How Mountain Hardware Makes the Most of a Small Space

Mountain Hardware in Wrightwood, California, is the go-to stop for campers and hikers along the nearby Pacific Crest Trail. Along with selling the necessary supplies they need, the store also stocks a full line of hardware, power tools, lawn and garden and more.

In addition, it serves as a registration point for the trail and as a post office drop point for hikers.

That’s a lot of goods and services wrapped up in a small store, which has a salesfloor of 2,800 square feet. Here are some ways they maximize sales.

Stack it High

Owner Mike Troeger says he and his staff make the most of their small space by “going up.”

They use tall gondolas throughout the store, which will hold more product. That means some product is stacked high, out of customers’ reach, which requires Troeger and his staff to get out ladders to bring product down for customers. But he says he prefers that, because it’s still neatly merchandised and easy for the customer to see.

He also removed kick panels underneath his shelving, which provide room for some more storage. Even six inches here and there make a difference, he says.

“We also use trays that pull out under the shelving—that’s a big thing,” he says.

Products such as plumbing fittings are tightly organized and neatly labeled. All the backup inventory goes in the storage space under the kick panel, where it’s easy to access as needed.

“If you organize it well, everything comes out looking nice,” says Troeger.

Ready for Snow

In southern California, many people might not expect sleds or cold-weather wear to be popular, but they’re actually some of Troeger’s top-selling products in the winter.

“We are in a small community of about 5,000 people in the mountains,” he says. “There are about 13 million people in the Los Angeles area. When it snows, they come to us.

“We sell sleds, jackets, pants—anything they need to have fun in the snow.”

In fact, about 20 years ago, they started producing their own sled, a heavy-duty saucer that Troeger says holds up much longer than its competitors. “We’ll have customers who come in and see those sleds and say, ‘I remember buying one of those for my son, and my grandchildren are using it now.’”

Sleds are one of his most popular products, and his merchandising solution—stacking them along the sides of the floor in piles three or four feet tall—doesn’t cause the issues that might be expected.

“They move quickly,” Troeger says. “It’s not really a problem to have them stacked up like that, because they move so quickly.”

He has outside storage containers where he can store additional sleds, as well as winter coats and other snow-related products. The weather is warm enough that outdoor storage isn’t a problem.

Throughout the winter, Troeger continually updates a store blog throughout the winter to keep L.A. residents apprised of Wrightwood’s traffic and weather conditions.

“If they try to come at a busier time when we feel it’s going to be congested, we may recommend that they come see us in the middle of the week, and we’ll give them a discount,” he says.

A Hiker’s Haven

Another niche is camping gear. The store is about 350 miles from the Mexican border, and those who hike the Pacific Crest Trail (which runs from the U.S.-Mexican border near Campo, California, up to in British Columbia, Canada) often ship ahead food and other supplies for themselves. They send what they need directly to the store, and Troeger and his staff collect and organize the packages, then distribute them to hikers when they arrive.

“When the hikers get to our store to collect their items, they’ll make other purchases, including first-aid products or additional hiking or camping equipment,” Troeger says.

Special Orders

Another way Troeger saves space is by selling products that never see a store shelf. Mountain Hardware is 10 miles away from the nearest independent store, and about 30 miles from any big-boxes. Rather than drive the distance to his competitors, Troeger’s customers know it’s easy to get a special order from Mountain Hardware if they can’t find something in stock..

“We do a lot of special orders, which takes a fair amount of coordination on our end, but it builds a loyal customer base,” he says. “They can walk in and tell us what they need, and they know we’ll get it for them. Plus, they make a second trip to our store when they pick up their order.”