An NRHA staffer got to catch up with some association friends recently in Houston. Assistant editor Kate Klein traveled from Indianapolis to Houston with a full itinerary. In addition to covering a market while in the Lone Star State, Klein had the …

Recruiting high-quality employees becomes an expensive and frustrating process if you can’t retain the workers, but studies show that a problem with retention isn’t necessarily the new hires—it’s employers’ failures at onboarding. The following observations come from Entrepreneur magazine: Employers …

This list of resources provides an overview of online and in-person leadership training programs available to home improvement retailers. This overview is not comprehensive, but is a starting point to help you understand the options available, both inside and outside …

Identifying and training leaders is a vital part of an organization’s success. To learn how other retail operations have recognized leadership potential, Hardware Retailing spoke with multiple retailers in its February 2016 issue. To provide suggestions for ways you as independent home …

Jeff Fuller of Fuller & Son Hardware in Little Rock enjoys taking black iron pipes, fittings, lamp sockets and wires and creating pieces of functional art. He adds Edison-style light bulbs, and sells the unusual lamps to everyone from artsy …

Big box retailers and distributors serving independent businesses are moving away from selling chemicals that may harm honey bees–and McGuckin Hardware in Colorado is working to be a leader in the effort. The chemicals are called neonicotinoids, and are pesticides that kill …

Lowe’s is dropping a business partnership that has opened more than 60 Australian home improvement stores since 2011. The retailer’s partner, Australian company Woolworths Limited, manages businesses in the supermarket, liquor and hospitality sectors, in addition to Masters Home Improvement. The company has called …

Retailers who were accustomed to attending the Handy Hardware buying shows in Texas got a formal introduction to the company’s new identity this week. Handy Hardware, which was a regional distributor until recently, has been renamed World and Main Houston, becoming part …