April 2, 2018
One need not read or watch too much of the news to understand thechallenges that exist at retail. And to be certain, it was a challenging year for most brick-and-mortar retailers with an estimated 6,700 store closings in the U.S. alone. But against that dismal backdrop stands the humbled swagger of the local underdog – the Ace retailer. While much of the retail world was whacked in the head with declining transactions, employee terminations and store closings, you extended four streaks that I find to be both impressive and critical to our future. Ace retailers have now enjoyed:
• Five years in a row of increased customer traffic
• Six years in a row of net new store growth
• Eight years in a row of increased same-store sales and same-store gross profit
• Eleven years being ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores” by J.D. Power*
• Record third quarter revenues of $1.4 billion, an increase of 6.3 percent from last year • U.S. same-store-sales up 1.8 percent during the quarter • Third quarter net income…
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94-year-old chain stresses mom-and-pop traditions
“We are proud to be recognized by Franchise Times as a top franchise for the fourth year in a row,” said John Tovar, Vice President Operations and New Business for…
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McGuckin Hardware is ending its 30-year partnership with the True Value co-op as of Dec. 31, 2016, and will start buying from the Ace Hardware co-op as of Jan. 1,…
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How optimistic are 765 Ace Hardware retailers surveyed in the recent biennial Retailer Satisfaction Survey? Almost 90% say they “intend to grow and expand operations in the near term,” the…
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Brooklyn, New York-based retailer Matt Mazzone’s idea to sell chocolate for charity has been a huge hit. It started out local, and sweetened into a national program whereby Ace stores…
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