Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Representing all wholesalers and distributors and coming from all across North America, attendees of the 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference (IHI Conference) left with new ideas, renewed connections and a reinvigorated spirit to strengthen their operations.
Hosted by the North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) and The Hardware Conference, the IHI Conference took place at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes and delivered practical education, meaningful networking and fresh perspectives on the issues shaping independent home improvement retail. Read the full Day 1 and Day 2 recaps.
Jammie Joseph traveled to his first IHI Conference looking for the future. Joseph is general manager of Paradise Lumber & Hardware on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Locally owned and serving the island community for more than 25 years, the business operates a hardware store and lumberyard while also supplying contractors, homeowners and neighboring Caribbean islands through its export operation.
With a retail career that has taken him from Walmart and Lowe’s to management positions in The Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Joseph says the IHI Conference offers something he couldn’t get anywhere else: direct conversations with peers facing many of the same operational challenges. For Joseph, the opportunity to exchange ideas about technology, best practices and retail operations made his first IHI experience one he’ll build on in the years ahead.
“My whole purpose really coming here was to learn more about AI and how I can integrate that into the store,” he says. “The networking’s been great.”
For the team at AL&M Building Supplies, their first IHI Conference has delivered exactly what they hoped: practical ideas they can put to work back home. Co-owner Alison Korell says AL&M Building Supplies has served the communities of Sealy and Columbus, Texas, since 1891, and views itself as a partner to its customers throughout every project. Attending the IHI Conference for the first time, Korell and AL&M regional operations manager Edith Almeida say the conference has already provided valuable insights.
“This panel on using AI in home improvement retailing was eye-opening for me,” Korell says. “It pointed out to me so many areas where I could improve—and improve quickly and easily.”
Almeida sees value in collecting ideas that can grow over time.
“We can extract little pieces of what we could take home and apply,” she says. “It could be baby steps to something even bigger.”
For Korell, another highlight has been reconnecting with industry peers and learning from conversations between sessions.
“It’s just outstanding for me,” she says. “To be able to come to IHI and see friends and colleagues and catch up and learn is excellent.”
Making Meaningful Connections
During two dedicated networking periods, IHI Conference attendees explored the Partner Pavilion, discovering new products, innovative technologies and solutions from industry vendors and service providers. The exhibit hall buzzed with conversation as retailers exchanged ideas, viewed product demonstrations and strengthened connections with suppliers and industry peers.
Questions about upcoming efficiency standards and regulatory changes dominated conversations at the A.O. Smith and Reliance Water Heaters booth, according to retail sales manager Fon Wixon. While many of the changes won’t take effect until 2029, Wixon says retailers are already hearing about them and want to understand what they mean for inventory, customers and future product offerings. For Wixon, the IHI Conference provides an opportunity to hear directly from dealers, learn what information they’re missing and help them begin preparing well before the new requirements arrive.
“There’s a lot of change in our industry,” Wixon says. “They’re hearing about it. They want some of that new information because there are a lot of changes in efficiencies and government regulations that are changing.”
For Harley Schreiber, regional manager with Hy-Ko and Midwest Fastener Corp., one of the biggest advantages of the Partner Pavilion is the opportunity to have the kinds of conversations that you can’t have at busy trade shows. Schreiber says retailers have spent much of the event asking about changes in the marketplace, including product availability and what’s currently in stock. Just as valuable, he says, is having the time to discuss those questions face to face.
“You don’t get a chance to spend face-to-face time at the bigger shows with these people,” Schreiber says. “It’s a lot more intimate setting.”
Loss prevention dominated the conversations at the Watcher Total Protection booth during Partner Pavilion, according to president Nathan Looman and vice president Laura Freeman. Freeman says retailers continue to express growing concern over theft and are looking for practical solutions as shoplifting and organized retail crime remain persistent challenges.
For Watcher, the IHI Conference has consistently been about building relationships. Now attending its third IHI Conference, the company says the event has helped connect it with retailers who later became customers. Looman also notes that IHI’s technology focus makes it a natural fit for companies introducing technology-driven solutions to independent retailers.
Learning From the Industry’s Leaders
Attendees gained practical knowledge, discovered industry trends and gleaned leadership insights from the IHI Conference’s breakout sessions covering four tracks: employee engagement; retail operations and technology; marketing, merchandising and management; executive leadership.
