and enriching educational programs that introduce children to technology and network skills, internet safety, robotics,
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Exercise Your Independence
primecoat
Change happens. There is no way to stop change because the world we live in is always changing, and we are just along for the ride. As many of you know, we recently moved our World Wide HQ into new digs. We’re thrilled with our new space, but the changes we have endured have not all been good experiences. Take our AT&T situation…PLEASE! This gigantic global corporation has got to be one of the most poorly run companies on the planet. The right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing there, and the rest of their body parts just seem to run amuck as well. We have cellphones with AT&T, but we also had a fax and credit card processing line, an 800 number, as well as several other landlines into our old building. We also had AT&T’s U-Verse service for the internet. U-Verse had its own separate bill, but the cell phones and landlines were combined into one bill. Our move to our new home went really smoothly for everyone except AT&T. The building we are now in has no phone lines coming into it. Internet is provided by our landlord, and our office phones, fax line, and credit card processing is now all done over the internet/Voip. So after nearly 25 years of overpriced, under-delivering service from AT&T, we are suddenly down to just 2 cellular publisher phones with them. I guess they call that “cutting the cord.” HANS MUGLER When notice of my final AT&T landline bill arrived in my email Inbox, I went to pay it, but could not access it online as I always have been able to do. Seems AT&T closed the account all together when we cancelled the landlines…brilliant! Now I had to call and talk with some idiot there to find a way to pay my bill. They said they would snailmail me a copy of the bill in 10-14 business days, but I should go ahead and pay the bill now since it is due in 4 days. Uh, why would anyone pay a bill they can’t see what they are being charged for? I asked for specifics into the billing amount because it was more than it normally was. I was told there was, in fact, an early termination charge for our landlines. I understand the need for contracts, but when you have proven yourself to be a very loyal customer to one company for almost a quarter of a century, you would think that might earn you a little credibility or even some respect, but not with AT&T! I could cancel my cell service with them, and move that service to any of a number of other carriers who would love the monthly income from me, and it is monthly more than the cost of AT&T’s early cancellation fee, but the folks at AT&T would not listen to reason, were not willing to keep us as clients, and not willing to give us even the slightest of breaks. Bottom line for me is that AT&T has become just too darn hard to do business with! Every day as a store owner in the paint & sundries business, you have choices about who you can do business with. Companies that make it hard for you to do business with them can, and in many cases should be, replaced. Companies who are on the ball and laser focused on winning or retaining customers should be given a chance to see how they can benefit you! That’s the point of being independent, being able to make your own decisions and reaping the rewards. TPD
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PaintDealer the
342 Marshall Road St. Louis, MO 63088 Toll free: 800.984.0801 Main: 314.984.0800 Fax: 314.984.0866 www.paintdealer.com
Publisher/President Hans Mugler
[email protected] 800.984.0801 x12 Associate Publisher/Editor-In-Chief Jerry Rabushka
[email protected] 800.984.0801 x16 Art Director Kathryn Tongay-Carr
[email protected] 800.984.0801 x 14 Circulation Manager Shirley Schomaker 800.984.0801 x 11
Sales Department Sue Oden
[email protected] Ph: (417) 207-0486 Fax: (314) 984-0866 Melissa Biegener
[email protected] Ph: (314) 239-8248 Fax: (314) 984-0866 Hans Mugler
[email protected] Ph: (314) 984-0800 Cell: (314) 616-9080 Fax: (314) 984-0866 Canada Post International Publications Mail Product (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 40031787. Send returns (Canada) to BleuChip International, P.O.Box 25542, London, Ontario, N6C 6B2. CIRCLATION IS VERIFIED BY US POSTAL RECEIPTS
themix
JULY ‘16 TPD volume 25 » no. 7
featurestories
departments
10 Color of the Month: Brown
2 Prime Coat
It’s a bit down, but definitely not out!
What better article for this magazine?
Faux and boutique brands that make a great addition to your store, with lots of pretty pictures. Correction: In our previous issue, the “Finally, It’s Pragmatic” article quoted David Clifford at DecoArt as saying, “Our Royal Metallics paints are domestically sourced with only a few exceptions.” It should have read, “Our raw materials are domestically sourced with only a few exceptions.” We apologize for the error and for any confusion it may have caused.
adindex
s
Deck staining tips from Flood.
6 Paint Scene
22 Faux-Tique
Hold the phone!
5 What’s Shakin’
14 Sell More Paint
More checks than balances.
30 Mark My Words
Business advice you can count on!
On the cover: Projects using Plutonium Paint by artist Ryan Humphrey. (Photos by Ryan Humphrey.)
Name Web Page Name Web Page Name Web Page
American Paint Paddle........................... 25 americanpaintpaddle.com
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ArroWorthy....................................... 26, 27 arroworthy.com California Paints..................................... 31 californiapaints.com Chalk-tique............................................ 13 chalktique.com DecoArt................................................. 29 decoart.com Dizzolve Brush Cleaner.......................... 12 dizzolvebrushcleaner.com Enviro-Care/Moldex.............................. 32 moldexbrands.com Find Paints of Europe............................... 3
finepaintsofeurope.com Flood........................................................ 5 flood.com Gardner-Gibson, Inc.............................. 24 gardner-gibson.com Howard Products, Inc.............................. 13 howardproducts.com Kelly-Moore Paints................................. 19 kellymoore.com Mirka....................................................... 9 mirka.com Nationwide Protective Coatings............. 20 nationwidecoatings.com Old Fashioned Milk Paint....................... 25 milkpaint.com
Plutonium Paint........................................ 8 plutoniumpaint.com PPG Pittsburgh Paints............................. 15 ppgpittsburghpaints.com Pratt & Lambert Paints............................ 21 prattandlambert.com Richard’s Paint........................................ 16 richardspaint.com SamaN.................................................... 17 saman.ca Santint USA............................................ 11 santintusa.com
Visit us at:
www.paintdealer.com
The Paint Dealer (ISSN 1067-1110) is published monthly by Mugler Publications, Inc., 342 Marshall Road, St. Louis, MO 6 3 0 8 8 / P : 8 0 0 - 9 8 4 - 0 8 0 1 / FAX: 314-984-0866 / www.paintdealer.com / Printed in the U.S.A. All material in this magazine is Copyright © 2016 by Mugler Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. The Paint Dealer is available free of charge to retailers who sell paint and paint sundries to consumers or contractors. Subscription rate for applicants who do not qualify for free copies is $36/year in the U.S. and $100/year in foreign countries. Periodicals Postage paid at St. Louis, MO and Additional Mailing Office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Paint Dealer, 111-A N. Kirkwood Rd., Kirkwood, MO 63122-4301.
