At Orgill’s 2025 Spring Dealer Market, one product trend is clear: There are lots of new items available to retailers. In fact, Orgill paraded out more than 3,000 new products, ranging from Pro tools to hardware to farm and ranch supplies, at its New Orleans show. 

 

At the recent event, HBSDealer caught up with Orgill’s EVP of sales, David Mobley, to get insights into the company’s strategies, priorities and chief concerns for 2025 and beyond.  

 

Q: In your view, what are the biggest trends for the business to address right now?

 

Mobley: Most of the trends right now are being driven by tech. During the COVID era, the pressures of the pandemic put a unique burden on retail and the supply chain, which drew attention away from fundamental elements like driving foot traffic. Now that we’re past that era, retailers are returning to the basics of rightsizing inventory, increasing foot traffic, building customer relationships and figuring out what promotions and products to prioritize. 

 

We see 2025 as a year for retailers to focus on retailing.

 

Q: What are some specific ways Orgill plans to boost sales in 2025 and beyond?

 

Mobley: We’re only as successful as our retailer customers, so that’s always our focus. We want to help them drive traffic and focus on loyalty programs, like our FanBuilder program. It’s about using that data you have to target your consumer to personalize it for them.

 

Also, our Brand Building helps retailers promote their business on social media and stay active in their communities. It also helps them clarify what sorts of activities would benefit them. “Should I be doing events? If so, what kinds?” 

 

We provide specific examples that have worked for other businesses, and we help them navigate those challenges and make those best choices. 

 

Q: What aspects of the business are doing especially well right now, especially in terms of sales and merchandise?

 

Mobley: Industry-wise, it’s all about promotions and new products. Here, we have over 3,000 new items at this show. We’re seeking out those new vendors and products to help retailers provide a fresh assortment of goods consumers want and help drive traffic. 

 

Product-wise, our paint department is seeing tremendous growth. Post-COVID, paint saw a disproportionate decline because of a shortage of raw materials. Now, it’s bouncing back. We’re ensuring our offering is current. We work with the sales team to show customers opportunities in paint in particular to capitalize on demand. 

 

Lawn and garden is quickly growing, too, as people spend more time in their personal gardens at home. 

 

You know, the average home in the U.S. is almost 40 years old, which will continue to drive products related to repair and replacement. 

 

Q: What are some top merchandise trends you’re watching closely?

 

Mobley: Orgill has over 5,000 retail assortments, and our sales teams works with retailers to freshen up their assortments to prevent gaps and provide the right mix of products for their region and their specific customers. We provide pre-built planograms that are segment specific to make it seamless and easy for people to implement.

 

Q: What sales projects or initiatives are you most hopeful about in 2025 and beyond?

 

Mobley: Continuing our vision for servicing independent retailers. We feel obligated to help them succeed and help them drive success even amid all the big-box competition.

 

This year is all about helping retailers get closer to their customers. And we’re partnering with Salesforce throughout the company to understand each of our customers as best we can, so we can plug value into relationships as we see data points emerge that can help them drive positive results.  

 

Q: How is technology changing or enhancing your approach moving forward?

 

Mobley: Our industry is all about technology, whether it’s electronic shelf labels or robots enforcing planogram integrity. 

 

We’re using our <CNRG-owned> Germantown Hardware location as a “lab” to test out different technologies. We measure each effort to see if it works, then we take what we learn and share that knowledge with other retailers.

 

The Germantown store also has an end-cap with digital signage that can show live pricing for lumber or other materials, or just share a message or graphic that points toward specific products. 

 

Our e-commerce program is also growing. People today expect nothing less than a seamless digital experience, along with a website that includes products and pricing. If you’re not doing that, you’re behind. 

 

We can build websites for retailers with pricing and availability and even offer buy online and in-store pickup. It’s affordable, practical and easily adaptable.