Locals Flock to an Old-School Shopkeeper
Susan Hofeller lives in Laguna Beach half of the year, and whenever she returns after a six-month hiatus, her first stop is always Coast Hardware on Broadway. She especially likes Coast’s inventory of gift items, which she describes as “nice, and not cheesy.” She routinely assembles gift baskets for visiting guests that she thinks equal the quality of boutiques, without paying boutique prices.
“It’s just such a handy store,” added another regular, Catherine Welch, adding that the service is “superlative.” The longtime resident buys everything from tea items, such as the iconic British Brown Betty teapots she favors, to garden hoses. “This is really an important store for Laguna,” said Welch. “They have all the good stuff you need.”
In fact, Coast Hardware’s loyal clientele rated the store as the town’s best shopping experience in a survey answered by 255 residents. The Business Assistance Task Force commissioned the survey to help guide its efforts at revitalizing the town’s weakened economy as well as conjure ways to capture the significant spending of residents who shop out of town.
Survey results indicated that the predominant answer given by respondents to explain their best shopping experience was “courtesy and service,” something Coast Hardware prides itself on. “We want people to feel personally welcome,” said general manager Ed Leatherwood, who’s worked there 20 years.
Such an old-fashioned notion will keep business in town, echoed Mayor Elizabeth Pearson, commenting on the survey’s findings.
Apparently, carrying quality inventory, catering to customer whims and keeping a staff eager to offer assistance is a model for success. Coast Hardware owner Walt Boice shrugs off buy-out offers every six months. Boice, an admitted absentee owner, credits the managers with the store’s success. “I just drop in on occasion,” he said, adding, with a twinkle in his eye, “mostly because I shop here.”
Asked about how Coast Hardware compares to industry standards for profit margins or sales per square foot, Boice’s answer proved he is as old-school as his store. “We don’t track competitors. We just try to do a good job at what we’re doing,” he said.
Since the store opened in 1978, its managers have valued a knowledgeable staff attuned to shoppers, “not just someone stocking the shelves, but someone who could provide the customer with the complete solution to whatever they were looking for,” Leatherwood said.
Given its floor size, Coast Hardware’s staff is large, a total of 18 employees, 12 of whom are on the floor, including several fulltime cashiers. “We have a little bit more staff than most retailers have, so we have people trained in each department,” said Leatherwood. He admitted that maintaining a larger staff might hurt profits, but helping a customer find a solution to their needs, from a 20-cent washer to a $100 carving knife, generally guarantees a sale, he said.
The store’s top-selling gourmet department stocks inventory from their affiliate, Ace Hardware, but also high-end cookware, such as Le Creuset, and the much-coveted Fiestaware dishes, inventory selected by the department’s three staffers to appeal its clientele, said the gourmet section’s Rae Lynn Lion. They also give free appliance demonstrations and samples. (This reporter was only too happy to receive the end result of an espresso machine demonstration.)
“They come in here for everything because we have everything, and if we don’t have it, we will get it,” said co-worker Jocelyn Ashley. Special orders represent about half of the department’s business, including tracking down hard-tofind items and replacement parts for clients, restaurants and caterers.
If a product cannot be located, clerks refer clients to someone who does. According to Leatherwood, the store may lose a sale, “but we won’t lose the customer.”
Like most retailers, the sour economy has hurt store sales, Leatherwood said. To adjust, he keeps inventory leaner, overtime to a minimum and skimps some on promotions. (Not this Saturday, Feb. 27, though, when they are offering a 20 percent discount on almost any item that will fit in whatever size bag the customer chooses to fill.)
“I love this place,” said Andrea Lubee, a Laguna Beach resident and cashier since 2008. She is not alone.
