An expanded array of windshield wiper offerings has created “a tale of two cities” as Pacific Rim suppliers sweep into the U.S. to compete with domestic vendors in regard to value-added versus price-sensitive lines, according to Mike Mohler, vice president and director of product management at the National Pronto Association.
Whatever type of product you stock, though, it must be able to perform when nasty weather hits. A wiper tailored to the price-point shopper “still has to be a quality product, so all of our products are tested” before being presented to the membership for consideration.
“We can supply them to the marketplace as a lower-priced alternative to the industry brand names,” Mohler points out.
“I don’t want anyone to think that we’re favoring one brand over another – we’re just giving our customers what they want,” he continues. “We have a good compliment of wipers, and we’re still buying from several manufacturers,” says Mohler.
“We have a Pronto-branded program that’s going gangbusters,” he reports, adding that the line offers solid good-better-best choices.
“We’re seeing an increase in rear blades, and we still sell the winter blades in the northern part of the country with colder weather,” Mohler says.
“We’re seeing excitement with the one-piece blade,” he adds, and “we’re still selling a respectable amount of the older style blades.”
To promote the individual offerings, “we rely heavily on our vendors” to reach prospective purchasers via point-of-sale displays, literature and targeted endcaps, says Mohler.
Vendor-supported rebate programs and 10-pack case discounts assisted St. Louis-based Lowe Automotive, which belongs to the Automotive Distribution Network, as its wiper sales rose 10 percent in a year’s time.
The heightened demand cuts across each of the good-better-best selections, according to Deno Valenti, general manager of Lowe’s aftermarket division.
All three segments are up, with greatest increase in the best wiper category,” he says. “Some of this demand is due to OEM form, fit and function where a beam blade design is the only recommended replacement blade.”
An expanded array of windshield wiper offerings has created “a tale of two cities” as Pacific Rim suppliers sweep into the U.S. to compete with domestic vendors in regard to value-added versus price-sensitive lines, according to Mike Mohler, vice president and director of product management at the National Pronto Association.
Whatever type of product you stock, though, it must be able to perform when nasty weather hits. A wiper tailored to the price-point shopper “still has to be a quality product, so all of our products are tested” before being presented to the membership for consideration.
“We can supply them to the marketplace as a lower-priced alternative to the industry brand names,” Mohler points out.
“I don’t want anyone to think that we’re favoring one brand over another – we’re just giving our customers what they want,” he continues. “We have a good compliment of wipers, and we’re still buying from several manufacturers,” says Mohler.
“We have a Pronto-branded program that’s going gangbusters,” he reports, adding that the line offers solid good-better-best choices.
“We’re seeing an increase in rear blades, and we still sell the winter blades in the northern part of the country with colder weather,” Mohler says.
“We’re seeing excitement with the one-piece blade,” he adds, and “we’re still selling a respectable amount of the older style blades.”
To promote the individual offerings, “we rely heavily on our vendors” to reach prospective purchasers via point-of-sale displays, literature and targeted endcaps, says Mohler.
Vendor-supported rebate programs and 10-pack case discounts assisted St. Louis-based Lowe Automotive, which belongs to the Automotive Distribution Network, as its wiper sales rose 10 percent in a year’s time.
The heightened demand cuts across each of the good-better-best selections, according to Deno Valenti, general manager of Lowe’s aftermarket division.
All three segments are up, with greatest increase in the best wiper category,” he says. “Some of this demand is due to OEM form, fit and function where a beam blade design is the only recommended replacement blade.”
