As a sales representative for an independent art and design supply manufacturer, Minnesota-dweller Joe Domeier took such a liking to the largest art supplies retailer his five-state territory, the Art Store, that he would later buy it.

While in Des Moines making sales calls, Domeier met Ray Wolf, who at the time owned the of the store at 600 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. “He (Wolf) had made the store appealing to the general public, not just the artists,” he said.

Domeier studied the Art Store throughout his years as a sales rep, encouraging Wolf to keep him in mind as his successor.

“I pestered Ray for about three years,” he said. “I saw that Ray was downsizing his corporation and I was under the suspicion that he was getting ready to retire, so I continued to prod him until he finally called me up one day and said, ‘Here’s my price. Do you want to pay it?’”

Domeier and wife, Carol, partnered with the owners of a Minneapolis-based art supply store where he worked during college to purchase the business and property.

Domeier’s first task was to bring the Art Store up to contemporary business and accounting standards. Automating and computerizing, Domeier said, made an instant impact on finances. Over the past four years, the Art Store’s “just-in-time” method of inventory has allowed it to expand product offerings while reducing the average inventory level by $100,000.

“Scanning and bar-coding of items versus ringing them in by hand allows us to keep a better control over inventory,” he said. “We turned inventory into cash by bringing in smaller volumes more often from distributors and it allows us to respond quicker to industry trends without sitting on old, dead inventory or non-trend items.”

Second, Domeier recognized the need for a Web site to boost the store’s sales. A site was launched a few years ago, and after a “long learning curve” it is now producing a high number of hits and increased sales. Web sales have tripled since November 2003.

“The biggest accomplishment is ongoing,’ Domeier said. “We now, with key search terms, not overall industry terms, have ranked our Web site and e-commerce site within the top five items on Yahoo or Google. The Web site has been great and is one of our best things for the future.”

Also looking into the future, Domeier plans to count surviving the disruptions caused by the MLK extension project. He says the store has “tightened its belt” and sometimes handed out maps to help customers navigate the torn-up streets.

“The reason that I bought the business is because I knew there was going to be road construction, and as soon as it was completed all the way down to Fleur and the airport that we would see traffic levels probably double on Martin Luther, thereby increasing the value of the land and visual location of the store,” Domeier said.