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THREE EXPERT TIPS FOR BETTER STAINING RESULTS 1. Clean better—and faster—before you stain.
Power-washing is NOT the fastest way. Plus, it could damage the wood fibers and still not get the wood completely clean. Use a professional cleaning product: FLOOD® Pro Series Wood Cleaner. In ½ the time it takes to power-wash, you’ll remove 4x more dirt for a final stain color that’s 60% truer to new.
2. Watch surface temps, not just air temps.
90° F or higher. Likewise, surface temps need to stay above the minimum until the stain is completely cured, even overnight. If you can’t avoid high or low surface temperatures, get a product that can handle them. Flood Pro Series Semi-Transparent Stain and Flood Pro Series Solid Color Stain can both be applied up to 120° F and also down to 35° F.
3. Beware of (or prepare for) rain.
Not only do you need wood to be dry before you stain it, but for most wood stains, you also need precipitation to hold off for about 24 hours after you finish. If that much time without rain seems like a gamble, use Flood Pro Series Solid Color Stain, which is resistant to the effects of rain in 12 hours.
Most wood stains can be applied from about 50° F to 90° F—but that range refers to the temperature of the wood surface, not the air. Even if the weather is only 70° F, if it’s sunny, wood surface temperatures can reach
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THE NEW FLOOD® PRO SERIES
FORMULAS FOR SUCCESS Flood wood care has success down to a science. New products are precisely formulated with the features pros need and customers demand. Each stain and sealant offers distinct advantages to make every project a success. Choose Flood stains for your next project.
flood.com
A product of PPG Architectural Coatings.
The PPG Logo is a registered trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc. Penetrol, Flood and Flood & Paintbrush Design are registered trademarks of the PPG Group of Companies. © 2016 PPG Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
www.paintdealer.com
5
paintscene The Main Event
In June 2008, a fire destroyed downtown Lynden, Washington’s largest anchor building, a historic three-story building housing nearly a dozen independent businesses. In Lynden, Washington gets a “big check” as winner of the America’s Main Streets contest. the years since, a growing and active Lynden Downtown Business Association began rebuilding with the help of local investors and volunteer support from the community. Their mission: to help the downtown core make an economic comeback. Some of their needs and goals included creating a brand for the community, implementing wayfinding signage, creating a historical walking tour, and upgrading their downtown beautification program. It’s certainly a project that could benefit from $25,000.
paintscene
In Memoriam Stephen Ellis,
Nationwide Coatings Stephen M. Ellis, IT professional and graphics designer for Nationwide Protective Coatings Manufacturers, Inc. of Bradenton, FL, passed away on July 14 at age 53. He’d served 15 years in his position with the company. Survivors include his mother Janet Arnold, father Ralph Ellis, sisters Karen Ellis-Allen and Mary Ellis, and brother Richard Ellis. He was an avid reader, loved repairing and building computers, and enjoyed playing computer games with his friends. His Nationwide teammates will miss his professional commitment towards his work and his always ready-tohelp attitude. Mugler Publications sends its sympathies to all who knew Steve; we have enjoyed our long time partnership with him through his years at Nationwide.
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And that’s just what happened, as Lynden, populartion 12,902, was the winner of the “America’s Main Streets” contest, sponsored by Independent We Stand, an organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the independent retailer. Downtown Lynden, in the state’s far northwest corner, got the most votes of the top ten finalists out of more than 280,000 total votes cast by the public nationwide during the contest. “Coming back from ruins after a devastating fire, right as the great recession took hold in 2008, is just the type of community engagement and support Independent We Stand recognizes and promotes across the country,” said Bill Brunelle, the organization’s co-founder. “We can’t wait to see the improvements they’re able to make with this prize and how those improvements will benefit independent businesses in Lynden.” Well-known as the world’s largest producer of raspberries, Lynden is also known for its Dutch heritage. The downtown area features a prominent windmill housing a hotel and is brightened by more than 150 hanging flower baskets plus flower beds on every street corner. It’s this charm Lyndenites would like to share with others. Along with the prize money came various prizes, including a $500 shopping spree from both DoItBest and PPG Pittsburgh Paints. The Independent We Stand movement is co-sponsored by Stihl Inc. and FCA US. We’ll have more on this in a future issue. independentwestand.org A July 4 celebration in the winning city.
Paint Your Home – From Home!
Paintzen, a digital décor company, has recently introduced its new DIY Program, which provides opportunities for independent dealers. This service is a first-of-its-kind online booking engine that supplies design enthusiasts with premium Benjamin Moore paint and with all of the tools and expert know-how needed to successfully master their painting projects. The offering is designed for those who are looking to paint their homes on a budget, but don’t want to sacrifice quality for creativity. Within 24 hours of online purchase, Paintzen’s customers will receive a personalized, all-inclusive kit that includes every tool necessary to complete the project: • Paint: Customers select colors and finishes via the Paintzen color selection tool; and the platform’s smart quoting engine will calculate the exact quantity necessary based on provided room measurements. • Sundries: From the proper brushes and rollers to trays, painter’s tape and drop cloths, customers will receive the supplies required to achieve perfect results. • Videos: Paintzen will provide helpful step-by-step videos with each order to help customers master professional painting techniques (or at least nail the basics). The program is available in major U.S. markets including the NYC-Tri State, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Washington, D.C. metro areas. All orders placed through the digital platform will be exclusively sourced from one of Benjamin Moore’s participating, locally owned and operated retailers to ensure speedy delivery of quality paint products and project tools. paintzen.com; benjaminmoore.com
Donating in Dover The PPG Foundation recently donated $10,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware to expand science, technology, engineering, art and math education programs. The donation was made on behalf of PPG’s architectural coatings site in Dover, Delaware, which includes a manufacturing plant and distribution center. “The Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware is grateful for PPG’s commitment to supporting our science, technology, engineering, art and math programming,” said George Krupanski, president and CEO. “These hands-on learning opportunities will enhance our members’ knowledge and skills related to math, arts and science, ultimately increasing their educational, career and professional opportunities in engineering- and technology-related fields.” The Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware is part of a nationwide movement A “big check” courtesy of PPG helps the Boys and whose mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those Girls Club of Dover, DE expand its STEM program. who need the clubs most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens, and to prepare them for successful careers. The PPG Foundation grant will fund development of engaging and enriching educational programs that introduce children to technology and network skills, internet safety, robotics, electronics and mechanical software. ppgcommunities.com
www.paintdealer.com
7
paintscene DRIES FASTER, DRIES HARDER, COVERS BETTER!
