“We wondered what we’d gotten ourselves into,” Chris chuckled. “We saw a nosedive in the local market and abroad – the US market had started to tank that year and of course it went almost totally downhill in 2009. Lumber prices were the lowest they’d been in 15 or 20 years and it was pretty tough. It wasn’t until sometime in 2010 that we started to gain ground again. 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 and that’s, in part, due to the two trucks, forklifts, and staff we’ve added since 2008. We knew we had the potential to sell a lot more material and to move forward with a high-volume, high-mar- gin model. We’re working harder and more efficiently.” Growing a business in a downtown core for 10 decades has its advantages and its disadvantages, Chris explained. “The city has certainly grown up around us. We are directly south of the largest railyard in Western Canada. Until the Coast Meridian Overpass opened in 2010, access to the north side was problematic. We’ve really benefitted from infra- structure upgrades like this recently. There’s also an under- pass connecting the north and south corridor, the Pitt River Bridge, the Golden Ears Bridge, and the Port Mann Bridge. I doubt there’s any building supplies business in the region that has benefitted more from these upgrades. Our trucks comfortably service customers all the way up to the Whis-
43
NOVEMBER 2018 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog