Ace Talks Growth at Fall Convention

Retailers and vendors gathered Tuesday at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando for Ace’s Fall Convention and Exhibits.

From the co-op’s executives at the general session on Tuesday morning to the retailers shopping the show floor, the message was consistent: investing is key to continue growth in today’s market.

Even as Ace reported strong second-quarter results—its same-store retail sales were up 5.3 percent for the quarter—Ace President and CEO John Venhuizen stressed the importance of change and growth in a changing industry.

“We lack the luxury to stand still,” he said during the convention’s general session. “We have an opportunity and an obligation to move this great company forward, which is why we’re investing in both retail and wholesale to do just that.”

To that end, he said Ace will continue to invest in national and local advertising initiatives as well as increased retail training, enriching assortments through category resets and adding new technology to spur supply chain growth.

The company also plans to invest more in rebranding its paint category with the Valspar and Clark + Kensington lines in a “Paint Studio” concept while also continuing to reach out to pro customers with a new pro-focused website, thesupplyplace.com, set to launch in the first quarter of 2014.

In response to consumers’ changing shopping habits, Ace also introduced a new retail pricing model, set to launch later this year. As part of the new initiative, Ace created 75 retail zones across the U.S., which are designed to better align with competitors in each market, said Tom Knox, Ace’s vice president – retail development, retail training and supply.

“Technology is enabling the consumer to be more informed, and consumers are more connected to each other; at the same time our competition is changing,” he said. “A national, across-the-board price won’t cut it anymore.”

On the 600,000-square-foot show floor, retailers were also looking to invest in their operations by looking into category resets in builders hardware and electrical in addition to shopping the more than 1,200 vendors on display.

George Muersch, owner of Will-Cook Ace Hardware in Homer Glen, Ill., said he planned to spend a lot of time in the market’s outdoor living section.

“We noticed even in the bad economy, many consumers are not backing down on personal pleasures. Overall business has not slowed down in my store because of this category,” he said, also pointing to the larger trend in housing declines in his area, which in turn caused his contractor sales to decrease.

Brad Christianson Sr., president of Yakima Ace Hardware, with three stores in and near Yakima, Wash., said even through the recession his sales have also remained constant because he broadened his assortments; his store’s biggest categories include paint, cleaning and lawn and garden. He was at the market to look at builders’ hardware and lawn & garden, he said.

“You have to be progressive and proactive to keep up with today’s market,” he said. “I like where Ace is headed with the Paint Studio. We’ve placed our order for the reset and should be set in November.”

The convention runs through Sept. 12.