March 31, 2003 – Parts Pro
BARNEY’S OF ST. PETERSBURG
PARTS MANAGER
Rob Leimbach
CONTACT
10411 Gandy Blvd.
St. Petersburg, Fla. 33702
727/576-1148
www.barneysstpete.com
THE STORE
Opened by Barney and Rosalee Barclay in 1946. Moved to another location in 1953, and a third location in 2001. “We’ve only been in this location for two years because our other store burned down,” Leimbach said. 75,000 sq. ft. on two levels. Aprilia, Yamaha, Honda, SeaDoo.
Career
Leimbach started behind the Barney’s Parts counter in 1983. Moved to Orlando to work new vehicle sales for three years, then returned to lead the Parts Department at Barney’s.
THE DEPARTMENT
10 employees in the Parts Department. Parts sales account for about 30% of total store sales.
THE JOB
Leimbach spends his day placing stock orders, problem solving, merchandising, and keeping inventory and parts margins correct. “When you do the kind of volume we do, there are all sorts of problems that arise. We implement Lemco’s Open to Buy (process), and I keep those levels correct so inventory doesn’t get out of hand,” Leimbach says. Barney’s uses Lightspeed. Data is backed up with paperwork.
DEALING WITH DISTRIBUTORS
Barney’s deals with, in order of business, Tucker Rocky, Parts Unlimited, Western Powersports and Motorcycle Stuff. Also deals with companies like Lockhart, Targa, etc., “for the really specialized product.” A distributor’s weak points? “Customer service,” Leimbach says. “I have to provide the best service I can to my customers, but some of the distributors we work with aren’t willing to always do that. It’s a real slap in the face to go to these companies for their product and then have them be short on customer service.”
WHAT’S HOT
“We just had a new off-road track open 10 minutes away from here, so our dirt business has done real well lately,” Leimbach says. Vehicle sales are lead by cruisers, dirt bikes, sport bikes and ATVs, in that order. Watercraft, he says, is the strongest market at Barney’s this time of the year. Parts and accessory sales mirror vehicle sales.
LAYOUT
Two of the Parts employees do most of the merchandising, but Leimbach says the entire department brainstorms on layout ideas. Displays are changed monthly. “With a store this size, you have to make some pretty radical changes to show a real difference.” Parts counter is located in the rear of the building,
