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September 2005
Taken from "Business People Magazine"

There are lots of places for teachers to get classroom materials, there are numerous fine art suppliers for artists, and there are a variety of retailers who carry school art products. However, there are few that do it all, and even fewer that do it all as well as United Art and Education.

Headquartered in Fort Wayne, United Art and Education offers retail, catalog and internet access to the school and art materials you need. Whether you are a teacher, an artist, a hobbyist or a parent, you’ll find a wide variety of educational, artistic and creative products.

“We are a hybrid in the industry. We’re not only a teacher’s store, or an art store or an education store—we’re a combination,” says Dick Johnloz, CEO. “The combination is effective, because there is a natural progression from elementary school and school art to fine art.”

Complementing a catalog and website boasting more than 11,000 art materials, traditional craft supplies and art books and resources are retail stores filled with more than 24,000 such items, as well as educational products. Retail stores are located in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Greenwood and Mishawaka in Indiana, and in Dublin and Centerville in Ohio.

“Our retail stores offer a tremendous variety of materials,” says Mike Gugel, United Art and Education’s president. “Because our stores are filled with so many choices, customers drive from a distance to select their purchases, and we find that they stay in the stores a long time because of the positive shopping experience.”

United Art and Education was not an idea that happened overnight. It has been built over 25 years, one well-researched decision at a time. Originally, Johnloz and his wife, Betty, owned a toy distributorship. Then, in 1980, they had the opportunity to purchase United Supply, a school-supply business.

“We bought the business, added our toys to the inventory and moved the store to an 8,000 square foot location,” Johnloz says. “Four years later, we added additional space and created a warehouse for customer pick-up. During that time, we also extended our service area to all Indiana schools and into Michigan and Ohio.”

By 1987, United Art and Education had a catalog that was being sent to every high school in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio and had begun to advertise in national art publications. By 1991, a 10,800 square foot retail location opened in Fort Wayne, on Clinton Street near Glenbrook Mall, and construction of a 24,000 square foot warehouse on Airport Expressway was completed.

Over the next decade, catalog distribution increased to include schools and art teachers in every state east of the Rockies. Additional retail stores were also opened, and the United Art and Education website was created.

“All along the way, we had a desire to have a chain of stores and grow the business,” Johnloz says. “We were banking on economies of scale and our productivity as we expanded the business. However, with every decision came a great deal of thought and research as we explored markets and locations.”

Johnloz says that it is “easy to be satisfied with success. But to continue, we know we need to make changes.”

However, Johnloz says that when making changes, rather than making quick decisions, he analyzes what works and thinks through decisions completely.

“There are always lots of targets and ideas to consider,” he says. “I don’t think there’s a need to rush decisions. Instead, I believe we should always have the wheels turning and be exploring and researching. Then, when one looks at a decision from every angle, the final decision is clear and easy to make.”

It was this steady progression of ideas and decisions that allowed United Art and Education to transition from an art store to an industry-respected art and educational supplier.

“We were an art store first, and Dick recognized the opportunities when the teacher supply industry expanded,” Gugel adds. “He made the decision to add educational supply to the art materials the company was selling, and that allowed the company to grow into the hybrid it is today.”

Gugel started working at United Art and Education in 1984 as a sales representative. Then he got involved with the catalog development, which evolved into marketing, other responsibilities and management. In 2001, Gugel was named president.

“We all wore a lot of hats in those early years,” Johnloz says, “and I hired good, bright people like Mike who were up to the task.”

Johnloz believes strongly in hiring the right people, and he identifies them through a dedicated screening and interview process.

“I’m not just hiring an employee, I’m hiring the right person for the job. The hiring process is expensive and time consuming, and I know that if we hurry the hiring process, we’ll be making compromises,” Johnloz says. “By hiring the right people, we are able to make them successful in their jobs and prepare them for the future.”

Once the right people are hired, Gugel says he and Johnloz do not micromanage the business. Rather, they give direction and make themselves available to work with staff when necessary.

“We have many staff members who have been with United Art and Education for many years, because I don’t believe people are expendable either,” Johnloz says. “We take care of our people, and they take care of our business.”

“We also help our staff grow into their positions by giving them experiences, from activities that get them involved in the office to the opportunities to travel to trade shows to learn the industry,” Gugel says. “We don’t believe you can learn the job or business from a book, so we also give employees the freedom to make decisions and recommend solutions.”

“I have been with United Art and Education for 14 years, and I have the freedom to do creative things in an open, friendly environment,” says Angie Leach, director of marketing. “I especially like the fact that as the business has expanded, we have maintained our philosophy of treating both customers and fellow employees with respect.”

Leach says that, in fact, Johnloz and Gugel “saw my career before I did, as they sent me to shows and built my base of knowledge within the business and the industry. It was awesome that they want us all to be involved, share information and understand the business so completely.”

It might seem as if everything has always worked exactly right for United Art and Education, but Johnloz is quick to point out that the business “spent its first 10 years churning to find a niche. We added office supplies and mat board, for example, and we tried ‘jobbing,’ but after a cost analysis, we realized we needed to narrow our focus. Those were tough decisions.”

The latest decision Johnloz and his team have made is the expansion of the company’s headquarters and warehouse facilities. This $2.2 million investment will more than double the size of its existing business, add information technology and distribution equipment, and create 25 jobs by year-end 2009.

“This expansion will facilitate continued growth of the company and give "

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