Curiosity is a powerful motivator. So, when Neil Schneider started putting rebus, or pictogram, puzzles in the front window of his store, J&M Hardware & Locksmiths in New York City, he hoped they would at least make customers curious enough …

A Q&A With NRHA’s Katie McHone-Jones One of the biggest events on the North American Retail Hardware Association’s (NRHA) calendar is the NRHA All-Industry Conference, held in conjunction with the National Hardware Show®. This year, the conference happens May 8-10 …

Kendall and Alexandra Crosby, owners of Kendall’s Ace Hardware in St. Paul, Minnesota, view their hardware store a little like a movie set. They want to engage their customers, but they also want to entertain them. “We’ve gotten a lot …

Maintaining your store’s merchandising is hard work. It requires constant attention to detail and usually a little creativity. From time to time in the pages of Hardware Retailing, we offer some of the best practices and tips for improving your …

Click the picture to download a PDF of this story. By Jesse Carleton, jcarleton@nrha.org Showtime for Endcaps Imagine for a moment that each of the various types of merchandising around your store have their own personalities. The regular runs of …

While we’ve all learned the best practices of merchandising at one time or another, it’s likely we let some of it slide when business gets busy. The start of a new year is a good time to reestablish those good …

There’s a colony of PVC people living in the windows of Main Street Ace Hardware. The store, in the heart of downtown Bowling Green, Ohio, has large windows that face the street. Staff use items commonly found around the hardware …

Just days after ringing in the new year, retailers hit the floor of the 2018 United Hardware January Buying Market, seeking new products and niche opportunities. United Hardware also used the market, held January 5-7 at the Minneapolis Convention Center, …