industrypeep
Ecobond Hires Heronema Ecobond® LBP has named Eric Heronema as Product Manager for the company’s family of products including Lead Defender® and Lead Defender PRO.
paintscene
Eric brings a wealth of product management experience; for over eight years he was the Professional Product Manager for a multimillion dollar global manufacturer of hardwood flooring products. In addition, his experience brings a fresh perspective to marketing, sales, supply chain and customer education teams. Eric’s vision is to further enhance the existing and future Ecobond product lineup, designed to improve the environment and grow the brand through innovation, integrity and superior quality. His focus is world class customer support through products and education about lead paint treatments and lead safety, while maintaining the ultimate goal of providing a safe and healthy environment for their families and generations to come. Eric is a Denver native who has been married for 23 years and has one son. ecobondlbp.com
DEALER EVENTS FLORIDA HARDWARE FALL MARKET August 12-14 Orlando, FL floridahardware.com
HDW INC. FALL MARKET
Winner of Specialty Paint Category Survey of 40,000 people by TNS
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September 10-11 Hempstead, NY pacoa.com
HOUSE-HASSON FALL MARKET
August 19-21 Little Rock, AR hdwinc.com
October 20-22 Sevierville, TN househasson.com
BLISH-MIZE FALL MARKET
LANCASTER ROAD SHOW
September 16-17 Overland Park, KS blishmize.com MADE IN THE USA BORN AND RAISED IN DETROIT WWW.PLUTONIUMPAINT.COM
[email protected] PHONE: 248.827.4844 NOT AVAILABLE IN BOX STORES
PACOA DEALER MARKET
August 8-September 30 Various Locations lancasterco.com
MONROE HARDWARE FALL MARKET
NATIONAL HARDWARE SHOW
September 17-18 Myrtle Beach, SC monroehardware.com
May 9-11, 2017 Las Vegas, NV nationalhardwareshow.com
Experience Dust-Free Perfection.
Mirka® DEROS and Abranet®
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The complete Mirka® Dust-Free System
mirkawoodworking.us • mirkaderos.com Mirka USA • 2375 Edison Blvd., Twinsburg, Ohio 44087 • tel 800-843-3904 • fax 800-626-6970
Home on the
Mid-Range
When it’s time to paint the town brown.
H
aven’t heard much about brown this year? Neither have we. Neither has Mary Lawlor, manager of color marketing at Kelly-Moore Paints, and if anyone’s listening for gossip about brown, it’s Mary. We asked her, “is gray kicking brown off the charts this year?” She says yes. “Gray neutrals have definitely kicked brown off the charts this year as they become the go to neutral.” But as we know, just because something isn’t trending doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be paying attention to it. Some of your customers might like BY editor it, plus when it comes back in JERRY RABUSHKA vogue, they’ll be ahead of the trend. One thing you can do is take brown out of neutral and put it in drive. Make it amazing! “Using a cooler dark brown like Beaver Pelt (KM4582) with a white ceiling and trim will give that effect,” Mary suggests.
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The trending browns this year are mid-range, she told us. “We’re seeing browns like Coffee Diva (KM4543) and Shadow Cliff (KM5789), but no real significant movement in the very dark browns.” And they’re chilling down from here. “Softened Browns with cooler influences will continue to gain importance in 2016-17,” said Lawlor. “Look for colors such as Jasmine Hollow (KM5793), Hidden Cottage (KM4707), and Grouchy Badger (KM4938). For folks who love the outdoors, or just like to look at it from the car window, seeing how brown occurs naturally can be a good start to finding a use for it in a home’s interior décor, Lawlor suggests. “While brown is an important color in nature, we need to consider the scale and proportion to which it occurs in nature when considering it for interiors. Existing brown cabinetry or furniture in the home might indicate the amount or value of brown used in the home.” Outside or inside, maybe the grays have painted over it, but it’s still got its place. Remember, color popularity is cyclical! “Here in California (Kelly-Moore is in the Bay Area) we’ve seen an increase in the use of brown as body colors for exteriors accented with black or white. For interiors, using brown with a softened aquatic blue like Cabana Bay (KM5055) and Swiss Coffee (23) crates a restful beach like atmosphere.” kellymoore.com
Above: Kelly-Moore’s Beaver Pelt looks great with white trim and ceiling. Previous page: Brown sees sunshine as it gains popularity in home exteriors. (Photos courtesy Kelly-Moore.)
