Hardware Retailing July 2021

JULY SPONSOR

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CONNECTIONS Follow Us Online

HEADQUARTERS

1025 East 54th St. Indianapolis, Indiana 317-275-9400

NHPA@YourNHPA.org YourNHPA.org

OUR MISSION

The North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) helps independent home improvement and paint and decorating retailers, regardless of affiliations, become better and more profitable retailers.

NHPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Daniel Harris, Palos Ace Hardware, Palos Heights, Illinois; Lemont Ace Hardware, Lemont, Illinois

EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN

Jared Smith, Jared’s Ace Hardware, Bishopville, South Carolina

DIRECTORS

Craig Bond, Tommy’s Paint Pot, Eugene, Oregon

David Dishke, Grand River Home Hardware, Caledonia, Ontario

Scott Jerousek, Farm and Home Hardware, Wellington, Ohio

Ryan Ringer, Gold Beach Lumber Yard Inc., Gold Beach, Oregon

Jackie Sacks, Round Top Mercantile Co., Round Top, Texas

Matt Woods, Woods Hardware, Cincinnati, Ohio

SECRETARY-TREASURER

Bob Cutter, NHPA President and CEO

STATE & REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

MIDWEST HARDWARE ASSOCIATION

Jody Kohl, 201 Frontenac Ave., P.O. Box 8033 Stevens Point, WI 54481-8033

800-888-1817; Fax: 715-341-4080

NHPA CANADA

NHPA CANADA

Michael McLarney, +1 416-489-3396, mike@hardlines.ca 330 Bay Street, Suite 1400 Toronto, ON, Canada M5H 2S8

CIRCULATION, SUBSCRIPTION & LIST RENTAL INQUIRIES

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR

Richard Jarrett, 314-432-7511, Fax: 314-432-7665

COMING IN AUGUST

Unique Parter Businesses

Glenn Ubertino, co-owner of Zoller Hardware Gifts and Gadgets Mercantile, knows his North Carolina community well. Discover how he’s used that knowledge to acquire new businesses, including an electrical supply center, a high-end kitchen store and a new gardening center, that complement his home improvement store. See how each operation offers something unique— and valuable—to the community and learn best practices for adding partner businesses to your current offerings to bring in new audiences and add to overall sales.

EDITORIAL, DESIGN & PRODUCTION 317-275-9400, editorial@YourNHPA.org

MANAGING EDITOR

Melanie Moul, mmoul@YourNHPA.org

PROFILES

EDITOR

Kate Klein, kklein@YourNHPA.org

TRENDS EDITOR

Todd Taber, ttaber@YourNHPA.org

PRODUCTS & DIGITAL EDITOR

Hans Cummings, hcummings@YourNHPA.org

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Lindsey Thompson, lthompson@YourNHPA.org

SENIOR DESIGNER

Aubrey Smith

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Autumn Ricketts

DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST

Kevin Trehan

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Austin Vance

SALES & PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

Freda Creech

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Whitney Daulton

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER & EDITOR

Julie Leinwand

NHPA SALES

FIELD SALES MANAGER & SOUTHERN SALES DIRECTOR

Scott Gilcrest, sgilcrest@YourNHPA.org, 317-508-7680

MIDWEST SALES DIRECTOR

David Brodowski, dbrodowski@YourNHPA.org, 440-520-9551

SOUTHERN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Jessi Moore, jmoore@YourNHPA.org, 260-200-0306

NORTHEAST, NORTHWEST & CANADA SALES DIRECTOR Jordan Rice, jrice@YourNHPA.org, 217-808-1641

EXECUTIVE STAFF

PRESIDENT & CEO Bob Cutter

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER & PUBLISHER Dan Tratensek

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER & EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS SERVICES David Gowan

Hardware Retailing (ISSN0889-2989) is published monthly by the North American Paint and Hardware Association, 1025 East 54th St., Indianapolis, IN 46220. Subscription rates: Hardware Retailing (Payable in advance): U.S. & possessions $50/year. Canada $75/year. All other countries $100/year. (Air Mail $60/year additional). Single copy $7. The Annual Report issue can be purchased for $30.

Periodical postage paid at Indianapolis, Indiana, and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Hardware Retailing P.O. Box 16709, St. Louis, MO 63105-1209.

All editorial contents © 2021 North American Paint and Hardware Association. No editorial may be reproduced without prior permission of the publisher.

REPRINTS: For price quotations, contact the Editorial Department at editorial@YourNHPA.org. Printed in the U.S.

MEMBER SERVICES & TRAINING 800-772-4424, NHPA@YourNHPA.org

TRAINING MANAGER & EDITOR Jesse Carleton, jcarleton@YourNHPA.org

RETAIL ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST Renee Changnon, rchangnon@YourNHPA.org

EVENT MANAGER & RETAIL SUPPORT

Katie McHone-Jones, kmchone-jones@YourNHPA.org

DATA & INFORMATION COORDINATOR

Natalie Harris

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PAINT & DECORATING PROGRAMS

LeAnn Day, lday@YourNHPA.org

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ADVANCED RETAIL EDUCATION PROGRAMS Scott Wright, swright@YourNHPA.org

Lessons in Leadership

Read about retailers—like Tanya Hanson Rocca, owner of Roblynn Home Hardware and Home Furniture—who were recognized early in their careers for their leadership achievements and continued to develop their leadership skills for the good of their businesses.

Category Gains

If you’re not continually refreshing and updating your core categories, then you may start falling behind. Learn how three retailers keep their sales headed in the right direction.

Jarring Results

The Young Retailer of the Year awards recognize high-performing retailers age 35 and younger who are focused on creatively growing their businesses and generously giving back to their communities.

Canning has made a comeback as a hobby, and canning jars are a popular supply for crafters. Discover best practices for building a strong canning niche in your housewares department.

ON THE WEB

ONLINE Stay Informed

Check out these stories and more. Head over to hardwareretailing.com/july to see more.

Leading the Pack

This month’s cover story centers on the power of leadership. Discover helpful resources online to guide your team to new heights.

4 Steps to Better Teamwork

Even if they’re not in an official leadership role, employees who learn leadership skills can help create stronger teams. This month’s Trainer’s Toolbox will reinforce four basic leadership skills.

Words of Encouragement

A leader’s words are powerful. Offering positive reinforcement could unlock hidden potential in your employees. Learn five easy ways to offer constructive praise and boost morale.

Playing to Win

Use this interactive group card game to reinforce the leadership skills every employee can use to improve teamwork and strengthen your operation.

Find More Stories Online

OPERATIONS

Exploring Inventory Management

A new webinar from NHPA (and sponsored by Epicor) analyzes how inventory management has changed and how retailers can create better business practices. Visit YourNHPA.org/webinars to view this and other webinars.

CATEGORY

Sealing the Deal

Discover best practices for creating a robust canning niche, including tips for selling canning products, what products to stock and ways to reach new canning customers.

RESEARCH Inside the Price Hike

As prices for popular building materials rise, the National Association of Home Builders dives into the data to discover specific concerns residential builders have about increased prices and supply chain constraints.

U.S. homebuilders report building materials cost roughly 26% more compared to one year ago.

Source: National Association of Home Builders

INDUSTRY AWARDS Meet the Industry’s Young Leaders

Learn more about this year’s Young Retailer of the Year honorees at YourNHPA.org/yroty. Watch videos of each honoree and check out the digital publication featuring their stories and how they became the channel’s next leaders.

For when Safety matters.

3M ™ Pro-Protect Electronic Hearing Protector

Stay aware of dangers on the jobsite and help protect your hearing from hazardous noises. This electronic hearing protector allows you to communicate in low-noise environments and enhances your situational awareness. Bluetooth® Wireless Technology seamlessly syncs with your mobile devices, so you can make and receive phone calls through the headset. And soft, conformable ear cushions provide all-day comfort.

built to perform

EDITORIALLY SPEAKING

Send Melanie a Message mmoul@YourNHPA.org

Melanie Moul

YourNHPA.org/es-pod

“Leaders must recognize the humanity in the people they’re being asked to lead.”

How to Lead With Grace

IN ANY INDUSTRY there’s going to be a learning curve before you’re ready to do your job independently. Once you have the knowledge to do your job, you may be asked to show others how it’s done, and that is another learning curve entirely.

My first job right out of college was as a barista. It was not the job I envisioned, but it was the one I could find in the middle of the Great Recession. So, I woke up early, and I learned a new language—the unlimited combination of scribbles in boxes on hundreds of cups every day. I served the best people (and the worst), and I made lifelong friends. At some point, my manager saw I knew what I was doing—technically anyway—so she invited me to become a trainer.

The short story is that I wasn’t prepared for that responsibility. I could teach the material, but I didn’t have patience for people who didn’t get it right the first time or the tenth. Now, there is a conversation to be had about whether someone is the right fit if they can’t understand the material after so many missteps, but let’s give people the benefit of the doubt in this situation.

Once a new employee, we’ll call her Grace, was trained by my co-worker. Grace’s first shift post-training was with me as the shift supervisor, and she didn’t know anything. She didn’t know any drink recipes or any of the responsibilities of the job. I was flustered, and I showed it.

I wasn’t necessarily frustrated with her. I was frustrated that other trainers didn’t convey the right information and that our manager didn’t recognize that Grace should stay in training longer. My mistake as a trainer, and as a leader, was taking out my frustrations on her instead of redirecting in the moment. Grace left the floor crying, unwilling to work with me because I had showed my emotions too quickly. We struggled to get through the rest of the shift together, and she quit the next day.

To this day, I don’t know how much of her decision to quit was because of the way I treated her in a moment of frustration. But I do know that now, 10 years removed from that incident, I should have handled the situation very differently.

This month’s cover story, starting on Page 22, is about young retailers who have been recognized as high achievers in the industry and as leaders in their operations and their communities. But leadership doesn’t happen overnight. These retailers show us that leaders must recognize the humanity in the people they’re being asked to lead or risk losing powerful contributors.

I hope Grace found her passion, and I hope she can give me a little grace as I was still learning to lead.

Melanie Moul Managing Editor

Dan Tratensek

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

“We will never stop asking the question he posed so many years ago: ‘Who are we working for, and how are we helping them?’”

Losing an Industry Giant

MY FIRST ROLE AT THIS ASSOCIATION, then known as the National Retail Hardware Association, was as an assistant editor for this magazine (which was Do-it-Yourself Retailing back then).

Like most new employees, I spent the better part of my first year learning the lay of the land. Fortunately, I had some great mentors. Two who had a particular impact on me were fellow editors, Scott Wright and Walt Johnson. They were both very generous with their time and helped me learn the subtleties of a very complex industry and the importance of trying to always serve our readers.

It was in Walt’s office where I first saw an old sign that read: “Who am I writing for, and how have I helped them?”

That was really the message at the heart of what both Scott and Walt were teaching me. I later learned that the sign in Walt’s office had been handed down by a former editor, an almost legendary figure who, while I didn’t meet immediately, I certainly heard stories about.

That former editor was Bob Vereen.

I’d heard Bob’s name tossed around in conversations all the time, but only later did I learn the breadth of his legacy. He had been editor of the magazine, driving the editorial mission for the association for decades. Beyond that, Bob also had a deep passion for the industry and took his service well beyond the pages of a publication.

Bob started, managed or promoted more industry programs and groups than almost anyone else who ever touched this channel. From the Worldwide DIY Council to the Retailers’ Choice Awards, Bob’s lasting impact on the home improvement channel is still felt today.

Later in my career, I got to know Bob. Well into his 80s, I saw him trudging around shows from Las Vegas to Germany. When our paths would cross, we would have a chat, he would pitch me some story ideas and ask about folks he knew in the industry.

He stayed active for decades after his retirement from NRHA, writing industry stories and covering home improvement for a variety of global publications. He even wrote two books, one tracing the history of the industry and another focusing on online best practices.

In late May this year, the industry lost an icon when we lost Bob Vereen at 96.

While I never had the opportunity to work for Bob, I know that my career, our association and our industry owe him a debt for what he gave to all of us. And I can assure you that we will never stop asking the question he posed so many years ago (albeit with some slight updates): “Who are we working for, and how are we helping them?”

Dan M. Tratensek Chief Operations Officer & Publisher

EDUCATION

The Future of Leadership

Visit YourNHPA.org/fol to learn more about the Foundations of Leadership program and how it can take your team to the next level.

Certified Leadership

3 ONLINE LEADERSHIP COURSES FOR NEW AND SEASONED MANAGERS

INVEST

IN YOUR MANAGERS with an online leadership development program to boost their skills, knowledge and confidence.

The North American Hardware and Paint Association’s (NHPA) Foundations of Leadership program provides leaders with home improvement industry-specific training. The program offers three different nine-week online courses, including Intro to Leadership, Leading Your Team and Financial Management. Together, these courses lead to a certification in leadership.

As part of each course, managers will also complete a real-world capstone project for their business where they will apply all the knowledge and skills they have learned. The project will focus on solving a problem or capitalizing on a missed opportunity in the business.

To learn more about the Foundations of Leadership program, visit YourNHPA.org/fol or contact Scott Wright, NHPA executive director of advanced retail education programs, at swright@YourNHPA.org or 317-441-4136.

About the Foundations of Leadership Courses

Intro to Leadership

In this introductory course, managers will learn about their unique leadership style and strengths, which will provide a framework for their ongoing leadership growth and career development needs.

COURSE DATES

Aug. 2 - Oct. 8

Apply by July 30

Leading Your Team

This course teaches managers the critical components of building and leading a team, including communication skills, conflict management, talent development and ongoing performance management.

COURSE DATES

Oct. 11 - Dec. 31

Apply by Oct. 8

Financial Management

This course focuses on the key financial management skills that leaders need to manage the financial side of a business, including the basics of expense control, budgeting and benchmarking.

COURSE DATES

Aug. 2 - Oct. 8 or Oct. 11 - Dec. 31

Apply by July 30

While cohort classes are recommended, self-paced options are also available.

ENGAGE Numbers You Should Know

Participation in the Cost of Doing Business Study is free, easy and confidential. To learn more or get started, visit YourNHPA.org/codb.

Benchmark Your Busines

Business

2021 Cost of Doing Business Study Deadline Extended to July 15

NHPA HAS EXTENDED THE DEADLINE

for hardware stores, home centers, lumberyards and paint and decorating outlets in the U.S. to participate in the 2021 Cost of Doing Business Study to July 15. For more than a century, NHPA has collected information from independent home improvement retailers for the study. Each year, this financial benchmarking tool helps retailers understand how their businesses compare financially to typical and high-profit operations so they can make informed decisions for their operations.

