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Paladin Helps Rosedale Town & Country Keep its Farm Store 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.
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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,” Elizabeth says. “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 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.”