More Brown than Charlie
At Santint, Director of Sales and Operations Dave Christiansen is down with brown. • Brown is the ultimate “earth tone.” • It is the least loved color; only 1% of people say brown is their favorite! • Brown is natural and organic—the color of dirt! • Brown signifies ruggedness and also UPS trucks. • Do you remember being a kid with your little rectangular metal box that had watercolors in little ovals of primary colors? You wanted to be real creative and made different combinations. Yellow and blue made green. Red and blue made purple, and finally you started putting your brush into all of the colors at once and ended up with...brown! • Psychologically, brown signifies security, warmth and comfort. It represents stability, reliability and friendship. • Feel free to use the quietly confident color brown on your interiors or exteriors. Finally, he summed it up in one allimportant word, the one thing that makes sure brown will always be “in”: chocolate! Call Santint to find out how its mixing and tinting equipment can help you get the perfect brown. santintusa.com
www.paintdealer.com
11
Bye Bye to Boring Brown
Andrea Magno, Benjamin Moore Color & Design Expert, also weighed in on what’s up, down, and around with brown. She agrees that gray is having its day, but that’s no reason to frown on brown. “Gray has become a huge favorite that’s had a lot of press, but brown is still an important color for interiors,” she said. But now, if gray can’t get into a room on its own, it’s worming its way in with brown. “Many of the browns being used with great results have a slightly gray cast to them, such as Benjamin Moore’s Stone Brown (2112-30) or Silhouette (AF-655),” Magno reported. “For a lighter option, check out Stardust (2108-40). Warm browns haven’t fallen out of favor and have the potential to start creeping into rooms with a fair amount of gray—think of browns reminiscent of rich leathers paired with a range of grays.” If you want to showcase brown, try moving it out of mid-range into deep. It will create its drama by how it gets on with other colors. “Using a really deep brown in a room can be impactful through its richness and depth, plus it has the ability to enhance other colors in the room by acting as a backdrop,” said Magno. “Using a brown that has a good amount of saturation and life to it will move it away from ‘ho-hum’ to a color that makes
a strong statement while remaining visually pleasing and liveable.” You might even get that customer who doesn’t like brown to take another look at it. So what time is it? It’s time say goodbye to boring browns and hello to shades such as Weimaraner (AF155) and French Press (AF-170). “Both colors have the strength to stand on their own, or they can be perfect neutrals to set apart fabrics, furnishings and materials used in a room,” said Magno. Benjamin Moore’s Color Trends 2016 palette, she noted, includes some great browns that are extremely versatile and can be used to create spaces that are warm and inviting. This might be your way in—not that you wake up thinking “how am I going to sell brown,” but when you get those customers who just don’t know what they want, you’ll have another option in your arsenal.
It’s in Our Nature
Brown’s a constant color of nature—trees, earth, pebbles, plants you forget to water, and grass in the winter. Helping your customers commune with that nature may link their interior color scheme with that look out the window. “By taking color cues from nature, you can create beautiful palettes. Brown is certainly a part of that equation,” said Magno. “As in nature, brown can be
Images provided courtesy of Benjamin Moore.
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a great base color that can ground a room while allowing for other colors to be used as accents.” Benjamin Moore let the browns found in wood inspire many of its brown in the 2016 Color Trends palette. “Think of rough-hewn beams or reclaimed wood with a rich brown hue that can serve as the starting point for a room,” Andrea suggests. So while brown is seeing some healthy competition, don’t count it out! “Although we’ve been seeing a strong amount of whites, grays and other neutrals in homes, brown is still a key player,” Magno observed. “We’ve been in a period where cooler colors are very popular for interiors. I think this will continue, but little by little I expect to see some warmer colors enter color palettes and room schemes.” benjaminmoore.com TPD
®
Chalk-Style Paint Additive
Sell. More. Paint. Chalk-tique is an all natural, non-toxic powder additive that turns any latex paint into a chalk-style paint. So Easy!
New Counter Displays now available! Made in the USA!
www.chalktique.com
Chalk-tique is manufactured and sold by Kalos Marketing. Littleton, CO 303 904 7338
www.paintdealer.com
13
Sell More Paint! That’s what this magazine is about, after all.
I
f there’s one thing our paint companies like talking about, it’s paint. That makes perfect sense, but these days you never know. Ask some folks a question about one topic and they immediately start talking about something entirely different. Since your paint supplier is a huge partner BY editor with you—in that your sucJERRY RABUSHKA cess is their success and their success is yours, the knowledge and assistance from your major supplier is invaluable in helping you on that road. Plus, you’re independent. If your paint company doesn’t know, doesn’t care, or doesn’t help, find one, two, or seven that do. One issue many dealers come to grips with is a changing marketplace—not only how people understand their products, but how they like to physically see them in a store. Or are they just clicking up stuff on a computer? We asked two manufacturers at opposite ends of the country how you can best market to “today’s customer.”
Q. Are customers painting differently or thinking about painting differently than they used to? Dan Claybaugh—VP Marketing and Business Development, Kelly-Moore Paints: Homeowners are having more of their paint projects done by professional painters as the economy continues to improve. Through the downturn, homeowners chose to do their own painting to save on the cost of labor. The professional painter continues to find ways to improve the speed of completing their jobs. Labor is the single most important asset they manage. In key markets, finding qualified painters has become a significant issue. Therefore, helping your paint contractors find laborsaving products so they can finish a job quicker, with less labor, is a key in providing a valuable service to your customer. John Trenta, PPG Senior Marketing Manager, U.S. Dealers: While it appears customers are still motivated
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Photo courtesy of Kelly-Moore Paints.
GROW WITH US. WE’LL HELP YOU SUCCEED. With a complete line of products designed exclusively for independent, locally owned retailers, PPG’s expertise and the best color program, it’s a winning combination every time. Visit ppgpittsburghpaints.com/for-dealers to find out more about this exclusive offering.
Always Working For You is a trademark and The Voice of Color, PPG Pittsburgh Paints and the Drippy P Design are registered trademarks of PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. Wonder-Pro is a trademark of AkzoNobel. ©2016 PPG Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
to paint for the same reasons as they have traditionally, such as refreshing or repairing walls in a room, they are now looking for higher quality products that make the painting experience more efficient, versus shopping specifically according to the price. Product durability, easy application and excellent coverage seem to be the most valued features of paint products. There is certainly a shift towards “premiumization” in the paint marketplace, with consumers willing to spend more to get more.
Q. How should a paint store set itself up these days, in regard to moving the most paint, vs. even just a few years ago? Trenta PPG: Because color is typically the first decision of most consumers looking to paint, dealers should ensure they have updated color tools in their store. Not only should this include a dynamic color display that provides the latest color trends, but also materials such as fandecks and color collateral that help designers and contractors market themselves and ultimately help their customers. For instance, PPG’s The Voice of Color® program (the color platform for PPG Paints™, PPG Pittsburgh
Feature Presentations: Kelly Moore’s DuraPoxy Matte Finish 1600
A super premium 100% acrylic interior matte finish designed to cover in no more than 2 coats, guaranteed. Specially formulated to produce an extremely hard and durable epoxy-like finish; ideal for high traffic areas with superior stain release.
