Operations

In January, U.S. inflation started high and has bounced up and down throughout the year. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1% in July. By October, the inflation rate dropped to 7.7%, …

While on the surface they may not go together like peanut butter and jelly or rock and roll, some business partnerships just work. From food to flowers, Hardware Retailing found four retail operations with unusual business combinations that have paid …

In the December edition of Checkouts, retailers shared how they bring holiday joy to their customers and communities. Here, we share several more examples of the different ways retailers are making the holidays bright. Happy Helpers Decorate Hardware Store Lee …

Merchandising can be an overwhelming concept to tackle with one store and becomes even more complicated across multiple locations. Setting standards and accomplishing consistency throughout your business builds your brand, allowing customers to more easily recognize it, appreciate its strengths …

In light of inflation woes and continued supply chain issues, the National Retail Federation predicts holiday retail sales during November and December will grow 6% to 8% from 2021. That amount of growth would put sales between $942.6 billion and …

On the very first day of training camp in July 1961, Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi started practice by holding up a football and telling his players, “Gentlemen, this is a football!” He wasn’t insulting their intelligence as …

With rising mortgage rates approaching 7% and high construction costs, new home sales dropped by double digits in September. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported that sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 10.9% in September, according to …

In spite of other economic uncertainties, the housing market has stayed competitive. In this hot market, learning what types of houses are being purchased, who is buying them and their motivation for purchasing allows retailers to target new customers and …