs run as smoothly as possible and allow us to sell any and all material we could. Those employees could see how quickly work was progressing on projects and help us know when to order products so they wouldn't be slowed waiting for us. We could see what they were buying from competitors. That gave us an opportunity to win more business by offering a better service, price, product or a combination of all three. Annual revenue reached about $5 million.

BP: The gains you experienced in the contractor segment weren't enough. How did you develop the plan to enter the do-it-yourself market?

PG: We joined the Do-It-Best cooperative in 1992. They helped us do a market analysis so we could see what some of the products and services were lacking in our communities. That study found that a large number of customers were going to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley to buy items they would rather procure in Moscow. Many were also going to Spokane. It was surprising what community needs were. The analysis told us the markets could bear the expansion we did in 2002 in Moscow.

BP: What kinds of items are on the shelves of the Moscow store that you didn't sell at the old location?

PG: We have a very large paint department, as well as tools and electrical supplies. Lawn and garden became a huge part of what we do today. Lock sets and light fixtures are all part of the inventory instead of being special order. We really became a full home center. It was immense. It's definitely grown beyond our expectations.

BP: The way people shop when they're fixing their own sink or painting a bedroom is different than professionals constructing a dozen houses at a time. What did Moscow Building Supply do to handle the expectations of the new customers at the expanded store?

PG: The employees we retained from the smaller Moscow Building Supply were put in jobs where they were still serving contractors or received additional training. We hired more employees and did a lot of training with them, too. Our staff can identify what tool or supply a customer wants even if they only offer a vague description. They also have supply lists for projects so customers don't get home and have to turn around and make one more trip because they got 30 nails when they needed 60. There are more man hours involved in taking care of retail trade.

BP: Has expanding into the do-it-yourself market paid enough of a dividend to be worth the extra time it takes to serve those customers?

PG: We immediately at least doubled when we moved into the new Moscow store because of so much more product offering, and it has been a continuous growth ever since.

BP: One reason you've seen continued growth is because of your expanded location in Pullman. What more do you offer in Pullman?

PG: We had more than 10 years after we debuted the Moscow store before we decided what to do in Pullman. We learned what we wish we would have done differently. Most of the products are similar, but we put in full housewares, clothing and cash-and-carry flooring departments in Pullman. We have a separate entrance for contractors to help save them time. Moscow would be great with all of it, but we don't have the room. We're now split about evenly between contractors and do-it-yourselfers.

BP: Why do you think we've yet to see a big-box competitor for you on the Palouse?

PG: We're too small for their market, especially because of the number of students. We know our communities get analyzed all the time. So far we've managed to keep everybody at bay. They're looking at product mix and price. If a store is already serving a market well, they're less likely to make an investment.

BP: How difficult is it to compete with the internet?

PG: Building materials aren't sold online. Both stores have full rental departments where you can rent anything from a chain saw to a forklift. That also isn't available online. It can be hard to tell how sturdy objects are or what the texture of fabric feels like online. We're finding a lot more people using the internet as a research tool and then coming in and buying what they find online. We honor warranties, complete repairs and accept returns of everything we sell. Sometimes those types of transactions are difficult with online retailers.

BP: Pat, you are getting close to retirement age. Will Tyler take over your duties eventually?

PG: Tyler is the next generation. We're talking about it. I'm going to start slowing down, and Tyler keeps taking on more and more.

Tyler Garrett: His answer changes daily, but I think we're on at least a five-year plan.

BP: Both of you have taken similar career paths. How does what you learned before you took leadership roles in the store help you in what you do today?

TG: We both learned the store from the ground up, starting in junior high and high school, sweeping floors and stocking shelves. We both have been on construction crews.

PG: It gives you the perspective of what contractors experience and what they need. If a driver is one hour late, you know that means they could be paying carpenters to wait.

TG: We still fix everything that breaks in our houses on our own. There's not a job in dad's house or my house we don't do ourselves. It's just kind of the life we lead. We like to know what we're talking about and help the folks who don't.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.

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