PPG Pittsburgh Paints’ REGENCY® Exterior Paint + Primer in One
This 100% acrylic paint-andprimer-in-one provides a flexible coating to resist cracking, peeling and flaking. It can be easily applied because of its great flow and leveling, and provides a mold and mildew-resistant coating. PPG Pittsburgh Paints Regency paint is available exclusively to independent dealers.
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Paints® and PPG Porter Paints®) has a research-tested display with flexible options ideal for any paint retailer, as well as unique digital color tools and exclusive color collections to appeal to both DIY and pro audiences. This display helps guide users on their color journey with the opportunity to shop by color family, or by design style. Claybaugh, Kelly-Moore: Independent paint retailers come in all shapes and sizes. In my experience, the store appearance usually reflects the owner’s personality. Those personalities that are progressive will generally have a store designed accordingly. Those that are traditionalist will have the retro approach. There is no wrong answer as long as your store connects with your community and customers. What works in a metro market like San Francisco may not resonate in a market such as Flagstaff, AZ or Tulsa, OK. So be true to your market and neighborhood. Merchandising fundamentals are also important, so looking at adjacencies (grouping products together that go together, for example patching products next to patching tools) to maximize your stores for getting the most ad-on sales is important. Next time you go to a grocery store, look at how they have merchandised the store. Everything has its place and most everything is grouped according to the category. Simple merchandising lessons can be learned here. The one thing all independent retailers should strive for is a “clean” store. No one—homeowners or professional painters—wants to shop at a store that is dirty.
inviting, paint retailers can incorporate interesting subject material that can stimulate customer creativity and set them apart from standard paint departments. Q. Sometimes, you wind up retro-by-accident! If a retailer doesn’t want to do a “whole bunch of work,” what are a few things he or she can do to fix up the paint display? Trenta, PPG: On top of giving their store a good cleaning, some key things dealers can do to modernize their store include freshening and updating color collateral, removing old inventory that has not sold for years, arranging sundries and related products to stimulate add-on sales with paint, and refreshing the outside of their store to give it stronger curb appeal. Claybaugh, Kelly-Moore: Make sure your product is fresh and labels are not faded or damaged. No one wants to pay full price for a dented or faded can. Feature your most premium products as they will usually have the best designed labels when building your display. Take down any old signs—and again—keeping the area “clean” is important. No dust, cobwebs, or trash should be tolerated.
“Durability, easy application, and excellent coverage seem to be the most valued features of paint products.”
Q. If you’ve got more of a “throwback” store, is there a way to keep it retro but still appeal to the modern more educated consumer? Claybaugh, Kelly-Moore: Retro stores usually mean longevity in business, which is a good thing. Embrace your history, but do it in a way that connects with your customers. Play on your knowledge and the trust your customers have had in your business over the years. Leverage your vendors’ merchandising materials expertise to keep your store updated with current POP and signage. Trenta, PPG: With adaptive reuse on the rise, the “vintage” look of a store could actually work to a paint dealer’s benefit. Some paint consumers find the retro look appealing because they feel that the “mainstream” is not unique, and they like to shop at retailers that differentiate themselves. While making sure their store looks clean and
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Q. We’re seeing a lot more advertising by paint companies these days on radio, TV, sports arenas, etc. Are people painting more, or is competition greater? How can—or should —a retailer take advantage of this?
Trenta, PPG: In today’s paint world, there is certainly a lot of competition, but this is an opportunity for independent paint retailers to differentiate themselves. Independent businesses are the lifeblood of local communities, and local paint retailers can leverage the “buy local” trend by communicating the service and expertise they can provide to their marketplace. To help with this, the PPG Pittsburgh Paints brand has partnered with Independent We Stand, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the revival of independent, locally-owned and operated businesses. The program helps provide independent paint retailers with resources, useful tools and an independent business search locator to assist with their local promotion efforts. Claybaugh, Kelly-Moore: With the shift in the economy, more and more dollars are being spent on advertising. Competition in the market is greater than ever before with fewer larger players spending tremendous amounts in all forms of media. I would recommend independent retailers to leverage
their suppliers advertising coop budgets and participate where it makes a direct impact on your business. Keep in mind that your suppliers are pushing their brands first and your store second. Make sure you keep your store brand in the mix because at the end of the day, that is what you are selling; your store and your expertise in the market.
Q. Perhaps one reason people buy from company stores or big boxes is that you can get those brands in several locations, vs. independent brands that might be harder to come by if you’re a long way away from your store. How can independents and their suppliers work together to get people back to the independent? Claybaugh, Kelly-Moore: It really boils down to what brands you carry in your store. Do the brands have a strong awareness in your market area and do your suppliers pull business through your stores? For DIY, it’s the brand strength; for the painters, it’s the product performance and the service they want or expect. Trenta, PPG: We find that personalized service, community involvement and deep product knowledge are key to independent dealers’ success. At PPG, we pride ourselves in our great network of independent dealers, and we know these businesses work extremely hard to gain and maintain customers through these tactics. In addition, we understand that consumers now gravitate towards the “shop small” move-
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ment, which can work to the independent dealers’ advantage.
Q. How can the industry—suppliers, dealers, and painters—do a better job selling the benefits of using a premium paint to both professionals and DIYers? Claybaugh, Kelly Moore: Many times DIY customers have to experience poor product performance before they understand the meaning of premium quality performance. Continuing to message around what is your time worth and how often do you want to redo a paint job or what results do you want from your efforts is the focus for DIY. Demonstrations in store can be invaluable when selling premium. It could be demonstrating the ease of stain release or how well a product hides that makes the difference between selling a premium versus selling a lesser quality product. Trenta, PPG: It’s important to educate customers on the benefits of premium paint products. Sometimes, it’s hard to look past the price tag when sticking to a strict budget, but educating the customer on the longevity and durability of certain products can help ease that uncertainty. It’s important to stress to customers that oftentimes, it’s worth it to make a bigger initial investment than spending additional time and money each year to touch up a project. So, as we said in the beginning…sell more paint! ppgpittsburghpaints.com; kellymoore.com TPD
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FAUX-TIQUE!
Decorative and Boutique Paints make a great couple.
