Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Ace Hardware Corp. reported revenue and same-store sales growth for the third quarter of 2018.
The co-op’s quarterly revenues were $1.43 billion, an uptick of 6.3 percent from third-quarter 2017. The growth was the result of adding new stores, increasing retail sales and growing online sales revenue by 35 percent, according to the company.
A 1.8 percent increase in retail same-store sales was the result of a 3 percent increase in average transaction size, partially offset by a decrease in the number of transactions, according to the company.
The co-op’s net income was $36.3 million for the third quarter, a decrease of $17.5 million from the same period in 2017.
“We are not immune to the pain of the tight labor market,” says John Venhuizen, president and CEO. “Expanded product assortment, higher inventory and increased warehouse employee turnover drove expenses up and profits down for the quarter.”
Total wholesale revenues for the co-op were $1.34 billion, a year-over-year increase of 5 percent. Paint, electrical and holiday decor were the categories that stood out with the greatest growth, according to Ace Hardware.
Retail revenues from Ace Retail Holdings, which is the corporately owned Westlake Ace Hardware chain, were $79 million in the third quarter. The 20.6 percent year-over-year increase was the result of adding new retail stores, the company reports. Westlake Ace operated 122 stores at the end of the third quarter of 2018 compared to 108 stores at the end of the same period in 2017.