Numbers You Should Know

How You Can Participate

You can choose from several easy ways to share your information with NHPA, via mail, email or online. Participants receive free access to the study’s results and a personalized financial analysis of your business. The information you provide is completely confidential. Visit YourNHPA.org/codb to get started.

Scan the QR code to watch a video with NHPA chief financial officer Dave Gowan and learn what you can gain by participating in the Cost of Doing Business Study.

When you participate in the Cost of Doing Business Study, it can help you identify new financial opportunities for your operation. Have you looked at your financials recently? Here are some numbers you should know.

SALES PER SQUARE FOOT

This classic measurement remains one of the most important gauges of a store’s productivity.

The sales per square foot for a typical hardware store is $189.

INVENTORY PER SQUARE FOOT

Stores that stock more inventory per square foot typically generate higher sales.

The inventory per square foot for a typical hardware store is $49.

Source: NHPA’s 2020 Cost of Doing Business Study

SALES PER EMPLOYEE

In calculating this ratio, two part-time employees are considered equivalent to one full-time employee.

The sales per employee for a typical hardware store is $160,560.

SALES PER CUSTOMER

By measuring the average sale per transaction, retailers can gauge the performance of merchandising and sales staff.

The sales per customer for a typical hardware store is $24.

PROFIT BEFORE TAXES

This figure represents the money you put in your pocket every month and provides a way to measure the health of your operation.

The profit before taxes for a typical hardware store is 4 percent.

Podcasts to Play

Subscribe or listen to podcasts at YourNHPA.org/podcasts.

“Spend and invest in training, because that’s really what separates you—being part of that community and having trained associates that know what they are talking about.”

Taking Care of Business

EPISODE 41

Dan talks supply chain and industry outlook with John Vanderpool, True Value’s divisional president of paint and general manufacturing.

“There are a lot of retailers, big and small, across different categories, that don’t realize the degree to which they need to change to survive, much less thrive.”

“As leaders, one of our most important tasks is to learn what is going on with our team. In order to learn, we must first know how to listen.”

Tell Me More...

EPISODE 35

Renee chats with Steve Dennis, author of “Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Digital Disruption.”

Editorially Speaking

EPISODE 13

Melanie talks to former naval flight officer and current leadership expert Dave Rosenberg about what it takes to be an exceptional leader.

Leadership Skills for Everyone

Access this free NHPA Trainer’s Toolbox at YourNHPA.org/operations

EMPLOYEES WHO DON’T have an official leadership or managerial role at a business can still benefit from having leadership skills. Strong communication and problem-solving skills—two qualities of effective leaders—can help create more productive teams. As individual employees continue to learn leadership skills, they become leaders among their peers, taking ownership of projects and helping teams be more productive.

This month’s Trainer’s Toolbox, Learning to Lead, is a group activity that will help your employees develop skills crucial to leadership and teamwork. The activity can be completed in a staff meeting and requires minimal preparation. This resource is free and available to all retailers.

DATA Price Watch

As home improvement activity continues, pros are reporting sharp upticks in prices. Learn more at hardwareretailing.com/pro-prices TRENDS

RESEARCH

DIY Custom e MEET YOUR

Customers

SHEDDING LIGHT ON WHAT MOTIVATES YOUR S

IN APRIL, HOME IMPROVEMENT SALES grew 33 percen the year prior, fueled by continued DIY momentum. New data from the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) reveals what projects DIY are completing and what’s motivating them to tackle these home improv themselves. Discover more from HIRI’s 2021 Trends in DIY and Pro Hom Improvement report by visiting the organization online at HIRI.org.

percent from DIYers improvements Home SHOPPERS

DIY Demographics

DIY Motivators

Popular Projects

Source: Home Improvement Research Institute

NEW PRODUCTS

PRODUCTS

Retailer Recommendations

Send a note to editorial@YourNHPA.org about products you can’t keep on the shelf. Include your name, your business name and reasons why you love them.

Smart Water Sensor

The Phyn Smart Water Sensor features customizable temperature and humidity alerts. When the sensor comes into contact with water, users are notified by an audible alarm and an LED light, as well as notifications via SMS and the Phyn app. It connects to a home’s existing WiFi network and has available extension nodes to increase the area of protection.

PHYN phyn.com or 877-749-6792

Cordless Track Saw

Festool’s TSC 55 Cordless Track Saw can cut 100 meters of sheet goods on a single charge. It is compatible with the FS Guide Rail System and includes splinterguards on both sides of the blade to provide zero-tearout cuts in virtually any material. It uses 6 ¼-inch blades and has an angular range of 1 to 47 degrees.

FESTOOL USA

festoolusa.com or 888-337-8600

Crosscut Station

Kreg®’s Crosscut Station gives users the capabilities of a miter saw with just a circular saw and Kreg-guided cutting. It allows users to make a variety of miter cuts from 0 to 4 degrees and crosscuts up to 12 inches wide. It is compatible with left- or right-blade circular saws and cuts material up to 1 ½ inches thick.

KREG kregtool.com or 800-447-8638

Reversible Umbrella

This reversible umbrella closes upward, trappi raindrops inside its water-repellent canopy. It manual open, hands-free c-handle that allow use while the umbrella leans against the user’ is available in a variety of patterns and colors. versions and an LED flashlight handle are also

trapping residual features a allows smartphone user’s body. It Auto-open available.

MARK FELDSTEIN & ASSOCIATES INC. markfeldstein.com or 800-755-6504

Magnet Mount Floodlight

Multipurpose Cleaning Spray

OdoBan® Ready-to-Use Continuous Spray cleans, disinfects, sanitizes, freshens and eliminates odors. It features 360 degree Pure Air Continuous Spray technology to spray at any angle—even upside down. It kills 99.99 percent of germs and viruses in 60 seconds and is EPA-rated for use against SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19). It also controls the growth of mold and mildew.

CLEAN CONTROL CORP. odoban.com or 800-841-3904

Milwaukee’s M12™ ROVER™ Service and Repair

Floodlight features USB charging, a 110-degree pivoting light head and a rear-facing magnet for mounting to job site surfaces and provides 700 lumens for up to 24 hours at a time. It is IP54-rated, impact resistant and can withstand drops from up to 9 feet.

MILWAUKEE TOOL

milwaukeetool.com or 800-729-3878

PRODUCTS

Respiratory Protection System

Swiss Air is a Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) that features adjustable air flow, TH3-certified particle filters, 14-hour battery power and altitude and temperature compensation. It can be used with a construction helmet or weldCap® with no mask fit test required, or it can be used with no helmet at all. The Swiss Air PAPR can be used in an application where aerosol protection is desired.

OPTREL

optrel.us or 401-389-7240

One-Handed Reciprocating Saw

Metabo HPT’s 18V Cordless One-Handed Reciprocating Saw weighs only 2.9 pounds (bare tool) and offers 3,200 strokes per minute. It includes an LED light to illuminate dark work spaces and features a tool-less shoe, variable speed trigger and accepts all Metabo HPT 18V and 36V slide-type batteries.