I
t’s no secret that there’s been a lot of consolidation in the paint industry, but it’s also no secret that there are a lot of smaller companies doing some uniqely creative things—no matter how many brands and lines the big companies bring to the table, there will always be something in between for someone to fill. Here are a few folks doing it independently— and selling to the independent.
packages—one of 27 colors and one of 41— for under $800.00. This inclues free displays and point of sale materials with our web-site locator map listing,” said Fleischer. Not only that, but customExplosive Sales Growth! ers will be coming How a product got its name is often an inter- back to you, as esting story. If something is called “Interior/ this product is Exterior Paint” maybe we won’t tell the story, only available but Plutonium Paint has that “element” of dif- to independent ference, so we asked. “When we first developed paint stores. “NO the paint, we bought the name PlutoniumG BOX STORES!” because we thought were going to sell into Barry exclaims. “It is the only the art market and the name already had a premium aerosol paint made in the USA, and following. The ‘G’ actually stood for Graffiti. the independent stores have an exclusive.” We choose to drop the ‘G’ because we knew We know that getting folks to try something the product had a much broader audience.” new can be a challenge, but Fleischer notes said Barry Fleischer, company founder and some product benefit that should get them president. Fleischer to push the button on a can of Plutonium. BY editor has over 40 years “It allows all projects to be done faster due to JERRY RABUSHKA in the business of its dry time,” he promised, with some nummanufacturing and distributing products, and bers to back it up. “Outdoor projects can all he knows a thing or three about growing your be done faster and better and the paint will sales. “We still hold up to the sell to artists, but weather for 5-10 mostly thru paint years. It dries stores,” he said. faster—three to “When the artfive minutes—it ists like a product dries harder so they say it is ‘the it does not crack bomb.’ The bigor peel, and it ULTRA SUPREME PROFESSIONAL GRADE AEROSOL PAINT gest bomb is Pluprovides twice tonium. That’s the coverage of how the name came to be.” So with a name like that, you’re certain to draw some people to this d i s p l a y, a n d better yet, you can get in on this relatively inexpensively. “There are two introductory
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CHALK-TIQUE BEFORE.
leading aerosol brands with 10 times the UV protection.” It’s made in the USA, and also more eco-friendly than leading brands, according to Fleischer, so the product with the explosive name actually has minimal impact on the environment. “With a 70% pigment load and 30% propellant as well as a high volume low pressure delivery system, more paint is hitting the target surface, reducing the amount of overspray,” he said. “Our cans are made from tin-free steel, coated on both sides with PET (a polyester polymer). The polymer coating eliminates the need for solvent-based interior lining, thereby significantly reducing any carbon emissions. The finished cans have no welded side seams; this does away with the need for copper and water during manufacturing.” Plus, it caters to a large portion of your shopping audience. “DIYers, crafters, interior decorators, and designers along with commercial and residential painters, set designers, and some professional artists are all the market for this product,” said Barry. The company, based in Southfield, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit), will help drive these people to your Plutonium display, by providing Free Paint for community and non-profit projects and events and all stocking dealers are listed on their web-site as well as promoted in social media. See more Plutonium projects on our cover. plutoniumpaint.com.
CHALK-TIQUE AFTER.
will be used outside,” she explained. Exterior paint has different properties and you never know what an additive is going to do with different chemistry, but she’s calling the experiment a success. “It behaved the same way with exterior latex as with interior latex,” she observed.” I had no problem mixing the Chalk-tique additive in the exterior paint. It was also very smooth to paint with. I painted two coats, then lightly distressed the finish with 240 grit sandpaper.” This means you can get twice the sales out of the same display! As with many unique boutique products, a full scale display doesn’t take up that much space. And there’s more—Crozier also notes success with oil paint. “I painted a picture frame, again Chalk-tique worked the exact same way, very smooth and solid.” It’s also good for metal and glass, she reported. It can also be used on a permanent exterior fixture, say a chair or birdhouse; just make sure it’s protected with polyurethane or something similar. The company recently added two products to the line: Wood Soap, to help clean the wood before coating it; and Paste Wax, a follow-up product to distress and enhance finished surfaces. It’s available in neutral or dark oak. chalktique.com
Indoor-Outdoor Sales
We’ve talked about Chalk-tique several times—this is a powder that you can add to any latex paint to get a chalky finish. The beauty of it is your customer can get any color they want, so it goes with everything, no questions asked. Not to toot our own horn, but…OK we’ll toot it…a lot of retailers are calling up company president Julie Crozier saying, “I saw it in The Paint Dealer!” So we wanted to see what more you could do with it—turns out the product is making its outdoor debut! Julie had a backyard beverage cart that, while stored indoors, was made for outdoor use—for those nice days when the sun shines, it’s not 105 degrees, and you just want to read a book and drink tea. “I wanted to use an exterior latex paint, because the backyard beverage cart
Barking Up the Right Tree
One way to sell more paint is to show your customers
www.paintdealer.com
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David Fried at Elmore Roots mixes & applies Eco-Orchard by Old Fashined Milk Paint.
a new surface to coat. If they’ll be protecting the wood on their exterior deck, it can’t hurt to extend the same courtesy to the wood that’s still holding up their trees. Like your deck boards, sudden temperature shifts and bright UV rays can do a number on a tree trunk. In the plant industry, white Milk Paint has a great reputation for keeping the trees cool, and now there’s a new organic product especially for that purpose. From Old Fashioned Milk Paint, based in Groton, Massachusetts, comes Eco-Orchard Paint, a newly formulated,
all natural paint, developed in cooperation with CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) and approved for its association’s use. “Fruit growers have long seen a need to protect tree trunks from the scalding sun,” writes company president Anne Thibeau on the Old Fashioned Milk Paint website. “During the heat of the day, trunks can expand, and then contract overnight in the cooler air, sometimes splitting the bark and damaging the tree. White paint is a good solution for this, but organic farmers have had some trouble finding a product that will safely comply with the stringent regulations placed on them, and at the same time be durable, long lasting and not wear down when it rains.” Even if your customers don’t have an orchard, a little paint on the trees could be fun! We had a short chat with David Fried (pronounced Freed) of Elmore Roots, a nursery in Elmore, Vermont. He’s used Old Fashioned Milk Paint on his trees for a decade, and is excited to see a new organic product on the market. Elmore is in the north of the state, not far from either Burlington, VT or the Canadian border. This is a perfect product to use from the ground up, he says, as that’s exactly where you paint it, from the base of the trunk up to the first crotch of branches.
