Ace 2024 Fall Convention Brings Together the Past, Present and Future

In celebration of 100 years of helpful service under its belt, Ace Hardware pulled out all the stops for its Fall 2024 Convention held in the company’s hometown of Chicago. Over three days, Ace retailers, vendors and industry players came together to honor the past, celebrate the present and highlight the future of the company. 

During the opening general session, actors and musicians took the audience on a journey through the decades that Ace has been in business. Also sharing the stage were iconic American performance art company Blue Man Group and James Cornelison, ceremonial singer for the Indianapolis 500 and Chicago sports teams.

Former Ace CEOs Ray Griffith, David Hodnik and Roger Peterson shared about their time at the helm of the company. Prominent Ace retailers also provided insights on what it means to them to be with Ace and how the company has impacted their own operations.

Tom Glen, president of Elder’s Ace Hardware with 32 locations in Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia, reiterated that the independent channel is stronger together. 

“We are better and stronger together, so it’s up to all of us to maintain the culture of helpfulness that has sustained Ace for so long,” Glen says. “A servant heart and a benevolent spirit are the enablers of a successful business.” 

Dana Snead Banyasz and Ben Banyasz from Snead’s Ace Home Center, which has four locations in Maryland, echoed the sentiment of being in the people business more than the hardware business. 

“It makes me proud to carry on this legacy,” Snead Banyaz says. “We want to continue to be intentional about the present so that we are better able to focus on the future for our kids, our employees, our customers and our community.”  

Bill Hagan, president of Hagan Ace Hardware with 11 locations in Florida, says his operation has remained essential, loyal and loving as a family business helping others. 

“That’s what is so special about Ace—it’s you, the Ace retailers,” Hagan says. “Helping is fundamental to all we do. It’s what we do day in and day out to secure a bright future for our stores and our families.” 

Wrapping up the opening celebration, Ace Hardware president and CEO John Venhuizen encouraged retailers to continue shining the light on the company’s bright future.

“If we’re going to have the Ace flame burn for 100 years, it will take everyone in this building,” Venhuizen says. “Our future is sure to be fraught with challenges and to keep the flame burning brilliantly, we will need your very best. We are not in the hardware business, we are in the business of serving others. You are the hope of the future of the hardware industry.”

What’s New

The show floor opened following the general session, welcoming retailers to explore the new experiential store format. Launched in the 13,000-square-foot Store on the Floor and representing a $1 billion commitment from Ace, ELEVATE³ Ace will roll out at new and existing stores over the next five years. 

ELEVATE³ Ace fits into Ace Hardware’s focus on paint, power, backyards and barbecue and home preservation by expanding dedicated floor space for those departments, says Dale Fennel, Ace Hardware vice president of merchandising operations. The new store format will emphasize those categories and brands that are fueling growth. Brand loyalty has driven growth in these four areas by 109% year over year.

“We also want to create a space where customers not only shop, but can connect with these brands, our red-vested heroes and their community,” Fennel says.

In the new layout, the front of the store will be dedicated to what Ace is calling “brand immersive showrooms,” which will bring together everything the customer will need in that department. 

“Whether it be the treatment on the fixtures, the flooring or the backdrops, everything is intended to make it real, as if the customer is shopping in a mini Weber store or mini DeWalt store,” Fennel says. “It’s an immersive shopping experience where the brand is the star.”

Retailers explored new products and vendors and were treated to deals and savings in the New & Now, Decade Deals and Centennial Kickers areas on the show floor. 

Jeff Rupp, owner of Wauseon Ace Hardware in Wauseon, Ohio, attended several of the Ace training sessions in the Retail Training Center. 

“We came looking for a few specific things, but overall appreciate the training, education and opportunities to network with fellow retailers,” Rupp says. “I like being able to share ideas and challenges with retailers who are in the same boat. It’s extremely helpful for our business.” 

The 2024 Fall Convention welcomed over 17,600 people. Other record-breaking numbers included over 7,000 Ace retailers attending, 4,000 Ace stores represented and 1,530 vendor booths. 

What’s Next

Sitting down with Hardware Retailing at the convention, Venhuizen shared how much this convention meant to the company and to Ace retailers. 

“This event honored our past, celebrated our present and looked to our future, and really accentuated what normally is created out of convention, which is the opportunity to get the whole team together,” he says. “The nostalgia of the startup resonates with our small family-run businesses, because they all have that great story of someone getting an idea and taking a risk.” 

Venhuizen says the launch of ELEVATE³ Ace at the convention reiterated how Ace is working to honor the last 100 years, but not stopping there and putting in place goals to be successful for another 100 years and more. Leadership at Ace Hardware will continue to help retailers experience growth and productivity in a distorted market by providing the tools and resources to help them to optimize their time so they are serving customers better and completing tasks more efficiently. 

“We want to be relevant for the next 100 years and fight for continued improvement with our determined march to stick with those areas that differentiate us,” Venhuizen says. “In spite of challenges of inflation and more, the great news is that we’ve held the growth from COVID-19 and plan to continue that growth.”

Venhuizen emphasized that the people who make up Ace, from the corporate offices to retail support center employees to Ace retailers around the world, are the bedrock of the company.

“The people at Ace are extraordinary, some of the hardest working, humble and salt of the earth people,” Venhuizen says. “Our people are humble, hungry and smart, and that is what will take us through the next 100 years.”