Taking on the giants

John Menard, the only man whose privately-owned home center chain has survived and thrived against Home Depot and Lowe's, is a hard man to figure out. He never talks to the press and never reveals his competitive strategy. He doesn't explain how big he expects his chain to become. He just keeps opening stores and expanding existing ones.
Starting out in Wisconsin, then neighboring Minnesota, his stores are now located as far east as Ohio and Michigan and as far west as Wyoming - 14 states in all. Store count is now more than 280 units.
The layout and fixturing of Menards stores differ greatly from those of Home Depot and Lowe's. While as big (and even bigger) than the two corporate giants' units, Menard stores use more conventional fixtures, supplemented by upgraded warehouse racking in some sections.
While both Depot and Lowe's units are approximately 10 000 plus m² in size, plus outdoor garden departments, new and expanded Menards units are20 000 m² or more in size.
To fill those gigantic stores, he and his team have been busy adding non-traditional product categories to their traditional home center inventory.
Menard stores are now stocking rather extensive inventories of food, household cleaning products, expanded pet supplies and even a smattering of clothing. It appears to be an attempt to increase the stores' appeal to wo­men and families.

In addition to the use of more conventional fixtures, Menard units also differ from those of Depot and Lowe's in their bright lighting, clean displays and shining floors, actually a far cry from earlier Menard units which were dusty and messy looking. Today the stores sparkle.
There is still another way in which Menards differs from the two largest home center chains in the world. It is a far more aggressive advertiser, with a minimum weekly ad circular, sometimes supplemented by a smaller mid-week ad. The firm also uses billboards and local TV in markets it serves. Lowe's and Depot, on the other hand, typically offer only a circular once a month or less often, though both are steady TV advertisers.
Claiming to be "the low-price leader", Menard advertising stres­ses low prices as well as emphasizing customer service and broad selections. One of its consistent promotions is to offer an eleven per…