Click the picture to download a PDF of this story. By Todd Taber ttaber@nrha.org, Kate Klein kklein@nrha.org, and Renee Changnon rchangnon@nrha.org. Independent home improvement retailers have, literally and figuratively, helped build America, and at least one existing operation predates the …
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Legislative Report: Banking Reform and Tariff Updates
Click the picture to download a PDF of this story. To keep retailers more informed about the legislative issues that may impact their businesses, Hardware Retailing will be providing regular updates in future issues and online. For nearly a decade, banking regulation …
Read More »Home Organization Is a Growing Category
Click the picture to download a PDF of this story. By Kate Klein, kklein@nrha.org Home organization products compose a growing category, and DIYers are the most frequent buyers of the cabinets, benches and other storage items they need to put their houses …
Read More »Home Depot Invests in Property Maintenance Company Homee
Home Depot has partnered with a growth equity firm to invest $11 million in Homee, an on-demand property maintenance company, the Tampa Business Journal reports. Homee, based in Tampa, Florida, launched in July 2016 and “uses GPS-enabled smartphone technology to link …
Read More »Woods Hardware Wins $100K for Business Improvement Project
Click the picture to download a PDF of this story. By Renee Changnon, rchangnon@nrha.org A Winning Idea Matt Woods, president and CEO of his family business Woods Hardware in Cincinnati, had an exciting idea for improving his operation. However, like many retailers, money …
Read More »Are Big-Box Stores Shrinking?
For many big-box retailers, bigger floor plans are no longer synonymous with being better. In fact, many traditional big-box stores are shrinking their footprints in order to better compete for the attention of today’s consumer. Target, for example, has begun …
Read More »Iowa Couple Follows Dreams and Reopens Akron Lumber Company
Taking a leap of faith can be a big risk, but when you’re chasing your dreams, it’s worth it, say Joe and Leah Van Walbeek. The couple reopened Akron Lumber Co. in Akron, Iowa, this past May. Over the weekend, …
Read More »Combined Kmart-Sears Store Is a New Venture for Sears Holdings
Sears Holdings is experimenting with a Kmart and Sears combination store, even as it closes dozens of individually branded stores throughout the U.S. The company recently opened a Kmart store inside of a Brooklyn, New York, Sears location, according to …
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