Sorry, Gotta Split
It’s especially good for trees with dark bark such as cherry and plum; tree owners use it for apples and pears as well. It helps keep the trunk stable, and it might just keep an errant
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save the rest for the next time. Fried says he’s seen it last as George Washington from chopping it down. “In the winter in Vermont it can be 30 below with the long as three or four years on a trunk, but often it needs clouds in front of the sun, then suddenly they part and the some touchup every couple years. “It’s a good value. It covsun hits the trunk,” Fried told us. “When that happens, ers a lot of trees and a bag can last for years,” he said. Plus, the cells in the bark can heat up but they can’t take the he likes working with the company and encourages retailers quick transition of going from 30 below to 30 above.” That to give a call. “They are incredibly easy to work with and a 60-degree swing can make the cells explode—that’s how the pleasure to deal with.” milkpaint.com; elmoreroots.com trunk splits. A larger tree might be able to handle this better, but if it’s a smaller tree, half the trunk can split, said David. Start a New Finish Painting the trunk with Milk Paint reflects the sunlight and “I’m a finish snob.” Amy Howard’s been in business for helps prevent this. over 25 years, making fine finishes for fine furniture, and now, It’s good for the summer months as well, as its reflective as her Amy Howard at Home product line is going into retail properties can help the tree stay cooler and prevent sunscald outlets, you can be a snob too! injuries to the trunk. Along with that, it helps protect trees “I was a decorative artist as well as a furniture designer and from insect damage. For some folks, trees are a significant manufacturer for 25 years,” said this Memphis-based finish investment, and a few dollars for a bag of snob. “I had 23 show rooms, 300 sales milk paint can save them a lot of time and people, and we sold very high end furniture money later on. Not only that, Fried adds, to interior designers and architects all over but from an ecological standpoint, it’s safe the globe.” Her company had developed a to use both in regards to the environment repertoire of unique finishes to make fine and around kids. furniture even finer. Now, she wants to “We’ve had it in stock for about ten years share this expertise with retailers and their and we’ve sold thousands of bags of milk customers, so for the past few years, the paint,” he said. Because it’s a powder, he formulas have been available for retailers reminds us, tell your customers they only to sell. “We decided to take the processes need mix up as much as needed to paint the we developed all over these years, put them Furniture Lacquer from trunk, which might not be a lot. They can in a bottle and patent them, and teach Amy Howard at Home.
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people how to do it,” she said. There are millions of pieces of furniture discarded every year, she points out. Just take a visit to almost any city dumpster and you can sometimes find enough to put together quite the house! But you’d want to fix it up just a bit to make someone else’s trash a treasure that looks nothing like the original. Here’s where Amy Howard at Home comes in. “It’s not just about coatings, it’s about crafting a beautiful life,” she said about her product line. “We have a full broad range of products to allow the DIYer to rescue, restore and redecorate some of the millions of pieces of furniture people are throwing away every year.” Or of course they can buy it new as well! Just like many boutique lines, if you get your customers started with it, they’ll get addicted and keep coming back for more. “Our gateway product is called One Step Paint,” she said. “Basically it’s a calcium carbonate derivative that you don’t have to sand, strip or prime. You can paint it on metal, melamine, plastic, glass, pre lacquered surface, veneer, Formica, and more…all you do is clean the surface first. We have a product called Clean Slate and you can paint directly on top of it.” Contractors like it, she adds, because just like DIYers they like saving all those prep steps. “They just paint it. It’s water based, no odor, and no VOC so they don’t have to go through all the priming and prep to get to that point.”
Top: Amy Howard products help this old mirror move into a more modern decor.
One Step Paint from Memphis Best Amy Howard is a good Once they get started, you’ll be able to turn them on to products such as the company’s high gloss introduction to the Furniture Lacquer, its Antique Mirror Kit and its Toscana Milk Paint, which Howard first learned brand and is featured about in Florence, Italy. “The process that was developed was very old world. It’s a beautiful natural on the cabinets up top. TPD_Rembrandt_Microfiber_Ad_2PG_Spread.pdf 1 10/18/13 9:38 AM
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finish unlike anything you’re going get in the paint world today,” she said. New from this company, like really really new, is a product called Better with Age. Rather than wait 200 years for your wood to get that lived in look, this product will take you from 2016 to 2216 in ten minutes. Even our color experts aren’t predicting that far out! Plus, you’ll get a unique finish on each piece. “It oxidizes with the tannins in the wood so it’s going look different on every wood species,” said Howard. It’s also water based with no odor or VOC. “You can come on top of it with a wax or sealer. Or nothing. It is incredible!” Finally, maybe you need a couple days away. “If someone sells the product we bring them to Memphis and train them on it,” said Howard. “They are here for two days and stay at the Peabody Hotel. People say it’s like a creative retreat.” She’s trained boutique paint retailers, Benjamin Moore dealers and Ace Hardware dealers, among others, so if you’re an independent dealer, and odds are if you’re reading this either you are or know someone who is, Howard assures us this product is a perfect addition to your store. amyhowardathome.com
Something for Everyone
Many dealers find that selling specialty paints is a good way to draw in new and different customers. You can introduce current customers to some unique finishes, plus your newly found audience for faux and boutique paints will be more inclined to come to you when they’re ready to paint the house. DecoArt, based in Stanford, Kentucky, works with independent retailers the world over and will be happy to help you put its line in your store as well. “We sell our product to over 75 countries internationally,” said Tom Schaub, the company’s VP of creative marketing. “Our dedicated staff of customer service representatives ensure that each and every one of our customers receives the same level of attention. They will work to help new retailers select the best products from our various lines to fit their particular store. TPD_Rembrandt_Microfiber_Ad_2PG_Spread.pdf
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Our company understands the makers and DIYers in the marketplace. We’ve been providing innovative products for over 30 years to help them make the most out of their creative time.” We know that smart dealers have questions, so we asked Tom a few ourselves—we wanted to know too! Q. I don’t sell a lot of decorative products. Should I still consider DecoArt? The great thing about our product line is that it is so diverse. Once we help you through the initial onboarding process, you will have access to an array of assortments as well as individual SKUs that will work for a diverse customer base. Our products are used by decorative painters, faux finishers, crafters, furniture painters, Above: Before/after mixed media artists and more. with DecoArt. it still looks We are positive we have prodold, but much prettier! ucts that will meet the needs of (photo: Kristy Robb) your customers and keep them Right: Makeover with shopping in your stores. Decoart’s Color Stain. (photo: thatsmyletter. blogspot.com)
