Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
From increased tariffs leading to increased prices to ongoing uncertainty in the job market, retailers have already faced a number of obstacles just a few months into the new year. Growing a business is challenging, and becomes even more of a struggle in a unpredictable environment.
Despite the bumps, three retailers who found ways to create growth in their operations shared their insights with attendees of the 2024 Independent Home Improvement Conference.
If you find these tips helpful, you won’t want to miss the 2025 Independent Home Improvement Conference, which will feature breakout sessions covering topics from technology to employee engagement to marketing.
North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA): What are some initiatives you are focusing on to create growth?
Jeff Grasty, president and co-owner of Florida Paints (JG): As our business started slowing down and normalizing, we realized we had to become a different company. We have always been a B2B company and realized we had to remove some of the roadblocks we faced as a company. Despite our size, a lot of people have never heard of us, so we have significantly invested in our marketing department. We are going to start doing some advertising and we’ve hired a public relations company again. We’re focused on trying to make sure we have enough margin in the business to grow it, as opposed to everybody running the red lines. Now that we’re settling down after the pandemic, we are adding some key positions to be able to give us the breathing room to think about how to move forward and be more proactive.
Dave Ables, owner of Three Sons Hardware and Tri-County Lumber (DA): Neither one of the two businesses—the lumberyard or the hardware store—was utilizing any marketing at all, so we’ve started a marketing campaign with the process of rebuilding websites. We have a beautiful showroom that has everything you could ever want to build an entire home or complex, but in the first few months I was in the business, I didn’t see a lot of traffic. I thought that if I went directly to the consumer, I could bring leads in and feed them out to my contractor base, and ultimately I get the end result, which is to sell material. We put billboards up all over and we partnered with our vendors on a revenue share for the cost of the billboards, so it’s done well. We have also advertised on digital boards in restaurants and bars, which has worked really well.
NHPA: How does company culture feed into growth?
Josiah Gates, COO at The Aubuchon Company (JoG): Our mission is to grow leaders and culture and to build the strongest group of hardware stores in America. Our purpose is to make a difference by serving others, and in order to do all this, we need a very strong team. Our growth strategy allows us to invest in people and build out a strong team to achieve our strategic goals. We’re focused more around culture that falls under three pillars: our growth strategy around acquisitions and new stores, investing in the core, and culture and leadership. Our strong focus on building out the culture and leadership in the company will help us achieve our long-term strategic goals.
JG: When we were first starting out, we had our first three stores, and then all of a sudden, acquired another company and another manufacturing plant. For about two to three years, it was pretty crazy, so we asked some of the leaders we knew in the community how they managed growth. We also brought in an outside consultant. We came up with what we call our FORCE. We’re a faith-based company, so FORCE stands for faith, ownership, respect, communication and excellence, and we incorporate that in everything we do. No matter what you’re doing in the business, if you refer back to our core values, they center everybody around what needs to be done. That’s been critical for us and has guided everything.
HR: What advice would you give to retailers today who are unsure about how to grow their business?
JoG: No. 1, invest in your store. No. 2, look for categories to drive additional sales by listening to your neighbors as they come through the door. Retailers need to focus on digital if they are not focusing on digital because digital is something we all need to be embracing to drive additional sales and operational excellence.
We need to get out from behind the plexiglass and exemplify the independent customer service standards we all love. And lastly, invest in your team through leadership and culture. Strong leaders will drive success in your stores.
JG: I think over the last three or four years, we all became very reactive because we had to be. As we move forward, we are encouraging our people to be more proactive in bringing in sales and trying to think ahead, rather than just sitting and waiting for things to come back.
Secondly, I and a lot of our team are constantly talking to people in other industries, not just the paint industry. It’s really been very helpful to us to talk to people in completely different industries and find out how they deal with areas like employees, sales, advertising or any of those areas. You just get a whole new perspective.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Have the ability to say, “I don’t know what I’m doing,” or “I’d really love some advice on this.” There’s always somebody that has another idea, something better, that can apply to your business.
DA: First, I think you need to determine what growth is for you. Then, always be a student and always be gathering ideas to implement in your operation. Listen to your customers and understand what your employees are looking for. Don’t be afraid to address your weaknesses. Be confident in your business model, but be willing to change if you need to. Lean into others in the industry and outside your industry peer group. We’re all in this together.