METABO HPT

metabo-hpt.com or 800-706-7337

Sub-Floor Adhesive

LP Legacy® Premium Sub-Floor Adhesive is a gun-applied, fast-curing and 100 percent solvent-free polyurethane collapsible foam adhesive. It increases sub-flooring’s stability and strength while preventing squeaks by expanding to create a tight seal in small gaps between panels and supports.

LP BUILDING SOLUTIONS

lpcorp.com or 888-820-0325

Protective Leather Sleeves

Arm Chaps® are protective leather sleeves that prevent nearly any cut, scratch, abrasion, puncture, bruise or burn to hands, wrists and forearms. They feature adjustable air flow and allow total finger dexterity. They can also be used as wrist supports to prevent strains or to provide support for people who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome.

Tool Holster

The Slice® 10516 Tool Holster features a removable belt clip, one large main compartment, two wide, thin slots and two side compartments for precision tools. Wide polyester-spandex elastic bands allow the holster to hold a variety of different tool sizes and shapes without rattling or wiggling.

SLICE PRODUCTS sliceproducts.com

ARM CHAPS® armchaps.com or 651-492-4830

Portable Tape Dispenser

The Curby Mini-Taper is a manual water-activated tape dispenser ideal for small workstations or desktops. Weighing only six pounds, it uses water-activated tape, providing security, strength and professional packaging in a compact footprint.

INTERTAPE POLYMER GROUP itape.com or 888-898-7834

Roof Underlayment

Boral® Acrilay® Underlayment is a partially self-adhered, SBS-modified, fiberglass-reinforced underlayment for tile, stone-coated steel, shingle or shake roofs. It features proprietary acrylic lap seal technology. The SBS-modified asphalt helps minimize the wrinkling and buckling associated with non-modified membranes.

BORAL

boralroof.com or 800-658-8004

Flea a

Flea and Tick Shampoo

Skout’s Honor Flea + Tick Shampoo is formulated with natural peppermint and cedarwood oil to eliminate fleas and ticks and repel mosquitoes while relieving skin irritation and inflammation caused by flea bites. It is safe for pet, family is not recommended for cats.

Skout’s H fmulated with nat ppp oil to eliminatf uitoes while rel f mation caused bf ily and home. It

SKOUT’S O

HONOR

skoutshonor.com or 877-805-0399

skoutsh 8 8050399

Anatomy of a Leader

Read about four retailers in the industry whose experiences have tested them as leaders and given them opportunities to grow at hardwareretailing.com/leader-anatomy

What Makes a

Leader?

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM 3 PAST YOUNG RETAILER OF THE YEAR HONOREES

BY KATE KLEIN

Results are key for identifying good leaders. At Roblynn Home Hardware and Home Furniture in Oromocto, New Brunswick, owner and president Tanya Hanson Rocca considers it a huge compliment that other business owners often ask for her hiring secrets.

“You have the nicest people. Where do you find them?” is a common question she gets.

Spoiler: She doesn’t have hiring secrets. She hires people from the same small community as the other business operators in the area. But Rocca views a significant part of her role at Roblynn Home Hardware as understanding and leading a team of individuals. Knowing employees well allows Rocca to lead them.

“I treat staff like family and customers like friends,” Rocca says. “I try to be respectful, kind and thoughtful. We have hard conversations, too, but with kindness, respect and honor.”

Growing sales and maintaining a low employee turnover rate are the results of Rocca’s leadership, not ends in themselves. The culture she and the staff create together comes first.

Those priorities are reflected in the fact that most employees have now worked at the business for a minimum of five years.

“They truly are a team and they cooperate. They’re not a short-term team. They’re a long-term team. The glue is so strong, it keeps the team together,” Rocca says. “I’m the cheerleader, the coach. I truly, genuinely care about every single person who works here. I know them personally.”

On the following pages, Hardware Retailing highlights three retailers who are at various stages of their careers but whose leadership traits earned them accolades early on.

The careers of Isaac Smith, co-owner and head of purchasing at Matt’s Building Materials in Pharr, Texas, and Camille Gibson, general manager of Mark’s Ace Hardware in Tucson, Arizona, look different from Rocca’s.

However, all three are past North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) Young Retailer of the Year honorees who have grown as leaders beyond the early promise that NHPA recognized. Read on to learn about the traits and results that mark them as strong leaders and their business strategies that other retailers can emulate.

Listening and Learning

When Rocca was fresh out of college, her father, Robin Hanson, talked her into giving his hardware business a try. He moved his office into a separate building and told her Roblynn Home Hardware was hers to manage.

Hanson left a note for the staff letting them know Rocca was the new boss, but Rocca asked them to ignore the memo. She had not grown up working in the store and did not necessarily expect she would stay, so she approached that trial year as a learning opportunity.

“I’m just here for a year,” she told the store employees. “I’m just learning from you.”

She asked the team questions, talked to customers and called her dad for advice.

Customers and employees discussed ways they thought the store could better serve shoppers. Rocca listened. She not only learned about the store’s products for the first time, but also chose to reorganize the store and make it cleaner and more attractive.

When changes were successful, Rocca built on the success and kept looking for opportunities to improve the business. Sales grew more than 50 percent that first year, quickly and dramatically outperforming growth her dad had seen in the past.

Success, for Rocca, always involves her team of employees. Listening and learning her first year set a precedent she is building on 24 years later.

“I think I’m the type of leader who makes other people better by being here.”

—Tanya Hanson Rocca, Roblynn Home Hardware and Home Furniture

Leading by Example

Rocca entered the family business as the new boss, but she had the humility to know she had much to learn from the staff and her dad.

“They have helped me grow as a leader by providing advice and feedback. I ask a lot of questions, and I’m a listener,” Rocca says.

Developing a team of employees who mesh well with each other and are loyal to the company, eager to grow individually and motivated to improve the operation is an ongoing mission for Rocca.

She uses daily staff meetings to nurture a collaborative culture where she shares sales data and asks the team to work together on tasks ranging from setting up new product displays to achieving sales goals. These meetings allow for regular idea sharing and help employees stay invested in nearly every aspect of the operation.

Rocca has spent many years working to model the attitude, culture and work ethic she expects from every employee at Roblynn Home Hardware.

When she walks into her family’s store, she knows the employees well enough to greet each one with a hug, collaborates with them to achieve goals large or small and shares a companywide vision for continuous business and self improvement.

“I think I’m the type of leader who makes other people better by being here. I improve and grow, and then they improve and grow,” Rocca says.

01 | Lead by example.

“I create a positive, happy, energetic work environment. I work with integrity; I don’t say one thing and do another. I work really hard when I’m at the store. I’m always busy. I’ve got a lot of energy, so I’m zooming around the store.”

02 | Always strive to grow.

“I’m not the same leader I was in 2002 or 10 years ago or last year. I’m always developing and growing in my leadership skills. One of the best courses I took was a young leaders retreat, where I learned about priorities in management.”

03 | Share goals.

“I organized shift-starter meetings and share sales targets every day with our staff. The meetings have catapulted our sales. Staff are constantly asking, ‘Where are we with sales?’ We have created a culture of sharing information, setting goals and then trying to achieve them.”

HEALTHY CHANGE

Isaac Smith of Matt’s Building Materials took the initiative to identify weaknesses in himself and in his family’s business so he could lead positive changes. His efforts have contributed to significant company growth.

Learning to Grow

Isaac Smith began working for Matt’s Building Materials when he was 13 years old. He continued working for the company during high school and college and learned to work hard loading lumber, driving forklifts and delivering building materials to job sites.

