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Ace Hardware Corp. announced Tuesday that it has purchased the majority stake in e-commerce startup The Grommet. The Grommet operates an e-commerce website that markets and sells new and innovative products created by independent entrepreneurs, also known as makers, according to Ace. The Grommet has …

Ace Hardware Corp. hosted its first Maker to Market™ Day, an event created to allow entrepreneurs and inventors to pitch product ideas that could end up for sale in co-op stores. Ace employees who make purchasing decisions for more than 5,000 …

Click the picture to download a PDF of this story. By Melanie Moul mmoul@nrha.org 10th Street and Beyond As someone who only recently became a part of the independent home improvement industry, Steve DeShong had heard a lot of stories …

As retailers begin planning ahead for their busy spring selling season, those attending the True Value Fall Reunion were also encouraged to think in the moment. The buying show, which the co-op hosted in Chicago at McCormick Place, ran Sept. …

U.S. consumer confidence rose in the second quarter of 2017, showing a nearly 25 percent increase over year-to-year 2016 levels. Prices of existing home sales also continued to climb, buoyed by a June 2017 peak.  The Consumer Confidence Index rose …

When a local police officer died on duty, Mike Kokesh, a fellow police officer and co-owner of Long Lake True Value in Long Lake, Minnesota, and his co-owner Mark Schaefer, a local firefighter, wanted to honor their fallen friend. On Friday, Sept. …

Hardware Distribution Warehouses, Inc. (HDW) saw record attendance and sales during its recent fall market. Retailers, vendors and staff composed the group of more than 1,000 people who attended the event, which was Sept. 8-10 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Tim Teague of Meadors Lumber in Alma, Arkansas, commented …

Data from the 2017 Cost of Doing Business Study shows that at a typical independent home improvement store, the average customer spends $22 per transaction. At a high-profit store, that number jumps to $30 per sale. When was the last time …