C. Jay Buikema, longtime owner and CEO of Buikema’s Ace Hardware stores in Illinois, died Dec. 5 at 78, according to the Chicago Tribune. Buikema was known in Naperville and Wheaton, Illinois, communities as a leader, defining “what it means …

The 2017 holiday shopping season kicked off over Thanksgiving weekend, with retailers seeing a large boost in consumer traffic. More than 174 million Americans shopped in brick-and-mortar stores and online, beating the original estimate of 164 million shoppers, according to …

Bill Lee, the North American Retail Hardware Association’s (NRHA) president and CEO, has devoted his career to helping independent retailers, regardless of wholesale affiliation, become better, more profitable business owners. As he retires this December, Hardware Retailing wanted to hear …

Earlier this fall, Independent We Stand, a movement that exists to support independent businesses, kicked off its contest to help recognize locally owned small businesses that have gone above and beyond to deliver great customer service and community support. After …

As consumers become more tech savvy and connected than ever before, retailers like Lowe’s are offering smart home products to meet evolving consumer needs. To help integrate these products and connected systems into customers’ everyday lives, Lowe’s has launched a store-within-a-store smart home concept inside …

Home Depot is following in the footsteps of its big-box competitors like Walmart and Target to “disclose the chemicals in the products they sell and remove them whenever possible,” according to an article by Bloomberg. This news comes out of the company’s …

  In the past 15 to 20 years, consumer preferences have changed, as they look for environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional lawn and garden practices. Today’s consumer wants products to enhance their yard without contributing to pollution, killing off pollinators …

In the town of Plymouth, New Hampshire, locals have taken it upon themselves to help the bee population flourish. Not only do they collect honey, but the main goal is for the bees to stay strong and pollinate other plants as well. …