This year, national small business movement Independent We Stand (IWS) celebrates 10 years of supporting and advocating for small businesses. Since its beginning, the organization has focused on educating consumers on the vital economic role independent businesses play in communities …

Last spring, many people rediscovered the fun and sense of accomplishment that growing a home garden can provide. The impact of those hobby gardeners was significant. A September 2020 market forecast report from IHS Markit/Home Improvement Research Institute showed significant …

For nearly the last year, many of your consumers have been finding ways to relax, work, learn and play in their homes. With the end of winter on the horizon (pending an update from a certain groundhog), it’s time to …

Stine Lumber founder, Jackson William Stine, known to many as J.W., died at home surrounded by his family on Dec. 23, 2020 at the age of 102 in Sulphur, Louisiana. While World War I was still raging in Europe, Jackson …

A Q&A with Abbe Will about the housing market Abbe Will is a research associate and associate project director of the Remodeling Futures Program for the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Hardware Retailing spoke to Will about …

A Q&A with Holly Wade about the economy Holly Wade is the executive director of the NFIB Research Center, where she conducts original research and studies public policy effects on small businesses. She produces NFIB’s monthly Small Business Economic Trends …

The Canadian retail hardware industry has weathered similar conditions to its southern neighbors through much of 2020. But before the pandemic, sales by the industry overall were facing negative growth at the end of 2019 for the first time since …

Years from now, when our children and grandchildren are studying history, there will almost certainly be a chapter in their virtual textbooks that focuses on 2020. One might easily argue that 2020 will be remembered among the most influential years …