Since 1979, Painter’s Supply, with locations in Mesa and Deer Valley, Arizona, has offered a comprehensive selection of interior wood care products. The operation’s two 6,000-square-foot locations each have 3,000 square feet of selling space dedicated to interior wood care products.
General manager Joe Dudo, who grew up in the store under his father’s leadership, credits the category’s growth and success to the store’s educated employees and thoughtfully crafted product strategy. Whether your interior wood care] department consists of 50 square feet or 5,000, Dudo shares best practices for creating a highly successful interior wood care category that meets your customers’ needs.
Information Central
While wood is used for construction because of its sturdiness, it requires proper care to maintain its longevity, especially interior wood. When building a successful interior wood care category, stocking the best products is half the battle educating employees on how the products interact with wood and how customers should use them is just as important.
Dudo strives to ensure his employees are knowledgeable of every product in the store, taking special care to go over the intricacies and nuances of interior wood care products.
“To stand out, we’ve focused our business on more niche products, such as interior wood care, that require more education to understand and then explain to customers,” Dudo says. “For more intense projects or higher quality products, big-box stores often refer their customers and contractors to us because of our selection and know-how.”
To help educate his employees, Dudo says he has new employees read about the products to get the basic information, then partner with a mentor employee who knows how the products work from personal experience and customer stories to gain additional knowledge.
When new products are released, every employee is educated on how they work and fit into the operation’s current product mix.
“It is a mix of both education and on-the-job training when it comes to new employees learning about our interior wood care products,” Dudo says.
Unique Customers
Because Dudo and his team are incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to interior wood care products, they have attracted a wide variety of customers since opening.
“A majority of our customers are contractors who are coming in to redo kitchen cabinets for their clients,” Dudo says. “However, we have seen a huge increase in cabinet manufacturers purchasing manufacturer-specific stains, something not available to the average homeowner or even contractors.”
The eclectic mix of customers led to the category offering a diverse product selection. Dudo says the department is organized into three different categories. First are products designed mostly for homeowners to tackle quick and easy projects like restaining cabinets or upgrading furniture.
“This is the smallest section of our inventory as we are mostly a contractor and manufacturer-based company,” Dudo says. “But big-box retailers do send over homeowners who are looking for a specific product or style that we carry.”
Second, the largest section of interior wood care products are top-tier products designed for contractors to help make their projects shine.
“These are more of the fast-drying products made with high-quality material to create the perfect finish without taking up too much time,” Dudo says.
Finally, Painter’s Supply offers a line of manufacturer-exclusive products that aren’t available at regular hardware and paint stores.
“Local manufacturers started showing an interest in some of the more niche products we could get,” Dudo says. “They now regularly purchase from us stains and finishes designed for untreated wood that can only be sold to manufacturers.”
By offering a wide interior wood care product selection and servicing a large and varied customer base, Painter’s Supply has set itself apart from competition and established itself as the go-to place for interior wood care.
“Sometimes our customers are searching for unique products not widely sold in stores. Other times, customers are looking to tap into our employees’ knowledge base for a project, so we ask questions and determine what product will secure the best results,” Dudo says. “Wood care is an art form, so it’s important to have the best products available to help customers achieve the best results.”
