183 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 10 C&S SUPPLY Erin notes the company’s ratio of employees to the store’s square footage. It’s a very noticeable difference, she says, versus the competition that C&S has, such as Fleet Farm, Home Dépôt, and other establishments. “That’s because we want people visible from all angles on the floor in the store,” says Erin, “and they’re also walking around the store, asking everybody if they can help. Go to Home Dépôt or something like that, and you might have to search around for somebody. You’re not going to have to do that here.” As well, Erin adds, C&S employees are quite often veteran long-termers, so they’re quite knowledgeable when it comes to the professional advice they give to customers. What does the future hold for C&S Supply? The company intends to keep on keeping on, says Corey. “Retail-wise, we’re going to look for areas to expand in,” he observes, “but we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing, as far as being in front of the merchandise. We have a lot of good contacts with our reps—with the people that we use as suppliers. We can talk to them and find out where things are going and where any shortcomings are coming from. We can react faster than other companies, and I think that gives us a benefit, going forward.” Erin shares his assessment, adding that the company will “not grow, grow, grow,” save in the one Mankato location, and indeed that it has no intentions of doing otherwise. Maintaining the same course, sure and steady, is what C&S aims to do, as she points out. “We’re not trying to grow the company in multiple locations,” she says. Our large selection of Nuts & Bolts Photo: Karen Werling
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