(EMAILWIRE.COM, March 09, 2010 ) Pittsburgh, PA -- Small businesses always have to try to compete with mass retailers, but in today's economy that can be especially difficult. Rollier's Hardware, one of Pittsburgh's last thriving family-owned hardware stores, found a way to compete with big-box retailers by finding a niche and filling a void -- online.
The Satterfield family noticed that more and more customers were coming to them looking for hard-to-find items they couldn't get in larger hardware stores. From old favorites to new products, it seemed the smaller family-run shop had the hard-to-get items the major retailers weren't carrying. Some examples of popular hard-to-find items requested include Christmas lights with brown and white wires to be used for weddings and outdoor decoration, cedar oil for the restoration of cedar-lined closets, and cast iron drain covers. In response to growing consumer demand for these types of products, HardToFindItems.com was launched in 2007. The site complements the Rollier's Hardware storefront and brings their unique hardware stock to customers far beyond the reach of most small Pittsburgh businesses.
"Most people generally view technology in a negative light when comparing small businesses to corporations," said Brett Satterfield, co-founder of HardToFindItems.com. "While technology has allowed large corporations to run much more efficiently, it has allowed small businesses to compete nationally and internationally with only a nominal investment."
The Satterfields were able to turn a modest $6000 investment into $1.3 million in revenue in 2009, supplementing the traditional Rollier's storefront launched by the webpreneurs' great-grandfather in 1922. Now selling upwards of $3 million in their third year online, the success of HardToFindItems.com can be attributed to leveraging not only their retail store's inventory but also the combination of a Google Adwords campaign and an Amazon.com seller account.
About HardToFindItems.com / Rollier's Hardware
HardToFindItems.com was launched in 2007 by Brett and Derek Satterfield as an extension of their family's Pittsburgh-based Rollier's Hardware storefront. The Satterfields noticed a trend: there was a growing number of customers who could not find unique items in the larger hardware chains -- items Rollier's carried. Realizing the trend likely reached beyond Pittsburgh, HardToFindItems.com was launched to expand their great-grandfather's business and connect customers around the country with Rollier's retail inventory, bringing them old favorites to new hard-to-find items on the Web. Rollier's Hardware has always been a family-owned business since it first opened in 1922, launched by Herman and Emil Rollier.
For more information about Rollier's and how their niche extension online helped to grow the small business nationally, please visit www.HardToFindItems.com or www.Rolliers.com or contact Brett Satterfield at 412-561-0922.
