Lafayette Lumber holds own against big-boxes

LAFAYETTE — After being in business for 85 years, Lafayette Lumber still holds the charm of an old-fashioned hardware store while it competes with big-box home improvement centers.

With Lowe’s and Home Depot nipping at Lafayette Lumber’s heels — five of these big-box businesses are within 10 miles of Lafayette — and the current recession, how does an old-fashioned anything stay in business?

Craig Vandemoer, president of Lafayette’s parent company, Sterling Lumber, has an answer.

Jonathan Castner

“Our longevity is due to our conservative management style and our reliance on the experience of dedicated, long-term employees,” he said.

Sterling Lumber opened its doors in 1909; one of the founding members was Vandemoer’s great-great grandfather George A. Henderson of Sterling.

Vandemoer has worked with the company for 34 years, 17 of them as the manager at Lafayette Lumber, which opened at 111 N. Harrison St. in 1926. The business moved to its current location at 1407. S. 120th Street in 1987.

“We don’t bet the farm on one thing,” Vandemoer said, “like expanding and upgrading too fast. Our longevity can be boiled down to luck.”

Lafayette Lumber is part of the oldest independently owned lumber chain in Colorado, he said. Alpine Lumber Co., the only other independent lumber chain in Colorado, has only been in business since 1963.

Lafayette Lumber recently was named Business of the Year by the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. Vicki Trumbo, chamber executive director, said it was selected because of the way its taken care of their community.

“The criteria (for the award) are that the company supports the city and other organizations as well. They have given back,” Trumbo said. Lafayette Lumber donated material for the reconstruction of the boat house that burned down in 2007, and donated again for the skate park behind the recreation center that opened last year.

Another factor in the award was that employees of Lafayette Lumber are involved with the community. Lafayette Lumber general manager Doug Kinney brought Little League baseball back to Lafayette. He’s been a coach for years.

The recent recession has presented the greatest challenge for this business. Vandemoer said that 2009 and 2010 were especially difficult. “In the early ’80s, it wasn’t great, but this recession isn’t like the last one, especially with the building industry.”

But the silver lining is that Lafayette Lumber has grown in retail traffic. Today, only 85 percent of the business is with professionals, Kinney said. “(In the past) our direction, business wise, was to accommodate just contractor and professional builders,” he said. That could be why they lost the walk-in trade to Lowe’s in Louisville and Ace Hardware on South Boulder Road in Lafayette before that store closed in 2009.

By extending a level of service “unparallel to anyone,” Lafayette Lumber has gotten some of the walk-in traffic back, he said. It probably helps that Ace closed and Lowe’s, five miles away in Louisville, sends some customers its way.

Kinney said one of its struggles was making it known that Lafayette Lumber was around and open for business. “The average ticket is down,” Kinney said. “But we have the same number of jobs.”

Today, they’re getting the word out with weekly advertisements and through their website at www.sterlinglbr.com.

Lafayette Lumber keeps up with the competition by adding to its product base according to customer need. As a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) company, its products carry a certification that they come from sustainable forests.

There is also the ease of special orders. At a big-box retailer, Vandemoer said, you often have to go to somebody else. Lafayette Lumber sets itself apart by having employees with a minimum of 10 years of experience available to every customer.

Its employees are able to make decisions to help the customer; they don’t have to ask somebody else before doing something.

Another way Lafayette Lumber is in a class all its own would be seen by looking at the housing developments in Lafayette. You can’t say Lafayette Lumber built Lafayette, but it did supply much of the materials needed to build a good part of Old Town Lafayette, Centaur Village and West Oaks.

Lafayette Lumber’s 120th Street location is a seven-acre full-service yard with a 2,000-square-foot retail store. Though the years, large professional lumber companies have asked them to sell. For now, Lafayette Lumber is standing pat.

“I see us still being in business for another 100 years,” Gutenkauff said.

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