Chris Jensen

Michael (left) and Turner Townsend (right) took over Townsend Building Supply from their father, Dale (center), in 2012.

Townsend Building Supply

Panama City, Fla.

Townsend Building Supply began as Hughes Law Lumber in Chipley, Fla., in 1921, making it a member of the Century Club. In 1949, Austin Townsend purchased the company and it has been solely owned by the Townsend family ever since. In 2012, the family’s third generation—Michael and Turner Townsend—took over the operation from their father Dale. They currently operate seven locations in Alabama and Florida.

Following Hurricane Michael’s devastating impact in Panama City, Fla., in 2018, Townsend Building Supply set up a makeshift lumberyard—essentially just a pole barn on sand with an old shed—to help the local community rebuild.

Breaking ground in 2021, the Townsend family built the lumberyard portion first and moved the operation there before building the main warehouse and showroom. The completed store opened in August 2022.

“Our Chipley (Fla.) store was affected the most—it was on the western edge of the storm path,” says Michael. “The community was without power for a week or two and rebuilding went on for months. The Panama City area needed a lot of help, so we were able to start shipping materials down shortly after the storm hit.”

In 2020, the brothers decided they wanted to make the store permanent. Breaking ground in 2021, they built the lumberyard portion first and moved the operation there before building the main warehouse and showroom. The pandemic delayed the store’s construction by 10 months, so it opened in late August 2022.

“We wanted to help the Panama City area however we could. We never went down there with the mindset it was going to be temporary,” says Michael. “We decided to stay because we felt we could fill a need in the community for many years to come.”

The company had some outside help on the yard design and layout, but they relied on Orgill’s help to design the 6,000-square-foot retail space. “We know what we needed from a lumberyard standpoint, but Orgill helped us come up with the right product mix for the market. They’ve helped us with other store sets and remodels and been a great partner,” says Michael, who adds that their dad began buying from Orgill in the late 1970s.

They wanted a store that was easy for pro customers to get in and out but that also serviced their delivery operation out the back door.

The company had some outside help on the yard design and layout, but they relied on Orgill’s help to design the 6,000-square-foot retail space.

Designing a One-Stop Shop

The new store was designed to be a one-stop shop for construction projects, targeting their core customer segments of contractors, builders and heavy d-i-yers. As Turner explains, “We wanted a store that was easy for our pro customers to get in and out but that also serviced our delivery operation out the back door.”

The store interior is clean, organized and decorated in a modern and beachy style. That design concept is carried through outside, where they planted more than 100 palm trees on the property.

The store features a completely paved lumberyard and a drive-thru warehouse with an automated Auto-Stak rack storage system for easy loading and an area for customers to park their trailers to load with products. Merchandising displays include a high-end deck display facing the highway in front of the store. A showroom highlights the window and door product selection and features a conference room for builders and their customers.

The new store was designed to be a one-stop shop for construction projects.

The store features a completely paved lumberyard and a drive-thru warehouse with an automated Auto-Stak rack storage system for easy loading.

Townsend Building Supply is constantly seeking innovative ways to better serve their customers. They employ a premium millwork specialist to provide next-level service to customers. Installation services are offered for both homeowners and contractors.

The company offers a secure online customer portal that integrates with QuickBooks, allowing customers to view invoices, credit notes, orders and quotes. The portal enables customers to generate their own statements or reports showing products purchased for their project.

Michael and Turner say the new store has far exceeded their expectations, with strong sales growth right from the start. More importantly, they were able to increase gross margin by 6 percent in the first four months. “We’ve been very pleased and humbled by the reception from the community,” Turner says.

Despite facing competition from Lowe’s and Home Depot five miles away, the Panama City store is seeing more walk-in trade business with the new store. “Customers are very complimentary and say they love the convenient location and how easy the store is to shop,” Michael says.

Every decision was driven by what they perceived the market needed, Turner points out. “We’re not open 90 hours a week, so being able to get pros in and out quickly is critical,” he says.

A high-end deck display faces the highway in front of the store.

Improving Efficiency and Service

Townsend Building Supply switched over to Epicor for their point-of-sale system in 2011 and embracing the latest retail technology tools has helped the company better serve its diversified customer base.

“Epicor has been a great tool for us,” Michael says. “It helps us keep our finger on the pulse of business with analytics and to operate more efficiently. We’re focused on using Epicor’s BisTrack as an ERP platform to improve the customer experience by tracking performance with our delivery and accuracy.”

Three years ago, the brothers hired Steve Riggs to serve as president and created an EOS operating system to run the company while they stepped into more defined roles—Turner on the sales side and Michael in finance and administration. As Turner explains, “We wanted to be more intentional in how we operated with more accountability for everyone.”

Employee development is another key focus at Townsend Building Supply, which has 28 employees in Panama City and 135 total in the company. They hired a former teacher as a full-time training coordinator to create a comprehensive training program for new and current employees, utilizing a spacious training facility on the second floor for continuous education on products and processes.

Employee recognition programs reward team members for outstanding performance. Kudos cards are given to employees who exemplify the operation’s core values and can be redeemed for prizes during the store’s Christmas party. Employees can submit a write-up about a fellow staff member who exemplifies the store’s core values, with winners receiving the Employee of the Quarter designation. Employees who go above and beyond or are acknowledged by customers for their outstanding service receive a Superior Service award.

Michael and Turner Townsend say the new store has far exceeded their expectations, with strong sales growth right from the start.

Community Involvement

Townsend Building Supply holds regular contractor appreciation events and is an engaged member of the Bay Building Industries Association, sponsoring monthly meetings, fishing events, golf tournaments and other gatherings.

They are an active member of the Bay County Chamber of Commerce and hosted the group for an after-hours event at the store with hors d’oeuvres and beverages. The company is a strong supporter of United Way. Employees are given the option to donate a portion of their salary to the cause.

With strong community support behind the new Panama City store, Michael and Turner were eager to adopt similar concepts in some of their other locations. A grand reopening was held in June for their Troy, Ala., location, which was remodeled to reflect the successful design aspects of the Panama City build.

Winning the Beacon Award for Best New Store is really humbling, according to Turner, who says, “It makes you reflect on the fact there’s just no way we could’ve done this without our excellent team.” Adds Michael, “I’m most excited for our employees, who stuck it out so long in less than desirable conditions. They had the hard part.”