Dyson Building Center Enters E-Marketplace
As box-stores, retail chains, and on-line shopping close other independently owned companies, a near-century old, family-owned sawmill in Great Mills, MD, not just stays in business, but keeps at the cutting edge.
Dyson Building Center does it by continuing to hire the next generation.
Melanie Dyson, a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, returned to work in the family business and is now spearheading the roll-out of Dyson Building Center Online Store, . Her cousin Neal Dyson, currently working on his MBA, expects customers will be “pleasantly surprised to see just how low our prices are in comparison.
“Times have changed,” he said. “Customers in Southern Maryland can now shop local without sacrificing quality, selection, or savings.”
Times have really changed for Dyson Building Center. As Neal wrote of the store’s history, few passersby “realize that the family business dates back nearly a century with the first 50 years of operation being primarily that of a sawmill business.”
Dyson Building Center fully converted to solar-power this year. The 10,000 square foot showroom, its 2,400 square foot basement, the lumberyard and saw room are all entirely using electricity generated from solar panels on the center’s roof. And come next month half of its basement will headquarter the operations of an online, 21st century marketplace able to deliver hometown service with nationally competitive pricing. Dyson Building Center Online Store is slated to open in September, 2015.
Already Dyson Building Center operates an eBay online store where customers can bid on our clearance, closeout, or overstock items at rock bottom prices. Expanding this online presences, the Dyson Building Center Online Store will become the centerpiece of business’ growth plan.
The store will initially consist of thousands of regular stock items, and ultimately include a complete inventory, both stock and non-stock products. “The complete inventory is no less than hundreds of thousands of items and should be open and ready for business in only a few more weeks,” said Neal Dyson. The scheule has the Dyson Building Center Online Store opening in September 2015.
The 1,200 square foot basement space has been renovated to accommodate management of the new online store and also serve as headquarters for receiving, packaging, and shipping out all new orders.
“Our priority will be to the ship out all products to the customer on the same day they purchase the item. Some of our major suppliers and distributors have even agreed to ship our products (especially non-stock inventory products) directly from their warehouses to get orders to our customers even faster,” said Neal Dyson. “We are excited about these new partnerships and having the opportunity to serve our customers in this new more efficient manner.”
Management of the growing Dyson Building Center Online Store will include a focus on search engine optimization to capture customers who will not think to visit the online store directly. Melanie Dyson will be working online to see that Dyson products and pricing can be found by search engines and reach new customers looking for any of the hundreds of thousands of building, home improvement and utterly unique products Dyson can supply.
Neal Dyson believes once a customer sees the product range and Dyson’s competitive pricing they will remain customers.
“We are spending countless hours ensuring our everyday prices are as competitive or lower than anyone else in the industry,” he said. “We invite customers to compare our prices with the market leaders and national big box stores. Our alliances and partnerships with distributors and suppliers has allowed us greater buying power, resulting in being able to compete with larger, out-of-town competitors.”
The new website is scheduled to go live next month, Melanie Dyson said. The current www.DysonBuildingCenter.com will be the location, but currently holds a “view only” inventory catalog. Full purchase and check-out services will be operational next month. Keep up to date on the new Dyson Building Center Online Store via the Dyson Building Center website or Facebook page.
Meanwhile, there is a huge inventory on display at Dyson Building Center, 20375 Point Lookout Road Great Mills, MD 20634, 301-994-9000.
