Store Traffic Climbs, Thanks to Unique Tree Display

Customers who come in to Boliantz Hardware in Shelby, Ohio, have a hard time missing the outdoor power equipment display.

That’s thanks to the almost-10-foot-tall tree trunk in the middle of the department. The tree trunk serves as a backdrop for Stihl-branded chainsaws, leaf blowers and other power equipment.

Department manager Mark McKown thought of the idea for the unique tree display. “Chainsaws and trees go together, and I thought it’d be neat to display chainsaws coming out of the tree,” McKown says.

One of his customers is an arborist and was able to help the store find a tree trunk it could use. It was up to McKown to get it back to the store, though, and he says that was no small feat. McKown and owner Doug Boliantz used a forklift to get it inside, and bolted two 2×6’s to the bottom to hold it up.

Now, the tree trunk has mulch, logs and different tools around it to add to the display. “The display has gotten bigger over time,” Boliantz says.

They change out the tools on the tree trunk with each season. In the fall, it held leaf blowers; now, in the spring, it holds tree trimmers.

McKown and Boliantz say the unique display has brought more traffic through the door.

“We’ll often have customers who come in and say someone told them about the display and that they had to stop in to see it,” Boliantz says.

McKown says many customers touch the tree trunk to see if it’s real.

Boliantz gives McKown all the credit for the display’s success. “Mark thought of it, ran with it and put everything together,” Boliantz says. “All the credit goes to him.”