Habitat ReStore is hiring Procurement Manager

The ReStore in Wilmington is hiring a Procurement Manager.  This position will be responsible for soliciting donations from businesses, scheduling pickups of donations, and supervising the drivers who do the pickups (Donation Ambassadors).  We are hoping to have the position filled by early next month.  Since this position will involve cold calling and establishing relationships with various businesses in the area we prefer someone with outside sales experience.

This position is key to the future growth of the Habitat ReStore.  Keeping a steady supply of quality donations is necessary to keep the store stocked and to bring customers coming back to shop.

The job is posted on Indeed.com.  For the full listing and the link to apply click here.

Vintage Room Now Open!!!

With music playing from a stereo console record player, the ReStore Vintage Room is now open to customers.  The room holds antiques and other collectibles.  Currently we have furniture, tools, books, sheet music, a utility sink, and other items.  For anyone who likes old tools we have manual drills including brace drills and wood planes along with other tools.  The room also has a cobbler's set and a 1920's Burrough's Adding Machine.  These are just a few of the many interesting items in the Vintage Room.

The Vintage Room is located in the back area of the store all the way to the right.  It is the room that used to be the tile and flooring room.

Valspar made paint in the ReStore

We are now carrying Cover Coat paint made by Valspar.  This is a product that is order so we will be able to keep a steady supply of the paint in the store.  We have ordered Interior Flat and Interior Semi-gloss in White, Special Antique White, and Dover White.  Also we have Exterior Flat in White.

Whenever we have had quality paint in the store it has always sold well.  Unfortunately we have not gotten good, new paint donated very often.  Ordering paint from Valspar will allow us to provide a high quality paint product to our customers and, thereby, drive sales of paint supplies and other items.

Since we will have a regular supply of paint we will no longer be accepting paint as a donation from the general public.  Anyone wanting to dispose of paint in Delaware should visit the Delaware Solid Waste Authority's website for information on when and where paint is accepted.

Paint at the ReStore

Taking donated paint has always caused problems for the ReStore.  While many people have donated perfectly good paint most have not.  We had a policy of only taking full, new cans of paint.  Many would offer us paint claiming it was in full cans and in good condition when it clearly was not.  Often we have put paint outside the store with a free sign on it.  We probably dispose of more paint than we sell.

Due to the problems of taking paint as a donation we will no longer accept paint from the public.  Paint received in the store will only be accepted if it comes from a company that sells paint.  This will allow us to sell much better quality paint.

Anyone interested in disposing of paint in the state of Delaware should go to the Delaware Solid Waste Authority's website for information.

More from Bell Supply

After donating two and a half truckloads of vanities, shower bases, medicine cabinets, kitchen sinks, and bathroom sinks last week Bell Supply came back this past Tuesday with more medicine cabinets and vanity tops. There is so much that we have not been able to get all of it on the sales floor. Many of the kitchen sinks and the medicine cabinets are priced and on the floor. We hope to get the rest out during the next week.

Most of the kitchen sinks are located on two racks in the plumbing section of the store against the back wall. The rest of the items that are available for purchase are in other parts of the plumbing section.

Large donation from Bell Supply

Yesterday two trucks arrived from Bell Supply. They were filled with toilets, shower surrounds, shower bases, vanities and other items for bathrooms. Today they came back with a truck about half full of sinks. Most were stainless steel kitchen sinks. There were also a few bathroom sinks. It is going to take some time to sort through and price everything we have received. We will get it on the sales floor as soon as possible.

Bell Supply is a plumbing and HVAC wholesaler. The company has a customer showroom in Newark.

Record sales year at the ReStore

The ReStore's fiscal year ended with the month of June. We had a record sales year. Our sales increased by 20% over the previous year. Considering that we had scaled down operations at our old location to prepare for moving and we were closed for several weeks while moving a 20% increase is quite remarkable.

Our sales since moving have been significantly above what they were in the old location. We are confident that we will see an even bigger increase in sales in the July 2013 - June 2014 fiscal year.

Thank you to all our customers and volunteers who have made this success possible.