Retail sales during the 2024 holiday season grew 4% from 2023 to $994.1 billion, an unexpectedly high increase, says the National Retail Foundation (NRF). This number surpassed NRF’s forecast for 2024, which was that 2024 holiday sales would increase between …
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This year, Ace Hardware joins in the age-old tradition of Groundhog Day with the introduction of Ace YardRx, a new subscription service offering personalized yard care for homeowners across the country. Ace will then hold the title of “Official Yard Care …
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Once again, Ace Hardware has ranked No. 5 on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500® list. The franchise also ranked No. 1 on the ‘Miscellaneous Retail Business’ category list for the fourth year in a row. In 2024, Ace Hardware surpassed its …
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Ace Retail Holdings, the parent company of Westlake Ace Hardware, Great Lakes Ace Hardware and other retail hardware brands, announced three key promotions. John Mitter, former vice president of finance for Great Lakes Ace Hardware, has been promoted to …
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A tentative labor agreement has recently halted a potential strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, but major container ports in the U.S. have already seen a surge in imports. According to the Global Port Tracker report from the …
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According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), residential construction employment is now at 3.4 million, with 961,000 builders and 2.4 million residential speciality trade contractors. In December 2024, construction workers saw a 5.5% unemployment rate. This is slightly …
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Westlake Ace Hardware recently announced its acquisition of Augusta Ace Home Center in Augusta, Kansas. The acquisition will occur on March 17. Augusta Ace Home Center is currently owned by Pat and Diane Herian, who have owned the store for …
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The Garden Center State of the Industry Report documents the health of the independent garden center industry, tracking trends and economic activity. According to Garden Center’s 2024 report, the industry’s growth is slowing after the COVID sales boom and garden centers …
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