Supplier Northern Tool builds high-visibility sales floor and in-store try-before-you-buy workshop
Northern Tool + Equipment has opened a new concept store is Minnetonka, Minn. that promises “to make the shopping experience hands-on, enjoyable and efficient.” It includes a customer-centric workshop area and numerous hard-to-find products to ensure “a sweat- and pain-free customer experience.”
With 15,000 square feet of space to work with, visibility is a key component as 80 percent of the sales floor can be seen from 20 feet inside the front door, according to Wade Mattson, vice president of sales and marketing. Many of the products are surrounded by accessory items for ease of shopping; specially designed shelves display the depth of parts, tools and accessories. Some products are even showcased by in-shelf DVD players, he notes.
There are a variety of ways for a customer to see, touch and feel the more than 15,000 pieces of tools and equipment, says Mattson. “From 72 feet of end cap with values on a broad assortment of items, to the interactive customer test stations, customer stimulation and interaction is the main marching order,” he explains.
“It took us six months to develop the virtual blueprint and we are still making tweaks to ensure it is the best it can be,” Mattson points out.
Northern has been a supplier of various tools and equipment for more than 27 years, selling products through direct mail, the Internet and at more than 70 retail locations in 11 states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and North Dakota.
The chain stocks more than 360 tires, wheels and related products for the industrial and construction segments plus consumer applications such as bicycles; ATVs and go karts; lawn mowers, wheelbarrows, and other gardening equipment; snow blowers and trailers of all types.
Northern sponsors three professional racing drivers: Erik Darnell, David Ragan and Colin Braun.
Along with hand, power and air tools, the company carries a wide selection of other professional and do-it-yourself products, including assorted auto shop supplies, generators, pressure washers, air compressors, hydraulics, small engines, trailers, water pumps, welding equipment and tractors.
Northern also serves as the exclusive distributor of NorthStar-brand equipment, which is fabricated and assembled at the company’s 250,000 square-foot plant in Faribault, Minn.
The new store -- Minnetonka is a suburb of the Twin Cities -- invites customers to press, test and try out before it’s time to buy, offering an opportunity “test drive” a potential purchase in what Mattson calls the “most organized, and best looking workshop around. We wanted to have the noise, smell and feel of a working shop.”
The facility will strive for peak efficiency all-around. “With knowledgeable salespeople, on-site parts and service, and with energy-saving techniques like shelf lights that turn off when no one is around, the company is planning to earn a return on customer experience and store protocol,” according to Mattson.
Owned by the Kotula family and based in Burnsville, Minn. Northern recently rolled out a catalog and online division called Kotula’s specializing in “about 1,000 other quirky gifts and gadgets for guys.” Mattson says the core customers tend to be 40- to 50-year-old white-collar men with a sense of humor.
For more information, visit www.northerntool.com and www.kotulas.com.
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