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Ace Hardware reported total revenues of $1.2 billion for the second quarter, up 9.7 percent from the same period last year, which the co-op attributes to sales increases “in virtually every department” at both the wholesale and retail levels.
Same-store retail sales were up 5.3 percent for the quarter, are up 3.0 percent for the first half and continue to accelerate, Ace President and Chief Executive Officer John Venhuizen said. June same-store retail sales were up 6.1 percent and July was up 9.8 percent.
“At the halfway point, we are also optimistic about the remainder of the year as a result of our Ace retailers’ adoption and execution of 2020 Vision, our long-term growth strategy,” he said.
The second quarter results include a charge of $6.2 million related to the estimated costs to close the Toledo, Ohio Retail Support Center (RSC), while last year’s second quarter results included a charge of $19.9 million related to a loss on the early extinguishment of debt.
Ace added 34 new domestic stores and cancelled 19 domestic stores in the second quarter, bringing the company’s total domestic store count to 4,121 as of June 29.