Q. I’m on a tight budget. What’s my initial investment? We have a very low minimum order amount of $100. It is not based on a specific inventory amount, but we do require that individual products are purchased in inner pack quantities. Our customer service department can work with you to help you get started. Q. Will you stick around and help me get the word out? Sure! We include retailers in our online lists of places to purchase DecoArt products. We also run numerous blogger campaigns throughout the year to promote new products and to drive customers to the stores to find them. We supply highly effective P.O.P. support material that include product information, color charts and inspirational project ideas. Q. You have a number of product lines; can you give us a short description of some of your best sellers? • Americana Decor—a complete DIY paint program that includes outdoor, metallic, stains, satin, gloss, chalk, stencils, and specialty finishes and mediums. This one program makes it easy to display and cater to the DIY maker, crafter, and faux finisher. • Americana—our flagship product and the worldwide leader in acrylic craft paint. The Americana brand comes in over 240 colors choices and offers excellent coverage in one
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coat. Its permanent, durable finish is ideal for professional artists, crafters, decorative painters, and students. The line includes a selection of writers, gel stains, mediums, stencils, and other specialty products. • Americana Multi Surface Satins—a premium, allsurface, indoor/outdoor, satin finish paint with excellent coverage. They are self-sealing, so no primer or varnish is required. Superior adhesion on all surfaces, including glass. • Stencils—DecoArt’s stencil program offers a wide variety of high-quality designs suitable for home decor, mixed media, art journaling, and more. Styles range from the traditional fleur-de-lis to offerings that are more industrial for mixed media art. All stencils are durably constructed, making them ideal for use with texture products as well as paints. Each design is cleanly cut to ensure crisp lines and the font stencils have baseline guide markings for easy alignment. Once you’ve installed your display, it’s easy to steer your customers to get some how-to information on their own. Plus, learn it yourself, then bring in some hungry painters for a seminar! “All of our products are supported by online video tutorials, product information, application tips and techniques, and inspirational project ideas,” said Schaub. “Our customer service staff can answer any technical or decorative questions about the product.” Along with that, it’s another home grown brand you can carry on your shelves. “DecoArt makes all of its paint products in the USA,” said Tom. “We care about each bottle of paint we put on the market and the distributors and retailers who help us get them in the hands of consumers. We are also continually developing exciting, on-trend products that address the growing needs for DIYers and makers. We do this through extensive research of home decorating trends through our network of supporting artists, industry influencers, and consumer insight.” decoart.com With all these boutique products, you can become a destination station for unique finishes and grow your customer base while getting come awesome looking walls, furniture and trees in the process! TPD
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The Count of the Bronx Has anyone noticed that we teach counting very early in school? Usually, before we even get to school, our parents proudly tell our families “Mark is counting to 10 now!” I get it why they start us so early: so much of life is based on counting and mastering that particular skill. We count our change; count our blessings, if something is dependable we can “count” on them! We even count things we don’t really have, like our lucky stars! That’s why when my daughter graduated high school yesterday (my assurance from New York State that she can count) we were all shocked when the person counting the graduates got to 300 and the person counting the diplomas contributing writer only made it to 250! Yesterday, it was MARK better to be a Lipton than a Trump! LIPTON Why all the talk of counting? Well if you make your living as an independent paint retailer, counting should be an important part of your life. Like most of us, we do a full year-end inventory in my stores. You do as well—I hope—and if you don’t, I assure you: you need to. Unless you know where you started and finished as far as inventory goes you really don’t k now how you’ve done in any given year. I’ve had many smaller dealers over the years tell me that they don’t need to do inventory every year because they are in the stores every day and can see and closely monitor what’s going on. I hate to be the bearer of bad news…but you can’t keep proper track without a regular counting of your inventory, I don’t care how in touch with your business you are. For my two stores, I’ve decided that a once a year inventory is not enough to find all the different problems I am looking for by counting. Yes, I’m looking for theft—shrinkage—but I’m also looking to make sure that my managers are keeping my inventory investment at the level I set it. My min/max ordering process reflects my inventory needs and counting is crucial to make the system work the way I want it to. In-fact, when it comes to counting, we never stop. Every year between Christmas and New Year’s, we count both the stores—every item. Additionally, we have quarterly counts that we do along the way. Each
quarter, we count all our brushes and rollers, all sizes of our two premium lines and all fives of our commercial products. On the half-year, we add the tapes and caulks. This assures me that everything crucial gets counted multiple times a year. My inventory min/max amounts are all set based on historical demand. That process is useless if I don’t bother to keep an accurate inventory. But we don’t even stop there! In fact, we are in a constant state of counting. As a policy, I tell my guys that any time they see an empty shelf, go check that our inventory in our point of sale system reflects that the shelf is empty. That to me is the easiest time to count: even the diploma counters at my daughter’s high school could have made it to zero! There are other times when I feel like it’s easy to count or a sign exists that we should count. If I get an order from a vendor and the shelf for an item that I normally get from them is still empty, it’s probably because my inventory is wrong. Also, since I use a min/max system, if I have set my inventory to 13-16 gallons of an item and I have more than 16 in stock, there’s a chance that my inventory is off; so extra paint is a good indication of a need to count. Some retailers have told me that I’m count happy and
“There is no difference between inventory and cash.”
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maybe it’s true: if I were a Sesame Street character I would be The Count! But I don’t spend extra money to keep my counts right, I just make that a priority of the staffing that we maintain. Imagine if cash magically turned into the product your customer needed, instantly right in your stores. A customer would come in and ask for a gallon of ceiling white and presto, a $25 pile of cash turned into a gallon of ceiling paint. All you would need to keep your stores stocked is shelves and peg hooks filled with little piles of cash. Well, that is kind of what we all do! There is no difference between inventory and cash, so make it count! Mark Lipton is the 4th generation owner of Tremont Paint in New York City as well as a consultant to the coatings industry.
[email protected] TPD