“I’ve worked every job in the business,” Smith says. “When you work every position, you see what the challenges and needs are and what it takes to get the job done. I have a lot of sympathy for the guys who work in the back because I know what it takes to do their jobs.”

When Smith graduated from college at age 20, his dad promoted him to a management position.

“I stayed stagnant for the first couple years. I was waiting for feedback,” he says. “I wanted to

01 | Always be improving.

know if I was doing what I was supposed to be doing and if I was doing a good job.”

When no feedback came, he realized he would only develop and grow if he took the initiative to identify weaknesses in the company and in himself and then make changes.

“My philosophy of leadership is to always continue to get better daily,” he says.

Identifying areas for improvement has become an ongoing part of Smith’s job. He started making changes in all the areas of the company where he had noticed weaknesses over the years. Failing to get feedback from supervisors had limited his growth, so he read management books and wrote job descriptions for all 190 positions in the company.

“Always try to improve what you’re doing on a daily basis. Staff can give feedback and we can talk about problems and how we can get better on a regular basis. If there’s something we can do better, I want to make sure we do it.”

02 | Set expectations and then follow up.

“If there’s a problem with an employee, it’s usually because we haven’t set expectations appropriately. I always preach to all my managers that you’ve got to set expectations, provide feedback and then follow up.”

03 | Build up and encourage your team.

“When it comes to staff, we always want to build up and encourage. If I’m talking about a staff member who’s not present, is what I’m saying said with the intent to encourage or with the intent to tear down and destroy?

That’s how we handle gossip and conflict.”

As part of helping employees understand expectations for them in their roles, Smith created training manuals and made training more systematic.

His efforts have contributed to significant growth for the company, which added its third location in 2015 and had sales increase nearly 200 percent over the past 20 years.

Taking Initiative

Camille Gibson started out at Mark’s Ace Hardware as a part-time cashier when she was 18.

Her eagerness to learn helped her stand out among her co-workers and allowed her to work her way up in the company. When she graduated from college, she chose to grow with the store instead of pursuing a career in her degree field.

“I love our customers and our employees. I love how much I learn here,” Gibson says. “I’ve also been given the opportunity to be creative in the stores.”

ALWAYS LEARNING

Camille Gibson, general manager of Mark’s Ace Hardware, prioritizes constant learning so both she and the business continually grow. She integrates what she learns into her work, striving to set an example for all of the employees at the stores.

What Gibson could not learn from customers and other employees, she researched online on her own time. She also pursued leadership training.

“You have to have an open mind and make your brain a sponge,” Gibson says. “Don’t avoid any opportunity to learn something. If you don’t feel confident in what you learned, research it more.”

When she learned a new skill, such as glazing windows, she practiced it repeatedly so she became and stayed proficient. Just as she grew her product knowledge by doing research on her own time when she primarily worked on the salesfloor, she still continues to take initiative to learn.

“I’m always looking for creative ideas to improve morale, help the company grow and help me grow,” Gibson says.

She has participated in the growth at Mark’s Ace, helping open a ground-up store in 2016 and assisting with the acquisition of the operation’s third location.

Developing a strong team mentality among employees at the three stores and emphasizing training have been important to Gibson. She revamped manuals and training documents to better help employees learn.

At a recent staff meeting at one of the stores, Gibson asked employees for feedback on their current duties, what they think they could do better and what leadership can do to improve. She wants to help every employee identify areas where they lack confidence and then provide them with the training they need to do their jobs successfully.

Gibson considers leading by example when working alongside employees as part of her role.

“If I’m not working as hard or harder than them, then I feel there’s a problem with me,” she says.

Mark’s Ace Hardware

General Manager

Tucson, Arizona

2017 NHPA Young Retailer of the Year

01 | Remember you’re setting an example.

“When I interact with customers and work hard, the employees see it. One of the supervisors said to me, ‘When you’re working on the floor with us, you’re training us even without realizing that you’re training.’”

02 | Find employees who will develop.

“I care about developing people. I just hired someone I know I want to be a supervisor someday. I’m always looking for people who can move up within the company, who are motivated and want to learn more.”

03 | Work to be respected.

“I don’t think being feared or liked is best for a leader. I want to be respected because I’ve worked as hard as the crew on the floor and I don’t put myself above any one of them. If someone’s stocking shelves or mopping the floor, I show them how hard I work.”

Visit YourNHPA.org/yroty to watch the virtual ceremony recognizing this year’s honorees and to see an inside look of each retailer’s operation.

Building Tomorrow

8 Young Retailers Who Are Changing the Industry

For 25 years, the North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) has highlighted the achievements of outstanding independent home improvement retailers 35 years old and younger through its Young Retailer of the Year program.

Honorees are selected from three categories: stores with less than $2 million in sales, stores with more than $2 million in sales and operations with multiple retail stores. The honorees stand out as leaders in their businesses and in the communities they serve.

This year also marks the first time NHPA has included paint retailers in the award program

after the organization expanded its membership to include paint and decorating retailers in 2020.

Read the highlights here to learn how the 2021 honorees have improved their businesses, invested in their own career development through industry education and bettered their communities.

“Being chosen as a Young Retailer of the Year is a high honor. Each year, manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers in the industry look forward to celebrating the honorees’ contributions to their communities and the industry,” says Scott Wright, executive director of advanced retail education programs for NHPA. “These retailers exemplify the determination and innovation that keeps our industry growing.”

PROFILES

More About These Retailers

Head to hardwareretailing.com/yroty for the complete stories of this year’s honorees.

LAVARONI Alexandria

Colton & Danielle

HALLGREN

OWNERS | OSAGE HARDWARE

Location Osage City, Kansas

Category Under $2 Million in Sales

COLTON’S HIGH SCHOOL JOB at Osage Hardware turned into a career opportunity for him and Danielle. After serving in the Marine Corps and living in California, the couple returned to Osage City in 2016. The Hallgrens were offered the chance to buy the store from Colton’s former bosses, and they did so in September 2018. They have made several store upgrades since, including turning an empty lot next door into a garden center. They saw a 12 percent increase in sales their first year in business and a 41 percent increase the second year. In 2020, the store was recognized as an Emerging Business of the Year by the Kansas Small Business Development Center.

MANAGER | TREAT’S GENERAL STORE

Location San Andreas, California

Category Under $2 Million in Sales

ALEXANDRIA IS THE FIFTH GENERATION of her family to work at Treat’s General Store, which dates back to 1852. She had little knowledge of the industry when she began working in the store, but she was able to use her business education and previous work experience to her advantage. Since she took on a management role four years ago, store sales have increased 25 percent each year. Last year, Alexandria supported her community during the COVID-19 pandemic by keeping essential goods like PPE and household supplies in stock. She also opened an entire department of locally made products to help community members who lost their jobs generate income.

NOWOCHIN Tyler

OWNER | NOWCO HOME HARDWARE

Location Lacombe, Alberta, Canada

Category Under $2 Million in Sales

TYLER TOOK OVER his family’s business in 2010, and since then has consistently invested in the operation, including rebranding, remerchandising and renovations to improve traffic flow. The most recent renovation included a 1,200-square-foot DIY area the store uses to host customer training and events. The store has been recognized in the community, receiving chamber of commerce awards and Reader’s Choice Awards in eight categories from readers of the local newspaper in 2020.

