Special event? Contact American Trophy for your promotional merchandise

Returning store has old name, new image

By John Estrella, Standard-Times staff writer

The Grossman's name is returning to New Bedford Sunday, but the new store is very different from what was the region's original hardware superstore, having become a bargain outlet.

The store opening tomorrow is the 30th in the chain, now based in Stoughton. In an interview, Grossman's spokesman Tom Dowd said he considers the spot on Hathaway Road a perfect location for the different type of store Grossman's has become.

The S-T: Why return to New Bedford?

Grossman's: We feel Grossman's and New Bedford are a match. Based on the demographics of the area, we believe Grossman's and New Bedford are a nice fit. We make it affordable to people to make home improvements.

The S-T: Why now? Are low interest rates helping people remodel?

Grossman's: We're able to open stores because there are a lot of homes, new homes and renovated homes, whose owners need home improvement supplies. There are a lot of older homes that need maintenance and apartments that need maintenance. People are always spending to improve homes. We offer first-quality products, seconds, close-out lumber and building materials at awesome prices. We are able to sustain competition in the marketplace for that reason.

The S-T: How is this different from Grossman's that had been in New Bedford?

Grossman's: There's no real easy answer why Grossman's retail division is no longer. We were up against competition down there that was buying a lot and able to operate their businesses a lot more cost effectively.

And although Grossman's had a sound, new, direction, we weren't able to turn that direction into effective results soon enough.

The bargain outlet has a different buying division than Grossman's store. We buy seconds, close-outs and a lot of first-quality products and sell them for a lot less than the Grossman's retail division was able to. We bought in smaller quantities. We bought deals. People call us and offer deals. It's a different business, even though it is the Grossman's name.

The S-T: One of the competitors that existed when Grossman's retail store operated in New Bedford -- Builder's Square -- has since left. Isn't it harder to compete now?

Grossman's: We are able to co-exist for all the aforementioned reasons. We're always buying something. There's always something different in a bargain outlet. We also operate on a very low overhead and we keep our customers' interest in mind, because, literally, you don't know what you're going to find at the bargain outlet.

We're able to regionalize our buys. We're able to give New Bedford enough product to support their ad and give something different to Buffalo, N.Y., to support their ad. We're able to mold our advertising for deals we have in different marketing regions. So what might be on sale in New Bedford might not be on sale in New York. It's a matter of sequencing the buys that we get due to quantity, which is all the more reason why if you see something you like at a bargain outlet, you've got to come get it before it's gone. When that's gone it's gone. ... We're not a cookie-cutter retail business.

Staff photo by Mike Couto
Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz Jr., left, his father, and aide Mike McCarthy, tour the new Grossman's opening on Hathaway Road in New Bedford. The new store is billed as a discount store.