People of the Year: Bob Tellier
The second annual HBSDealer People of the Year list includes some heavy hitters in the home improvement industry. These are executives who have displayed outside-the-box thinking, along with stick-to-your-guns discipline. They are the leaders of billion-dollar corporations, as well as family businesses. They are guiding huge mergers, and huge acts of charity.
In the next several issues of the HBSDealer Daily, we'll meet all of HBSDealer's People of the Year. Here's our first honoree:
Back in May, Bob Tellier gave his first acceptance speech in Las Vegas. In January, he’ll be back at the podium for his second.
Previously, the president of Orchard Supply Hardware, a stand-alone division of Lowe’s Cos., accepted the 2015 Retailer of the Year award on behalf of the San Jose, California-based retailer. His message to attendees of the National Hardware Show included his description of Orchard Supply’s brand of retail as “neighbors helping neighbors.”
Tellier’s next act will include even more charity. The world-famous California-based cancer research and treatment facility, City of Hope, will honor Tellier as its Spirit of Life Award honoree for 2016. The Spirit of Life Award Reception will take place Jan. 18 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Spa in Las Vegas. Since it was founded in 1982, City of Hope’s Hardware/Homebuilding Industry has raised more than $150 million for life-saving research, treatment and education programs.
“I take it very seriously,” he said. “Not only for me, but for Orchard Supply. Our associates have always supported City of Hope. Our slogan is ‘neighbors helping neighbors,’ and what better way to support our neighbor in Southern California, the City of Hope?”
Another serious mission for Tellier is the retailer’s growth goals: 100 stores and $1 billion in sales by 2017. Currently with 76 stores, the chain is upgrading its fleet into a shopper-friendly “neighborhood format” while finding a comfortable home in various urban locations — the latest being the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, and La Brea neighborhood in Los Angeles.
At press time, plans are afoot for the grand reopening and remodeling of 10 stores, and the entire chain will celebrate with promotions, marketing and events. “We’re getting the message out that this growth at Orchard Supply is real,” Tellier said.