Rosedale Town & Country
Success StoryPaladin Helps Rosedale Town & Country Keep it Real
Authenticity means a lot to the folks at Rosedale Town & Country farm store in Pennington, New Jersey. For nearly three-quarters of a century, it has served the needs of the farming communities of central New Jersey. And for longer than that, it has been a family business started by current owner John Hart’s great grandfather. So, when Rosedale claims that it is a real farm store, you know that it’s truly authentic and based on over a century of experience.
The past six years have seen some of the most dramatic growth for Rosedale and store manager Elizabeth Schreiber says Paladin Data Corporation has played a role in that success.
The store has come a long way from the waterwheel-powered feed and sawmill started by Joseph Hunt around the turn of the last century. Over its first 50 years, the business focused on feed for livestock. But when the local family farms began to be sold and developed into smaller residential parcels, Rosedale had to shift its focus. It added equine, pet and garden supplies to meet the changing clientele, but despite the changes, it retains its country store atmosphere and charm.
“A lot of people have hobby farms now, so we stock hay, straw, seed and feed. We offer chicks seasonally because a lot of people have backyard flocks. We’re a real farm store, but about a third of our business is pets, now,” says store manager Elizabeth Schreiber.
The 17,000-square-foot store works with vendors such as Nutrena and Kalmbach Feeds, offers over 40 brands of quality pet food, and is the only Purina Company Signature Design facility in New Jersey.
The store also features products from smaller vendors and regional artisans including Pennsylvania Amish craftsmen to offer gazebos, picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, swing sets, bridges, sheds, custom chicken coops, sheds, dog houses, and even air-conditioned kennels.
Lawn and garden supplies are another specialty for the store. It provides its own select New Jersey grass seed, various brands of topsoil – both bagged and bulk – Burpee seeds, and a wide variety of vegetables and flowers each planting season.
Paladin helps the store manage this vast array of vendors and varied inventory and helps keep the store optimally stocked. Its easy-to-use point-of-sale with mobile capability makes sales a breeze whether it’s at the checkout counter, down an inside aisle, or outside in the surrounding yard.
Rosedale uses Paladin’s Market Driven Inventory Management and its Suggested Order, which forecasts what products customers will be buying, to keep those items in stock. Paladin also simplifies the store’s substantial B2B business. Rosedale Mills provides supplies and hardware to several school districts and educational institutions including nearby Princeton University, townships, rural fire districts, and many local businesses.
“We’re using Paladin reports to find out what’s selling and what isn’t. That helps us improve our product lines and our profit. We’re really working on improving our product pricing and margins. Our old system wasn’t intuitive at all. We love Paladin. It’s easy to use for our staff. We use the (RF) guns for creating purchase orders. They make ordering easy.”
Rosedale owners John Hart Jr. and Beth Scheuerlein.
Rosedale also leans on Paladin’s performance-focused dashboard and reports to improve its inventory management. Elizabeth says Paladin’s Negative Stock on Hand List, Items Sold Report, Non-performing Assets Tool, and Daily Balancing reports are huge in helping improve the store’s performance.
The store’s business has improved from roughly $3.4 million in annual sales seven years ago to around $5 million in 2022. It has been using Paladin for six of those seven years.
Paladin integrates with RepeatRewards which Rosedale Town & Country uses to keep its loyal customers happy and attract new shoppers. Paladin allows the store to keep track of customer purchases, which allows it to further refine its product offerings.
“We use it for everything. I think we could use it for more. We love the streamlined accounting reports and how we’re able to generate statements. Paladin is how I collect my information,” Elizabeth says, adding that she appreciates the personalized help she gets from Paladin Support. “The individual service we get is great. We love the rep we have. We love the training we can get. The company’s energy and enthusiasm are wonderful.”
Tolmie's Ace Hardware: Five Generations of Small-Town Service, Powered by Paladin POS
For more than 55 years, Tolmie's Ace Hardware has been a fixture in Homedale, Idaho, serving homeowners, farmers, contractors, and local businesses with the kind of personal service that only a family-owned store can provide. Behind the scenes, the Tolmie family has relied on Paladin Point of Sale for more than 25 years to help manage inventory, streamline operations, and support the growth of their business.
Dirk Tolmie took over the store from his parents in 1995 after a successful career in retail management. A few years later, as the business expanded and added Ace Hardware to its offerings, he recognized the need for a better way to manage inventory and day-to-day operations. In 1999, Dirk chose Paladin POS to help him move beyond paper-based processes and gain the tools needed to run an increasingly complex retail operation.
Dirk still remembers Paladin founders Dan and Judie Neismith personally traveling to Homedale to install the system.
"They flew in here, ran wire through the ceilings and all of this," Dirk recalls, chuckling about a lesson in computer hardware from Dan, who opened the store’s new Paladin computer’s CD-ROM tray to earnestly explain why, despite appearances, “It’s not a cupholder.”
More than two decades later, that partnership remains an important part of the store's success.
Managing Thousands of Products with a Small Team
Today, Tolmie's Ace spans roughly 5,000 square feet across three buildings and carries everything from paint, tools, and fasteners to agricultural chemicals, grilling supplies, and major appliances. Popular services at the store include electronic key duplication, product assembly and delivery. Despite the breadth of inventory, the business is run by a remarkably small team: Dirk, his wife Robyn, their son Josh, and a handful of part-time employees.
For a store of that size, inventory management is critical.
The Tolmies rely on Paladin's inventory tools to track stock levels, manage pricing, monitor product movement, and identify items that need to be reordered. EDI integration with Ace Hardware helps automate inventory and pricing updates, reducing manual work while helping ensure information stays current and accurate.
Instead of spending hours researching products, checking reports, or manually updating records, the team can quickly access the information they need and focus on serving customers.
"It's so handy and efficient," says Robyn. "It just takes seconds to get on and figure things out."
The store also makes extensive use of Paladin's reporting capabilities, which provide visibility into sales trends, inventory performance, margins, and purchasing decisions.
Supporting Growth in a Changing Market
As Homedale continues to grow, so do the demands on local businesses.
"We have new housing and new businesses going in," says Robyn. "Builders from twenty or thirty miles away come to the store if they forget something or break something."
At the same time, new competitors have entered nearby markets. The Tolmies believe that combining outstanding customer service with efficient business systems has helped them remain competitive while maintaining the hometown atmosphere customers value.
Paladin's tools help support that approach at Tolmie's Ace by simplifying many of the daily operational tasks, including:
- Automated inventory and pricing updates
- Inventory tracking and replenishment management
- Ace Hardware EDI integration
- House account management
- Streamlined point-of-sale workflows
- U.S.-based technical support
House accounts are especially important to the store's commercial customers, many of whom send employees to purchase supplies throughout the day.
"A lot of these businesses and farmers send employees in," Dirk explains. "They can just sign and go."
By making account management simple and efficient, Paladin helps the store provide the convenience local businesses need.
Technology That Lets Staff Focus on Customers
While inventory and reporting tools keep the operation running smoothly, the Tolmies believe the real value of Paladin is the time it gives back to their team.
Rather than being tied up in administrative work, employees can spend more time assisting customers, answering questions, and helping people find solutions.
That customer-first philosophy has helped build the store's reputation throughout the region. Customers frequently praise the store's knowledgeable staff and friendly atmosphere, something Robyn considers the business's greatest strength.
"I personally think our specialty is customer service," she says. "Nobody does it like we do. We know all the customers and greet them when they come in."
When technical issues do arise, quick support helps minimize disruptions.
