Builders Surplus acquires McBroom's Country Home & Garden

McBroom's Country Home & Garden, for 80 years a Latrobe-area staple for hardware and lawn and garden equipment, has been acquired by the locally based building supplies chain, Builders Surplus.

The family-owned business, located on Route 30 east of Latrobe, where the highway splits into four median-separated lanes, officially becomes a Builders Surplus Friday. All McBroom's employees will remain on the job, initially helping to adjust the traditional hardware store to the Builders Surplus format.

"The McBroom family had a traditional hardware and lawn and garden business. We are a building supply store with our niche the ability to sell people just what they find in a Lowe's or Home Depot, but at prices 30 percent to 60 percent lower," said William Woods, purchasing director for Builders Surplus.

McBroom's other business ventures, including the Kitchen & Bath Galleria, the Grand Rental Station, the Garden of Treasures and the Ridgeview Turkey Farm, were not part of the deal. Gregory McBroom could not be reached for comment.

The key to the New Florence-based acquirer's format is the company buys directly from manufacturers and even product overruns from competitors Lowe's and Home Depot. Such merchandise has undergone packaging or model changes or has been renamed, meaning it no longer passes muster with the manufacturer. Builders Surplus steps in, acquires the merchandise at low prices, and then passes savings to its customers. Ninety percent of a Builders Surplus store's goods come directly from a manufacturer, Woods said.

In addition to offering Builders Surplus merchandise, the former McBroom's will feature an office for custom homebuilder Maple Mountain Homes, a sister firm to Builders Surplus. Both companies, along with general contractor Maple Mountain Construction Co., furniture manufacturer Maple Mountain Furniture and equipment company Maple Mountain Equipment, are owned by 12-year-old Maple Mountain Industries Inc.

"We also are expanding the hours of operation for the store, and we may hire more people," Woods said.

With the Latrobe location and another store set to open in Washington County in September, Builders Surplus will operate 13 locations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland.

With a new Lowe's slated to be built not far from the McBroom's location, the family-operated store was facing strong competition.

"It's sad to see, but with the Home Depots and the Lowe's with their huge selection and employees who help you and almost follow you home, Mom & Pop hardware stores are in a real struggle to survive," said Audrey Guskey, a Duquesne University marketing professor. "This (the conversion to a Builders Surplus) sounds like a very viable alternative because it's still keeping the small scale and the friendly personal service. It's nice for the community."