How to Battle the “Big Box” Retailers

November 9, 2007
By Joe Hyde
Special to LIVE!

Ray Patuel, owner of Del Rio Home & Auto, 600 Veterans Blvd., Del Rio, was in a jam in the late 1980s. His furniture and Firestone/Bridgestone tire store was under attack from the almost viral spread of the growing big-box retail distribution juggernaut. He pondered about what to do and found that there were literally thousands of retailers in the same boat. What emerged was a business, now called simply H&A, that matches the prices of the large retail chains and adds value to its customers after the sale.

“If someone else is beating us on price, we have to match it,” Patuel said. But matching the price of the “big box” retailers meant not turning a profit, or losing money in some cases. Patuel fondly recalls buying merchandise in Del Rio’s large discount stores for resale in his store. “Sometimes, they beat my supplier’s wholesale prices,” Patuel said.

But that was back then. And this is now. Patuel was among the first 20 to join a huge buying group of independent retailers from across the nation. “Today we are getting so big that we are running out of places where we can hold our annual convention,” Patuel said. The current membership exceeds 3,000.

The buying group allows H&A to beat the selection and price on just about any item.  “We have more buying power collectively than the largest appliance retail chain in the country,” Patuel said. But price alone isn’t what H&A is all about.

General Manager Eunice Gomez demands that her employees show the customer added value on everything. Appliances, furniture, consumer electronics, T-Mobile cell phones, computers, tires and automotive servicing are all within H&A’s 20,000-square-foot store.  “For example, when you buy tires from us, we provide ‘labor for life’ of the tires. That means you can bring them in for balancing and rotation anytime, as long as they are on your car” she said. “And we continue to do this even though labor prices have been headed upward over the past several years,” Patuel added.

H&A is the largest volume single store tire dealer under the Bridgestone/Firestone umbrella in the nation. According to Patuel, the value to the customer is that customers can have their warranty serviced at any Bridgestone/Firestone dealer in the world. “Look it up, there are over 3,000 locations!” Patuel said.

H&A is the only full service computer store in the Del Rio area. They carry a plentiful line of Sony Vaio, HP, Acer, and Dell among other brands. But the value added is service after the sale. “We have two computer techs on staff here,” said Gomez. “We can take care of just about any kind of servicing for PCs,” she added. And technical support for computers is free for H&A’s customers in most cases.

“Our motto is ‘Roll with the punches,’” Patuel said.  Del Rio Home & Auto Supply, Inc. was established in the late 1940s in downtown Del Rio. Patuel took ownership of the business, then located at 630 S. Main St., in 1983. Patuel’s first accomplishment was to increase sales by diversifying into multiple product lines. Eventually, Patuel bought the current location on Veterans Blvd. The building was originally built as a car dealership. Originally, it was the site of Monroe Motors. Brown Automotive was the last dealership to occupy the space. H&A is now consolidated at that single location at 600 Veterans Blvd. in Del Rio.

H&A is truly a unique place to shop in Del Rio. By combining the volume buying power of a large purchasing cooperative with their value-added service, H&A is able provide “big city prices with small town service.” “Look, you know us. We live here too. We are certainly going to take care of our customers because if we don’t we’re going to hear about it!” Gomez said.

Sidebar:

H&A at a glance:

Automotive Department
 • Tires (All Sizes)
 • Transmission Service
 • Oil Changes
 • Air Conditioner Service
 • Tune Ups
 • Brake Service
 • Front End Work
 • Batteries
 • Front-end Alignments: Home of the most advanced alignment machine in Del Rio.
 • The Automotive service department employees are certified mechanics that only work on straight wages. H&A does not pay techs commissions on the "amount of service,” and their mechanics are promoted and compensated based upon the "Quality of Service" completed. They believe this theory protects their customers from being offered unnecessary services.

Consumer Products
 • Appliances/Electronics
 • Computers and Games
 • Go-Karts/ATV's
 • Furniture/Bedding
 • Authorized La-Z-Boy dealer
 • Authorized G.E. and Whirlpool Appliance dealer
 • In-house appliance service department; loaner appliances while yours is in repair in most cases.
 •  H&A delivers merchandise at no charge to customers and can also install most items on any purchase over $299.00. This applies only to "Normal Installation."
 • H&A carries a complete line of the most advanced electronics including big screen TVs (Plasma & DHL), car stereos, home stereo systems, and computers.
•  T-Mobile Cell Phone Service.
• Technical support for all computer customers is available at no additional charge.
 • H&A accepts all major credit cards and also offers several credit options, including financing with interest-free periods.