Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Some stores get rid of dead inventory by having liquidation sales, or putting products in a dump bin or on a clearance table at the front of the store.
Woods Hardware doesn’t have room for that. With a 1,500-square-foot salesfloor, when items aren’t selling, they have to move quickly.
Matt Woods, COO of the Cincinnati, Ohio, business, has found a way to quickly move that dead inventory while helping out the community—by donating it to a local charity.
Donated products are sold at a discount, and proceeds go to help those in economically depressed areas of the city.
“The charity is run by a father-son team that uses the proceeds to help ex-offenders or those who are down on their luck, and help rehabilitate them,” Woods says. “We donate anything and everything we can. They get a lot of donations from the big boxes and from Amazon, too.
“It’s a good way for us to get rid of that inventory and also help those who need a hand,” he says.
To learn more about Woods’ operation and how he makes the most of a small salesfloor, see the November issue of Hardware Retailing.