ESTENGER Dani

PURCHASING MANAGER

CENTER HARDWARE & SUPPLY CO. INC.

Location San Francisco, California

Category Over $2 Million in Sales

DANI’S WOODWORKING HOBBY led her to pursue a job as an assistant manager at Center Hardware & Supply Co. in 2017. She was then promoted to inventory manager and buyer, sourcing popular and exclusive items for the store. She also was instrumental in revamping the store’s merchandising and inventory management, growing margins by nearly 4 percentage points and average transaction size by $3. Last year, she added 30,000 SKUs, which led to year-over-year sales growth of 2 percent.

Robin

SMITH

PRESIDENT & CO-OWNER PETERSBURG HARDWARE

Location Petersburg, Indiana

Category Over $2 Million in Sales

ROBIN PURSUED A DEGREE in accounting, which led her to return to her family business in 2009. She saw the potential to grow Petersburg Hardware and better meet the needs of her community. In 2014, Robin negotiated a deal to buy a 28,000-square-foot building to expand the store, more than tripling the salesfloor. She also revamped the store’s marketing strategy, leading to more loyalty members than the population in Petersburg. Under her leadership, store sales grew 384 percent in five years.

SOUTH Jonathan

STORE MANAGER | TEGHTMEYER ACE HARDWARE

Location Columbia City, Indiana

Category Over $2 Million in Sales

JONATHAN FOUND A CAREER in what started as a summer job at Teghtmeyer Ace Hardware. After pursuing police training, he realized he could fulfill his passion of serving others at the store. He overhauled the store’s policies and procedures to improve productivity and updated the store’s training program. In four years, Jonathan had grown sales by 24 percent. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the store continued to serve its community well and sales increased another 25 percent.

DONNELLY

VICE PRESIDENT | FLANAGAN PAINT & SUPPLY

Location St. Louis, Missouri

Category Multiple Stores

JAY JOINED HIS FATHER at Flanagan Paint in 2010 after his dad’s business partner died. He learned the ins and outs of paint retail and was promoted to vice president in 2012. By 2013, the father-son duo had grown the business 25 percent year over year, leading them to open a second store and move the original location to a new space. They acquired a third location in 2020. Jay is invested in building a strong company culture and continuing to find new expansion opportunities.

RENNELLS

GENERAL MANAGER | HOME CENTRAL

Location Owego, New York

Category Multiple Stores

RYAN WAS UNDECIDED about his future when he joined Home Central in 2011, but he quickly developed into a leadership role. He moved into management after three years, pursuing leadership training and improving all of the company’s stores, including enhancing the paint department, which doubled paint sales over five years. Once he was promoted to general manager, Ryan led a ground up build and then a remodel of another location. He also helped the business recover after a fire at the newly remodeled store.

Focus on Growth

For bonus ideas on improving category performance, visit hardwareretailing.com/category-boost

Category Boost OPERATIONS

4 Areas to Improve Your Selling Strategy

BY JESSE CARLETON + LINDSEY THOMPSON

Successful retailers rarely sit on the laurels of past achievements; they are always asking the question, “What can we do better?” Without continual maintenance and improvement, a business can quickly lose relevance with customers or find itself falling behind a stronger competitor. That’s why every category in your store—even your top performers—needs refreshing from time to time. If you wait until you see signs of decline to take action, chances are you’re already losing sales.

Hardware Retailing spoke with three retailers who have each made significant gains in category sales by tweaking some of their operational strategies in certain areas to increase overall sales.

While these retailers were already running a strong business, they all found ways to take what they were doing and make it even better.

Whether you need to revive lagging sales or want to take a category to the next level, here are four operational areas where you can create growth.

Simple merchandising changes at Buck’s Home Building Centre, such as placing floor samples and bulk product all in the same place, led to a category sales bump. OUT OF THE BOX

Stacks of paint in a power aisle near the front of Buck’s Home Building Centre has drawn more attention to the category and helped increase sales. PAINT POWER AISLE

Master Your Merchandising

1

Rotate endcaps regularly.

Get the most out of your endcaps by changing out merchandise once a month. Some progressive retailers even change them out every couple of weeks.

2

Be vigilant about housekeeping.

You can make a big impact on the way your merchandising looks just by keeping the shelves clean, faced and organized. Train every employee to fix problems as soon as they spot them.

3

Use clear signage. Clear and creative signage makes it easier for people to shop, which means they may spend more time browsing. You might even land an impulse sale.

Train customers to look for something new.

“Merchandising is something we do continually,” Ryan Buck, owner of Buck’s Home Building Centre in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, says. “Just because a department isn’t failing doesn’t mean you should ignore it. You should never get to a point where a department looks outdated.”

Buck organized several employees into a merchandising team, tasking them to evaluate each department and create a consistent look and feel for the entire store.

Buck brings the team alongside him every quarter as they analyze a different department to see what could change to bring more sales to the area. Depending on the nature of the changes needed, they may utilize updated planograms from their wholesaler, challenge vendors to come up with a better merchandising strategy or look for simple changes that can make a big difference. Most of the departments he’s tackling are already doing well; he’s just looking for ways to make them better.

For example, in the flooring aisle, the team began displaying flooring samples next to the boxed product, instead of only showing sample boards on the salesfloor. They also advertised special-order capabilities. Almost immediately, sales in the department increased 6 percent. In another example, power tool sales climbed 39 percent last year after Buck challenged his key vendors to improve their merchandise presentation. They helped him eliminate outdated inventory and gave him new fixtures.

The merchandising team is also in charge of rotating endcaps every two weeks. As one of the most prominent display features in the store, endcaps are best positioned to keep customers interested in coming back.

“If your customers are always seeing a different endcap, they are always going to be wondering what you have that’s new,” he says. “You train people’s minds to think, ‘I want to see what’s going on in there.’ You need to keep categories from getting stale.”

Cross-train cashiers with product knowledge in all departments.

One way to increase revenue in any category is to make sure each customer has everything they need for their project. And often the employees best suited to create add-on sales are the last ones customers see before they leave the store—cashiers. Buck believes training in all areas of the business is as important for his cashiers as it is for any other employee.

Training is part of the culture at Buck’s two locations. He requires ongoing training for all employees, whether it is through vendors giving updates on their product lines or his training manager conducting refresher courses on basic product knowledge. Cashiers receive instructions in all core categories, including the paint department, where they understand enough to provide customers basic service. Buck also gives them merchandising training so they understand how to keep displays clean and organized.

“Cashiers are trained to have a baseline knowledge of all areas of the

business so they can suggest add-on sales as customers are checking out,” says Buck.

If cashiers understand the components needed to complete a project, they can identify any items that might be missing from the customer’s shopping cart. Adding those missing items will save customers time and frustration while boosting overall transaction size.

In fact, Buck believes giving cashiers a wide breadth of training can sometimes make or break the customer experience. The checkout counter is the last chance he might have to turn a disgruntled customer into a happy one.

“My cashiers are among my most important staff members,” says Buck. “If I’ve empowered them to be more involved and knowledgeable about the business, they are going to be happier. They will be more prepared to take what may be a failed customer experience elsewhere in the store and turn that experience around.”

READY TO HELP

Cashiers like Mary Anne Wagner at Buck’s Home Building Centre receive cross-departmental training so they are ready to answer customers’ last-minute questions or recommend add-on sales at checkout.

