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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.”

Prioritize Style and Function in Plumbing

Kitchen and bath updates were some of the most popular home remodeling projects in 2016—a trend that can only be good for your business if your operation excels in plumbing. Online home improvement community Houzz surveyed more than 100,000 homeowners …

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Lowe’s to Buy Texas Distributor for $512M

chemicals

Lowe’s Companies Inc. announced May 18 that it is buying a Texas distributor in an effort to grow its pro business. The distribution company is Maintenance Supply Headquarters, a supplier of maintenance, repair and operations products for businesses in the multifamily housing industry, according …

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Ace’s New Wholesale Chief Talks Mergers, Expansion, ‘Growing Pains’

Ace Hardware

Mark Spanswick, the new president and general manager of Ace Wholesale Holdings, spoke with Hardware Retailing about his nearly three-decade career with Grainger Industrial Supply and his current work of combining Ace Hardware’s wholesale business acquisitions into one growing company. Grainger is a publicly traded, business-to-business supplier. Spanswick …

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CEO: ‘Reality Is a Lot Better Than the Perception’ for Sears

Berkowitz

Sears’ top executive, Edward Lampert, told the Chicago Tribune that public perception is putting his company at a disadvantage when recovering from the financial challenges that have plagued it. “Clearly we have our challenges,” Lampert says in the Chicago Tribune article. “Every time people use the …

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Products and Prize Highlighted at National Hardware Show®

National Hardware Show

National Hardware Show® attendees were flocking to find new products, hear from educational speakers and network with other members of the industry. “I enjoy seeing all the new products,” says independent home improvement retailer Tim Buchheit. He has been attending the show …

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Idaho Retailer Wins $100K for Business Improvements

Reimagine Retail

One independent home improvement retailer is leaving the National Hardware Show® this week with money lined up to reimagine his business. That winning retailer is Robert Lau and his business is Caribou Jack’s Trading Co. of Soda Springs, Idaho. Caribou Jack’s will get $100,000 in prize money to …

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