In-store price matching from ads is now a thing of the past for Walmart shoppers. Historically, customers of the retail giant could present a competitors’ printed ad that displayed a lower price at checkout in order to get a discount. On …
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Lumber Liquidators Won’t Sell Chinese Flooring, Continues Tests
Flooring discounter Lumber Liquidators won’t be selling Chinese-made laminate anymore, and has agreed to continue an air-quality testing program for consumers. Federal agencies, including the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, had been investigating the Toano, Virginia, company since early 2015, when the retailer …
Read More »Home Depot Sues Credit Card Companies Over Chips
Banks continue rolling out new microchip-embedded debit and credit cards, which are supposed to be more secure against fraud than cards that are authenticated with signatures only. But Home Depot, in a recently filed lawsuit, says Visa and MasterCard aren’t making transactions as secure as …
Read More »Retailers Seek Opportunities at United Hardware Market
Retailers hit the floor of the 2016 United Hardware June Buying Market, held June 17-19 at the Minneapolis Convention Center, looking for promotional items, new categories and a strong start to the second half of the year. “With the arrival …
Read More »The Dos and Don’ts of Sharing Political Opinions
No matter what business owners believe about political candidates or causes, they must consider how expressing those opinions–through signage at their stores or in other ways–may impact customers and potential customers. Even the most loyal customers may react strongly to a …
Read More »Hardware Store Unites Businesses After Orlando Shooting
On June 12, Walter Toole woke up early for work, unaware that a gunman had gone on a shooting rampage a few blocks from a hardware store Toole owns in Orlando, Florida. “My wife Patty woke me up and told me there …
Read More »Founder of 25-Store Ace Chain Dies at Age 76
Vincent J. “Vinnie” Costello, founder of Costello’s Ace Hardware in New York, died this month at age 76. Costello worked full time for the 25-store chain until earlier this year, and officially retired as CEO in May. He died June 4. “He loved to work. …
Read More »Ace Hardware Makes Changes to Board of Directors
Ace Hardware Corp. recently announced changes to its board of directors. This month, co-op stockholders elected one new board member and re-elected two others. The new board member is Kristin Grunder, president and co-owner of Rome Ace Hardware, a single Ace store …
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