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Kate Klein

Kate is profiles editor for Hardware Retailing magazine. She reports on news and industry events and writes about retailers' unique contributions to the independent home improvement sector. She graduated from Cedarville University in her home state of Ohio, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English and minored in creative writing. She loves being an aunt, teaching writing to kids, running, reading, farm living and, as Walt Whitman says, traveling the open road, “healthy, free, the world before me.”

Discover What’s Truly Essential in Customer Service

Last month, Hardware Retailing explored how two retailers shifted their operations to keep customers and employees safe during the first months of COVID-19’s retail impact. From establishing new workflows to leaning into digital communication, Connolly’s Do it Best in Fort …

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Westlake Ace to Open 22nd Store in Kansas City

Westlake Ace Hardware

Westlake Ace Hardware has announced plans to open a new store in Kansas City’s historic Brookside neighborhood. Westlake Ace is leasing a 6,600-square-foot retail space for the store and will have a soft opening in late 2020 or early 2021. …

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Hardware Wish Lists

Hardware Wish List

Steadman’s Ace Hardware in Miles City, Montana, is a community resource for a variety of reasons, one of which isn’t common for an independent home improvement store.  The store is a destination for couples who are getting married to register …

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How the Pandemic Is Spurring Home Paint Projects

paint applicators

Julie Elrod, business manager for paint at Ace Hardware Corp., took questions from Hardware Retailing about recent research the co-op released. Ace commissioned the survey of 1,300 Americans to see how COVID-19 has impacted consumer interest in paint projects. Hardware Retailing (HR): …

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Retailers’ Customer Service Evolves in a COVID-19 World

Costello's Ace Hardware van

Independent home improvement retailers have stepped up to meet the challenges of serving customers during a pandemic. Many shoppers have avoided in-store shopping, while others have swarmed to stores to stock up on everything from hand sanitizer to bags of …

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Home Ace Hardware’s Growth Story

Home Ace Hardware

Gary Johnson of Home Ace Hardware sees many reasons why his business has thrived over the past 34 years and continues to grow in Columbus, Georgia. Those reasons include working closely with customers to understand their wants and needs, retaining …

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How Stay-at-Home Orders Influence Home Projects

House Projects

People who aren’t homebodies have become homebound in recent months, and data shows that an increase in house projects is one of the results of social isolation during the pandemic. Retailers in the home improvement industry have met the varying …

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