Improve Your Training

1

Establish your training goals. Define specific goals for each employee, and then take time to celebrate achievements and reward employees who finish.

2

3 Appoint a training manager.

Rather than try to manage your training program on your own, appoint one person to oversee the program and hold employees accountable.

Allow time. Be intentional about making time for training, even if the day gets busy. Plan when, where and how you expect employees to train and limit interruptions so they can focus.

ROOM TO BROWSE

At Perspectives, customers can browse the expanded design center to get ideas for everything from upholstery to blinds to shutters. The updated department appeals to more customers with modern and classic looks.

Refine Your Assortment

1

Use sales to move out old products. When updating or changing your product assortment, price old products at a discount to sell it fast and make room for the new items.

2

Display new products on endcaps.

Utilize the high visibility of endcaps to showcase new products in a department. Include signage that tells the customer where they can find additional products in that category.

3

Mix up merchandising.

When you can’t update your product assortment, keep that department fresh with routine changes to merchandising and displays.

ASSORTMENT PLANNING

Refresh your product assortments with up-to-date options.

The wallcoverings department at Perspectives in Lexington, Kentucky, was performing well, bringing in both DIY and commercial customers. But this category can be a tricky one, with ever-changing trends and ebbing and flowing popularity, which is why owner Jason Taylor wanted to take it to the next level by diversifying and adding up-to-date products to what the store already offered.

The changes have come over time to accommodate changing customer needs. Since 2004, when Taylor took over as owner, he has expanded the design center to include window coverings and shutters.

He also added a line of upholstery, housed in a 30-foot by 50-foot section of the salesfloor. Customers can browse thousands of interior and exterior fabrics for their upholstery projects and receive design advice from the in-store designers.

On the wallpaper side, Taylor has broadened the store’s in-stock displays to carry new designs and new types of wallpapers, ensuring his inventory reflects modern trends.

“The new wallpapers we are getting in aren’t just retreads of old products;

they’re new patterns and new substrates,” Taylor says. “We’re selling wallpapers with different features, such as pasting to the wall instead of the paper and others that are guaranteed to come down in one strip.”

The store continues to get in new wallpaper books and still sells classic and traditional styles. Customers can choose from over 2,000 rolls in stock and more than 1,100 wallpaper books.

Along with adding new product offerings, Taylor and his team refreshed the design center with a new look, showing customers that they sell more than just wallpaper. They put down new wood flooring in the space and added displays that showcase all the different window treatments—cellular and roller shades, valances and draperies—the store sells. Customers can shop the assortment of wallcovering products available and see design ideas in person.

The design center reboot has positioned Perspectives as more than just a paint store; it’s become a one-stop shop for all design needs, including paint, sundries, wallcoverings, window treatments and upholstery fabrics.

Utilize traditional and digital marketing to get the word out.

When Danny Garcia and JD McDowell took ownership of Pintura Paint Store in San Antonio nearly two years ago, they saw nothing but opportunities for growth in the paint category. The previous owners sold a good selection of paint, but Garcia and McDowell felt the store could expand its paint offerings and reach even more customers, taking the store’s paint selection from fine to phenomenal.

San Antonio has only a handful of retailers that sell a national paint brand, and Garcia saw the partnership with this paint company as the perfect opportunity to get in at the ground level and grow, carrying a brand with name recognition and status.

For Garcia, focusing on marketing was the first step to boosting their paint department. Once the store was stocked with the new paint products, Garcia shared with customers through the store’s Facebook page, which he created for the store soon after taking ownership. He began posting regularly, including videos of the new products and renovated space and promoting

special events like the grand reopening and summer open house.

“Establishing a digital presence was the biggest challenge when we took over,” Garcia says. “The previous owners didn’t have a good foothold on any sort of online presence, so I took that on.”

Especially during the pandemic, when digital was one of the only ways to connect, Garcia met customers where they were—online. And he continues to post about the new paint line to keep the products and store in front of mind for customers.

The posts also introduce customers to the new owners. Since Garcia and McDowell took over as owners, they have made an effort to engage with all their customers and establish themselves as a helpful resource.

“All the posts I’ve done show our customers that we’re real people and a family-owned, locally operated business, which sets us apart from our competitors,” Garcia says. “We want to be available, be ourselves and be a local force in the community.”

A NEW FACE

As the new owners of Pintura Paint Store, JD McDowell (far right) and Danny Garcia (far left) take the extra effort to get to know their customers through special events, social media and interacting with customers on the salesfloor.

Revamp Your Marketing

1

Embrace social media. Choose one or two platforms to focus on to build an online presence to engage and connect with current and potential customers.

2

Show your human side.

Use your marketing outlets to share about the people that make up your business and show that your company is more than just products and services.

3

Be flexible.

What works in marketing is constantly evolving and changing, so be willing to adjust with the times and look for new ways to reach customers.

A Can-Do Attitude

How to Create a Canning Niche in Your Housewares Department

BY LINDSEY THOMPSON

CATEGORY

Make Canning Your Jam

Discover additional best practices for a successful canning niche at hardwareretailing.com/canning

ore than a hobby for many of Cornell’s True Value Hardware’s customers, canning is a lifestyle, a cultural tradition and a bonding opportunity for family and friends. Cornell’s is located in the New York City suburb of Eastchester, New York, and many of the families in Eastchester and the surrounding areas take part in traditional tomato canning each summer. These families count on Cornell’s for all their canning supplies.

Mary Beth (Fix) Wellington owns the business with her brother and cousin, and the store has been in the Fix family since the Great Depression. Since that time, it has served customers from near and far with a robust canning niche.

“I remember when I was working here as a teenager, the Italian housewives who didn’t speak much English would come in and purchase canning supplies,” Wellington says. “A generation later, many of those same families are still getting together each summer to can tomatoes, sometimes 20 to 30 cases at a time. When tomato season comes along, it’s a big boom for us.”

On the following pages, discover how the owners of Cornell’s True Value Hardware took an already flourishing housewares niche and made it even more successful by offering a ripe assortment and reaching new customers with varied marketing strategies.

Expand Your Audience

Cornell’s True Value Hardware capitalized on the canning audience right outside their doors. Retailers who don’t think they have a built-in, nearby audience for canning supplies like Cornell’s can still take advantage of the recent canning trends to build an audience.

During the initial lockdowns at the start of the COVID-19 shutdown, sales of canning products at Cornell’s doubled, as more people started canning as a hobby to pass the time. Even before the pandemic, canning was increasing in popularity as a hobby, but Cornell’s and many other retail operations have sold an unprecedented bumper crop of canning supplies in the past year.

“Sales went through the roof last year, and we could have sold triple the amount we normally do

in a year,” says Wellington. “We had people driving from two hours away to buy our canning products because they couldn’t find them anywhere else.”

Wellington says the store also had many customers coming in looking for mason jars for crafts, as some canning products double as supplies for popular arts and crafts projects. She had customers looking for jars to paint them, put lights in and use for other creative projects. She doesn’t expect this trend to end anytime soon and plans to stock as many canning supplies as possible this year.

Cornell’s True Value Hardware was also able to serve another unexpected audience during the pandemic— local restaurants looking to buy quart-size jars to package different food items to sell to customers.

“We had people driving from two hours away to buy our canning products because they couldn’t find them anywhere else.”

