retail traffic, particularly a lot of female walk-in traffic. We’ve really tried to ensure that our inventory reflects the walk-in traffic and the feedback we’re getting shows that our products and our friendly and informed approach are creating more loyal customers every day. Every customer who walks through the door has an equal opportunity for product research online and that just keeps us on our toes that much more. We’ll never come across as condescend- ing because we know that anyone has the potential to be an expert already.” “Since 2008, we’ve seen an 80 percent increase in sales as of last quarter in 2016. That 80 percent increase is due, in part, to the 65-70 percent increase in volume of the products we carry.” As much as POCO Building Supplies has expanded the products and services they offer to meet the demands of an ever-expanding and diversifying consumer base, Chris explained that the more things change, the more they stay the same. “We’ve long been known as a supplier for residential contractors. From an operational standpoint, custom home builders are the most sustainable customers for us. These are the people who value quality service in high-end products. Increasingly, it is niche products that have the greatest reach for customers. We’re obviously showing up on a lot of web searches now all over and we’re seeing that we make the most sense in terms of price point for many people. These are the kinds of customers that make us what we are.” “We’re not exclusive to any particular kind of customer. We get people who come in who’ve grown up under their dad’s tool belt and people who are new to home building. The range of customers obviously means very different workloads on our end, but we take everything in stride. The housing market and supply industry has really benefit- ed from the influx of immigrant communities in the Lower Mainland and this brings with it a lot of perspectives and opportunities for us,” Chris added.
For Chris, the opportunities include getting out to job sites in places like beautiful, seaside Belcarra.
“Some of the homes our customers are building along the waterfront are just incredible. The more unique a project is, the more technical difficulties it presents. Waterfront projects are a great example of this, particularly in Belcarra. Renovations and new construction on cliff faces is amazing to watch. The underpinning and putting foundations on rock faces and building upward from there is an incredible thing – impressive. The crane work alone is a sight to see.
The dispatcher usually calls me when something unique is about to take place and I love to get footage or a photo-
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JULY 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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