News

Ellen E. Hackney, former editor and director of communications for the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA), died Oct. 7 in her hometown of Indianapolis. She was 79. After receiving her degree from Indiana University, Hackney joined NRHA, which at the …

Home Depot and other retailers are altering their marketing campaigns, product design and consumer outreach programs to better target 26-year-olds, currently the largest age group in the U.S., reports The Washington Post. The cohort numbers around 4.8 million people and …

Menards founder John Menard Jr. is the wealthiest person in the state of Wisconsin, according to the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal. The newspaper reports that Menard’s net worth is $9.9 billion according to Forbes’ list of the 400 richest people in America. Eau Claire, Wisconsin, …

Wallace Hardware Inc., the wholesale distributor based in Morristown, Tennessee, celebrated 95 years of serving independent retailers at its recent fall market, held Oct. 11-13 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. To celebrate its long history and its commitment to American retailers, …

The 2017 Do it Best Fall Market kicked off Friday, Oct. 13 in Indianapolis with a refreshed focus on lumber and building materials and a program to help retailers be successful in the expanding smart home market. The Fort Wayne, Indiana-based co-op …

Cottin’s Hardware & Rental in Lawrence, Kansas, starts the fall season off each year with a scarecrow building contest to raise money for local schools. Several years ago, a customer approached store owner Linda Cottin with the idea. “Our customer …

John Venhuizen, Ace Hardware president and CEO, recently took questions from Hardware Retailing about the co-op’s purchase of The Grommet, an e-commerce startup company. Ace announced the purchase Oct. 3. Hardware Retailing (HR): Why did Ace purchase a majority stake in The Grommet?  John Venhuizen (JV): There …

Sears Canada Inc. will liquidate its assets and begin to “wind down” after its board rejected a business plan proposed by the company’s top executive, The Wall Street Journal reports. The board’s decision to liquidate most of the Canadian retailer’s …