—Mary Beth Wellington, Cornell’s True Value Hardware

“Since they couldn’t be open during the first weeks and months of the pandemic, these restaurants turned to selling customers to-go soups, sauces and other foods to stay afloat,” says Wellington. “I had restaurants calling me asking for 12 cases of jars at a time.”

Along with tomato canning, Wellington says she is seeing more customers who are looking for products for pickling, such as pickling salts and spices, and supplies for making and canning jams and jellies, like different types of pectins.

“I sell a fair amount of jelly jars and accessories around Thanksgiving and Christmas, as customers are making and giving jelly as gifts during that time,” she says.

MARKETING

Build Your Online Audience

Learn search engine optimization strategies that can drive traffic to your website at hardwareretailing.com/seo

Get the Word Out

Many of Cornell’s customers shop there because of positive word-of-mouth recommendations in the community, and the store reaches additional customers through creative marketing and intentional online advertising. Cornell’s has a page on its blog dedicated to canning basics, which provides step-by-step instructions and tips, plus a list of all the supplies rookies need to get started with the hobby.

STOCKING UP

Cornell’s True Value Hardware receives its first shipment of canning products for the year in May or earlier in preparation for peak canning season at the end of the summer.

John Fix III, Wellington’s brother, handles the store’s online advertising, setting up Google Ads and implementing search engine optimization strategies so customers can easily find the store online when searching for canning products. Wellington says they’ve had numerous customers find the store thanks

to this strong digital strategy. The team also regularly updates the store’s social media accounts to stay connected with customers and promote products and upcoming events.

While Cornell’s does not deliver, customers can buy online and choose curbside pickup. The store website lists available canning items so customers can see what products are for sale and how many are in stock.

“Especially in the last year, we have had a lot of people ordering online and picking up curbside. We did 1,475 curbside transactions from March through December 2020 and 39 of those were for canning products,” Wellington says. “Our customers knew we’d put it aside when they ordered online, so they knew they could get what they needed when they needed it.”

CANNING ESSENTIALS

From jelly to tomatoes, no matter what your customers are canning, consider enhancing your inventory with these products.

ESSENTIALS

• Canning pot

• Jars

• Jar lids

• Jar bands

• Jar lifter or rack

Start With the Basics

WISH LIST

• Recipe book

• Cooling rack

• Lid wand

• Jar funnel

• Jar labels

The selection of canning products at Cornell’s has grown and evolved over the years to fit its customers’ changing needs. While Wellington still sees customers coming in each summer looking for their tomato canning supplies, in recent years she has seen an influx of customers wanting to buy products for other types of canning, for freezing and for crafts.

“I’m getting more requests for canning products for pickling and making jellies,” Wellington says. “I also sell a lot of decorative jars, like the quilted ones, for people who want to give their finished products as gifts. These are great for the store because the prices are a little higher so the margins are better.”

For retailers who are just starting out in this category, Wellington suggests stocking plenty of mason jar bands and lids. A new lid is required for each use, and the bands need to be replaced every few uses, so canners go through a lot of these accessories.

As far as the jars themselves, Wellington says she always stocks the pint and quart sizes, in both the regular and wide-mouth varieties, and also the jelly jar size. No matter what you decide to stock, Wellington says the key to their success is getting your orders in early.

“I sell a lot of decorative jars for people who want to give their finished products as gifts. These are great for the store because the margins are better.”

—Mary Beth Wellington, Cornell’s True Value Hardware

“I’ll order in February and sit on the product until the summer when we have our tomato canning rush. You have to get your orders in early if you want to have any stock,” she says. “I’ll order more than I think I need. Some years I’ve been caught with more than I can sell, but usually I sell out by the middle of September.”

OUTREACH

Share Your Stories

Send your merchandising tips, event recaps, employee morale boosters and other stories to editorial@YourNHPA.org CHECKOUTS

Ace Hardware Lumber Co. in Eureka, California,

building and depicts what the store looked like decades ago.

Portrait of a Store

CALIFORNIA RETAILER RECOGNIZES COMMUNITY WITH MURAL

The exterior wall of Shafer’s Ace Hardware in Eureka, California, features a colorful mural that celebrates the history of the operation and catches the eyes of passersby.

THE CITY OF EUREKA HOSTS an art festival every year and chooses an area of the community to improve as part of the event. For the 2020 art fair, the city art council selected the Henderson Center shopping center as the area to spruce up. Shafer’s Ace is the largest retail store in Henderson Center, so owner Jack Rieke hired a local artist to paint the large mural on the side of the store. The mural is 12 feet tall and 60 feet long.

The project also required Rieke to hire a construction company to replace an exterior wall of aluminum siding with boards the muralist could paint more easily.

The hardware store is 60 years old, and the mural shows what the store would have looked like in its early days, but it features current people, including Rieke and his two grandchildren, and products representing other present-day local businesses. Customers frequently pose for photos with the finished mural and mention it daily to store employees.

“I think it gives back to the community,” Rieke says. “People really like it. They really appreciate the time, energy and money we put into it.”

PRODUCTS

New Use for Old Tools

L.A. True Value Hardware in Kansas City, Kansas, had the opportunity to sell buckets of tools that a towing company had recovered from abandoned vehicles. Store staff set up tables of assorted used hand tools as an experiment to see how customers would respond. Shoppers bought so many of the pre-owned tools that store manager Shelly Eickhoff wants to make used tool sales a tradition at busy times of year, such as during Memorial Day and Labor Day holiday weekends.

Stepping Up to Help

Stine Home & Yard, which has 11 locations in Louisiana and Mississippi, recently contributed $20,000 in building materials to three organizations working to assist disadvantaged homeowners who need help repairing their homes following hurricanes in Louisiana.

The company also donated $10,000 to a nonprofit group that helps families pay for rent, utility bills, rebuilding after natural disasters and other unexpected expenses.

“We understand the great need in our area following the hurricanes, coupled with the pandemic, and we want to do our part to help,” says company CEO Dennis Stine.

MERCHANDISING

Pretty and Practical

Industry Events

SEPTEMBER

LAST WORD OPERATIONS

Leadership Examples

Learn from three retailers who have grown into strong leaders for their operations in the article on Page 22

The Value of

Good Leadership

EMPLOYEE TEAMS and companies thrive under good leadership, but what qualities make a good leader? And what are the costs when a company doesn’t have strong leaders?

Good leadership can reduce employee turnover, strengthen work teams and help companies grow. A positive, productive company culture is a result of the people in leadership, according to an article from the Harvard Business Review. Unhappy employees are also a reflection of an operation’s leaders.

Characteristics of Strong Leaders

More than half of employees quit jobs because of problems with management and even more workers say they don’t trust their bosses, the article says. Fortunately, leadership skills can be nurtured and grown for the good of whole organizations. In fact, the article says good coaching can help people grow their competence as leaders by up to 30 percent. Pursue opportunities to improve as a leader. Just learning how to better show empathy will go a long way toward improving your company culture.

More than 50% of employees quit jobs because of their managers

82% of workers distrust their bosses 70% of employees are disengaged at work

Source: Harvard Business Review, Sept. 21, 2016

Employee training helps grow your bottom line. It also leads to better customer service, lower staff turnover and more confident and productive employees. NHPA makes it easy to get started with a step-by-step guide and access to more than 40 courses, including product knowledge and selling skills. Sign up for a Premier Membership today.

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