Wolf

Value and Independence

Tom Wolf published this article on January 16, 2012 in Build your Business. Total Comments: 2 | Comment

A friend recently told me a story that eloquently and simply underscored the fact that the independent dealer channel adds real value to the building products industry.  His story demonstrates the strength of that channel and its ability to compete well with the largest and most aggressive of the big box retailers in delivering great products and equally great prices to building product consumers.

My friend was in the market for kitchen cabinets.  He is a veteran of the construction industry, and he knows building products.  He also understands the virtues of the independent dealer channel.  Yet, even he was surprised to find that a local independent dealer could give him a great cabinet – the Wolf Classic Cabinet – at a price that was well below that of a competing brand of cabinet carried by one of the big box stores in the area.  “The independent dealer gave me a better price,” he said.  “It was also a better cabinet,” he added.

He asked me if this was a fluke.  Was he just in the right place at the right time to get this value-laden deal?  The answer was an emphatic “No!”  Wolf is for real; its products, prices and quality are all for real; and the independent dealer channel as a competitive force is for real too.  What my friend discovered – and what he reconfirmed for me – was that the independent dealer, with the right products and the right supply chain can out-compete anyone in the industry on both price and quality.

This is one more example of the new model of supply chain efficiency Wolf is bringing to the independent building materials channel.  The combination of efficient manufacturers, a productive and innovative intermediary (like Wolf) and a low cost independent dealer channel all add up to a very efficient supply chain.  And that adds up to an unbeatable value proposition for the consumer – especially the well informed consumers like professionals and serious diyers.

There are other stories involving other Wolf branded products from cabinets to pvc trim.  The point is that the Wolf model applied to the independent dealer channel works – consistently.  And that is what knowledgeable people like my kitchen-seeking friend keep finding out.  When it comes to the independent building materials dealer, value really can go hand in hand with independence.