Yarmouth becoming its own home depot
by Joy JordanThere is a building boom in Yarmouth – building supply stores, that is.
Plumbing and electrical distributor Ferguson/J.D. Daddario recently opened its 11th location, this one on Route 28. It joins Supply New England – which is completing its new site on Willow Street – Simon’s and Snow & Jones to create a mini-mecca for building supplies.
Ferguson/J.D. Daddario, which also has a location in Mashpee, opened its Yarmouth Mega Xpress store in February. The company was started in Franklin in 1947 as a plumbing wholesaler by the Daddario family. In 1980, it added electrical supplies. Two years ago, the company was acquired by Ferguson, the largest distributor of plumbing supplies, pipes, valves and fittings in the United States – which, in turn, is owned by Wolseley, the leading supplier of construction products, materials and services across Europe and North America.
“Looking at Ferguson, it mirrored our operations, culture and the importance of serving our customers, while keeping our focus on the community. It is a good marriage,” said James Daddario, general manager.
Why Yarmouth? Why now?
“The Cape has always been special to our family, both personally and as a business,” said Daddario.
The success of their Mashpee location gave them confidence about Yarmouth, which is just far enough from Mashpee to serve the Mid-Cape without overlap. And its location should prove more accessible and less congested than would Hyannis to both nearby customers and those from the Lower and Outer Cape.
Daddario envisions plans for the future that could include opening a location in the Orleans area to directly serve the Lower and Outer Cape. “However, finding the right commercial space is always a challenge on the Cape, and that will determine the expansion timeline and locations,” he said.
Daddario is cognizant of the fact that four of 10 every residences on Cape Cod are second homes. “It’s a market force, though not something we specifically target,” said Daddario. “However, because we have many locations off-Cape, it does help strengthen our brand awareness here with those who may have homes in both locations.”
The expansion of a building supply company during a real estate downturn is telling. It represents a vote of confidence for the economy and for the region’s recovery. “The real estate market has, of course, softened everywhere, not just on the Cape,” said Daddario. “I am optimistic it is leveling off and will upturn through 2007.”
He echoed the consensus that the market correction was a necessary check on extreme growth. “It’s cyclical, it happens, and it’s natural.”
In some ways, this market downturn serves to benefit building suppliers. People who otherwise would have sold their homes are now remodeling to create the house they want and need – an updated kitchen, an additional bath. That trend benefits Daddario and similar companies.
From its vantage point, Ferguson/J.D. Daddario sees a bright future for the Cape real estate and homebuilding market. “There is lots of opportunity on the Cape,” Daddario said, “and we will continue to move forward with that.”
Maximizing the Mega Xpress
Ferguson/J.D. Daddario’s new Yarmouth location was designed in the style of the company’s Xpress model.
The Xpress counter model originated in Europe, said Daddario, where space for stores is limited. To meet that challenge, small 2,000-square-foot to 3,000-square-foot stores developed, designed for maximizing space without sacrificing customer convenience.
“The Xpress model brings the inventory up front, where customers can look at and pick up products,” said Daddario. The benefit is increased customer service – it is faster for the consumers. They can pick out materials, and cut down on forgetting items.
It also serves retail customers, who might bring in parts to find replacements; they can look at the actual products without feeling intimidated by the process.
Its established Mashpee location is a more traditional 40,000-square-foot showroom, counter and warehouse.
Competition or clustering?
Even before Ferguson/J.D. Daddario’s entry, Yarmouth has been emerging as a destination for building supplies. It joins Supply New England, Simon’s and Snow & Jones, all within a few square miles of each other, plus, in the consumer realm, Home Depot in Hyannis.
“I look at competition as healthy,” said Daddario. “I’m not afraid of competition because I am confident in our quality and service.”
In addition, he noted, clustering of similar businesses can actually help each prosper – people gravitate to the area for that type of product line. He likened this to areas where every corner has a gas station – and they all succeed.
Daddario sees his company’s edge as being one-stop shopping. “We are one company that offers plumbing, lighting, kitchen and bath products and appliances. No one in our industry in the market today has the basket of goods that we offer.”
They also emphasize staff knowledge to help customers. “We work very hard to maintain their expertise across the board,” said Daddario, “because some aspects of these industries are very technical and we want to support our customers, both trade and retail. We do walk a very fine line because we need to make sure our retail customers consult with their trade professionals for larger, more complicated projects.”
Daddario noted that in most of their locations, the split between trade and retail business is about 70/30, but on the Cape it is 50/50. Fewer big-box stores here could be affecting that ratio, he said.
Published in The Villages of Yarmouth May/June 2007
Joy Jordan is managing editor of Cape Business magazine. She has worked in the technology and publishing industries and was chief copy editor for Cape Cod Community Newspapers. 
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