In the session “Operational Agility: Building Retail Operations for an Ever-Changing Market,” NHPA’s president Scott Wright led a panel discussion with Black Mountain Consulting principal Bob Levitan and LJB Advisors founder Jeremy Melnick. The trio explored the foundational elements of modern retail operations and how independent businesses can design systems that adapt to change rather than react to it.
“I know it’s going to sound odd, but I would focus on the financial statements and make sure you’re liquid,” Melnick says. “Once you have your equity found, then you focus on getting your inventory set and focus on your customer service. It’s the basic fundamentals.”
Bloom Retail founder Mike Aylen shared two sessions on margin management and the ways retailers can gain margin in all different areas of their operations.
Timely Topics to Take Home
After lunch each day, attendees converged to the main stage for the general session. NHPA COO Dan Tratensek took a comprehensive look at the current state of the independent home improvement channel, highlighting key trends, challenges and opportunities shaping the industry.
During the session, Helmets to Home Improvement Panel: From Hero to Hardware, NHPA editor and director of content development Lindsey Thompson brought together three Helmets to Home Improvement honorees: Outsider CEO Sam Mackey, Porters Building Centers COO Alex Porter and Cox Hardware & Lumber vice president and inventory manager Taylor Cox. They shared their stories of military service, the transition to the independent channel and how the military shaped their views on leadership.
“Imagine the perfect employee, somebody who knows how to be on time, is respectful, is mission-focused and with the tools and training will be able to accomplish almost anything given—that’s a military veteran, you know,” Cox says. “They’re just great employees.”
Moderated by NHPA president Scott Wright, the session Aligning Strategy, Structure and Opportunity for Growth explored how independent home improvement retailers can position themselves for sustainable growth by aligning business strategy, organizational structure and emerging market opportunities. Panelists included Matt Nichols, VP of branch operations and retail sales for Koopman Lumber, and Jared Brown, director of business intelligence for Aubuchon Hardware.
Opening up the Day 2 general session, Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) executive director Dave King presented Recalibration, Not Retreat: Unpacking Macroeconomics’ Impact on the Independent Channel. He outlined the current state of the home improvement industry and shed light on where the industry is headed and how economic factors are impacting the independent channel.
Bringing together honorees from each of the Independents Awards Gala awards programs, the Raising the Bar in Retail panel shared the stories of success. The panel featured The Helpful Hardware Company CEO David Enmark, Tweedy Hardware & Lumber business manager Shannon Davis Morrow, Beaufort Hardware & Paint Company owner Tommy Simpson and Whittier Paint Co. general manager Sean Downey.
“It’s going to take younger people making careers out of home improvement for this industry to succeed. Whatever we have to do to show that this is a good livelihood, that there’s no limit to how high you can go,” Simpson says. “It’s all there right in front of them. And thankfully the future for all of us is bright because there’s a lot of kids coming out of college who see this industry as a career.”
Wrapping up the main stage sessions, the panel Shaping the Future of Independent Retail mapped out how two retailers are leaning into e-commerce and experiential retail to differentiate, adapt and scale in a competitive landscape. Bogucki Enterprises COO Anthony Bogucki, shared best practices for making e-commerce successful, and Sullivan’s Hardware owner Pat Sullivan dove into how store experiences bring in customers and create a work environment that draws employees.
“When I took over the store from my father, I wanted the store to be more than just a convenience hardware store,” Sullivan says. “I wanted and still want people to be excited about coming to our store.”
Industry Awards Gala
Bringing together three of the industry’s biggest awards—NHPA’s Tops Guns Awards and Young Retailer of the Year Awards and the Hardware Connection’s Beacon Awards—the Independents Awards Gala celebrated the best of the best in the industry.
Read more about each awards program and the honorees here.
“Every time one retailer, one partner or one leader raises the bar, our entire industry becomes stronger because of it. The Independent Awards Gala was our opportunity to pause, recognize those achievements and simply say thank you,” says NHPA director of education and training and gala co-host Cody Goeppner. “We celebrated outstanding retailers through the Top Gun Awards, recognized exceptional retailers and their partners through the Beacon Awards and concluded by celebrating the future of our industry through the Young Retailer of the Year Awards.”
