If you want a good strategy for growing your business, you should always be searching for new products. New products help differentiate your business from your competitors, they often offer high margins, they get your customers excited about shopping and …

By Jesse Carleton, jcarleton@nrha.org Back to School How can home improvement stores appeal to the next generation of shoppers? That was the topic of discussion at Everson’s Hardware Hank, in Waconia, Minnesota, on a Monday morning in February. Five students …

Aisle in Disorder The rows of gondola shelving spread throughout your salesfloor may not be as flashy as your endcaps or power aisle displays, but they do a lot of work. That’s where you put the rank-and-file products that make …

If you’re looking for some new ideas, hit the road. Visiting other retailers is a valuable way to get inspiration and a perspective of what others in the industry are doing. Everyone has something to contribute. Earlier this spring, Hardware …

Shortly after Keith and Marsha Crow purchased their store, Camp Wood Hardware and Lumber in Camp Wood, Texas, in 2012, they started a complete remodel. Their to-do list included updating assortments and cleaning up the interior—fairly typical for anyone remodeling …

Gourmet foods, local gifts, unique home goods, custom cabinets, firearms, live bait, microbrew beer, even frozen pizzas— there’s no shortage of variety alongside the core hardware categories at Solon Springs Mercantile. Owners Meg and Ken Thoreson have built up a …

Niche categories can add excitement to your business, and most retailers are always on the lookout for a new category to try. In the 2019 May issue of Hardware Retailing, three retailers offered their insights into how they’ve created successful …

Home improvement retailers who talk about their competition these days inevitably include Amazon on the list. Fortunately, there are many ways to compete against this formidable retailer. One of the tactics many retailers are now pursuing is by offering a …