ADI hosted more than 200 guests at the grand re-opening of its Sacramento, Calif., branch on December 14, 2004. The Sacramento branch was chosen as a test site for remodeling to match a new merchandising concept for the distributor. The concept includes color-coding of aisles to correspond with ADI’s catalog colors; more accessible shelving; a long counter replaced by individual check-out pods; Solution Centers, and more. The Sacramento branch, managed by Barbara Gebhard, was chosen as a test site because of the area’s high activity in new residential construction, robust will-call sales and strong branch leadership, according to Kevin McBride, ADI sales manager for northern California. “Lots of manufacturers had been doing more retail packaging versus the brown box. We want the vendors to know that if they package the product properly, our merchandising will help promote their product,†McBride said. “We have to continue to find ways to raise the bar…[for our customers’] satisfaction and experience. Customers have to have effective ways to get what they need.†[Look for more information about trends in distribution in SDM’s March 2005 issue.]
