Contractors and woodworkers now have another option to get their specialized tools.
AUBURN
There are new occupants in the former Woodworkers Warehouse store on Center Street, but the clientele and inventory are much the same.
So is the staff and even the phone number. But Western Tool Supply, a West-Coast based retailer of commercial-grade power tools, is the new owner.
“We cater to the general public, but it is a contractor-oriented company,” said Steve Tufts, manager of the new store. “We carry all the major tool lines.”
The Auburn location is the first of 13 Western Tool Supply stores to open in New England. Kevin Kiker, president of the 22-year-old company, said his firm took over the leases of 13 failed Woodworkers Warehouse stores after the chain went bankrupt in December.
“I’d say about 85 percent of the products they carried, we carry,” said Kiker. Among the lines of tools at Auburn are Bosch, DeWalt, Delta, Porter-Cable, Makita and Milwaukee.
Kiker said he expects New England will be a good market for the company, which has 52 stores in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The Auburn store opened a couple of weeks ago, followed by ones in Topsham and Augusta. A store in Bangor is due to open in late February.
Auburn was the first to convert because it was the easiest to set up and had a very cooperative landlord, Kiker said. With the addition of the New England stores, he said he expects the company will do $55 million in sales this year.
Tufts, who was the manager of the Auburn Woodworkers Warehouse for four years, said the former store always did well. He expects the same of this one.
“I think there’s a need for that niche market – contractors looking for good quality tools, the serious woodworker,” he said.
What customers won’t find at Western Tool are stains, finishes and hardware – items that catered more to the hobbyist.
“We tend to focus more on the contractor,” said Kiker.
A canvas sign announcing the new store is up, but Tufts said most folks aren’t aware yet that there’s a new owner and that they’re open for business. The unfamiliar name might throw people as well. Kiker said he debated using another name for the New England expansion and then decided to keep Western.
“There’s Western Union, Best Western (motels) … I think people just need to know who we are and what we sell,” he said.
Comments are no longer available on this story