It's called warehouse distribution for a
reason.
But in recent years, as competition has
risen and margins have fallen, distributors
nationwide have started to change their tune
toward retail selling.
Developing retail space allows customers
a glimpse behind the curtain. It provides a
snapshot of what a facility has to offer, and
when designed properly, a retail showroom
can provide distributors a steady source of
additional revenue to supplement orders
fulfi lled via the warehouse.
And as the trucking industry continues
to evolve, it's going to become more of a
necessity, says Butch Hill, president at HD
Group. Now that customers have seen a
retail future, they're not going to go back to
the old-fashioned way.
Retail shopping is part of everyone's daily
life now, he says, and distributors who fail
to provide that product visibility risk being
poorly perceived.
And perception matters, as Hill says the
method in which customers process and
perceive their shopping experiences is "the
most important [yet ignored] metric for a
lot of companies across this industry."
Like most transitions in the independent
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Cover Story
W W W . T R U C K P A R T S A N D S E R V I C E . C O M A p r i l 2 0 1 6 | T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E
T
he independent
aftermarket has
spent decades as
a 'behind the curtain'
industry. Distributors
have always carried huge
selections of products, but
for the most part, they've
kept them out of sight.
