Over the past four decades, Gillman Home Center has worked to create a one-stop shop for builders and homeowners alike, starting with the concept of being a resource for everyone.
鈥淲hen I started back in 鈥�85, a lot of people asked me, 鈥楧o you want to be a hardware store or a lumberyard?鈥� I wanted to be both,鈥� said Owner Charlie Gillman. 鈥淥ur biggest store is in Batesville鈥攐ur flagship store鈥攁nd they do a phenomenal job with pro business, but they also have a lot of walk-ins.鈥�
Today, the company offers a wide selection of building materials including lumber and plywood, roofing and flooring materials, decking, moulding, and millwork, as well as services like design and drafting, delivery, tool rentals, glass cutting and more.
The business now has 18 locations across southeast Indiana and Ohio, many of which were designed and built by Gillman himself. Building on his family鈥檚 background鈥攈is father and uncle were home builders who also owned a lumberyard鈥擥illman said that experience helped him not only to turn local builders and contractors into future customers, but to know all that goes into building a home so he can better understand exactly what his customers need when building their future homes.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if we鈥檇 be here where we are today, if I hadn鈥檛 had that construction background,鈥� Gillman said. 鈥淚鈥檝e had people that come in my office and they say, 鈥楥harlie, how much is a house per square foot?鈥� I will not give you a price on that house until you meet with me three or four times. When I鈥檓 done, there鈥檚 no change orders, I know what you want. I put myself into that project, and you鈥檙e going to be happy with that house.鈥�
Creating a culture
That attention to detail and customer experience also extends to Gillman Home Center鈥檚 more than 400 employees. Gillman said the company works not only to train employees 鈥攗tilizing programs from co-op partner Do it Best鈥攁nd helping them grown in their roles, but by playing to the skills they already have.
鈥淲hen you have new people, you should work around their strengths; take the job description, throw that thing away, and fit it around them,鈥� he said.
That philosophy of taking care of employees first鈥攚hich also includes benefits like free tool rentals, a company discount, and Gillman鈥檚 famous annual summer party鈥攑ays dividends when it comes to creating long-lasting relationships with customers.
鈥淲e have a general manager at each of our locations, and I tell them their biggest job is not to take care of the customer. No, they should just take care of their team. Their team will then take great care of the customer because we take care of them.鈥�
The company also creates internal newsletters each month, with success stories about projects that employees are working on, company news, and book recommendations from Gillman. It鈥檚 putting thought into the employee experience that keeps turnover low and employees around for decades, he said. 鈥淧eople are successful at what they like doing,鈥� Gillman said.
Connecting in communities
After 40 years in the industry, Gillman Home Centers is also looking toward the future and identifying areas where it can continue to innovate. Director of Marketing Rob Bond said the company is investing in new technology to not only create an online platform for shopping, but as a resource for both customers and employees.
鈥淥bviously ecommerce is an essential part of the growth of every business right now, because a lot of those sales are trending towards the online outlet, which should be the focus. And that鈥檚 important, but one of the other needs that we try to satisfy for both our customers and our employees is using our site as a resource, as opposed to just straight ecommerce鈥攅asy access to tool rental, accurate inventories and pricing, links to open job positions across the company, quote requesting, building MSDS requests, donation requests, account payment capabilities, hot sale items, I can go on and on. We want it to be a resource for our team members so when they鈥檙e questioned by customers, they reference a lot of things they can find immediately on that website. Just like any of our stores, our platform should be a one-stop shop.鈥�
With 18 stores, Bond said another key priority is working to make sure each community Gillman Home Centers is located in feels represented, an effort the company is currently working toward via social media.
鈥淏ack in 2021 we kind of reevaluated our social presence and decided we were going to make a focus on less posting and keeping it more social,鈥� Bond said. 鈥淲e have 18 locations, and each location has its own social media page that allows us to maintain each individual community identity. That allows us to more directly help other businesses in the communities promote themselves through our social media. It allows for a lot of cobranding that can鈥檛 take place on a single page for a company our size.鈥�
Looking to the future, Gillman said the company is always looking to grow, but not necessarily to expand. While additional locations aren鈥檛 out of the question, he said the company is focused on its current locations and growing the careers of those who work there.
鈥淥ur goal is always continuing to get better,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not to have more stores. With my last seven or eight stores, the towns have approached us and said, 鈥榃e鈥檝e seen what you鈥檝e done in southern Indiana, and we want you in our town.鈥� But if another store comes, it鈥檚 got to be up our alley. I don鈥檛 believe in going to another town and putting in the store and trying to run somebody out of business. It鈥檚 got to be a very good win for us.鈥�
Get to know Gillman Home center
Year founded: 1985
Ownership: Family
Number of employees: 400
Locations: 18
Co-op/buying group: Do it Best
Customer mix: 65% pro / 35% DIY
ERP software: ECI Spruce
