Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Built around coming together to share ideas, struggles, wins and more, the 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference (IHI Conference) will bring together the independent home improvement channel for collaboration, cultivation of ideas and fun under the Florida sun.
With the retail industry in a state of continual evolution and full of external challenges, retailers who continue investing in leadership, learning, relationships and strategic thinking during difficult periods are often the ones best positioned when the market stabilizes again. The 2026 IHI Conference will deliver not only the information retailers need to navigate these times but provide perspective, alignment and community and provide something different.
“In this time of disruption, how we react as leaders or how we like to move it often looks like isolating ourselves, and that can become dangerous for organizations, because in that isolation, you’re cutting yourself off from others who could be experiencing the same challenges you are,” says Cody Goeppner, NHPA director of education and training. “The IHI Conference is this natural platform. Often, the most valuable thing you can discover is what other people are navigating and hearing others’ ideas or strategies or solutions that you may not have considered yet. The IHI Conference is more Important now than ever because that’s what this conference is built around is coming together, sharing those ideas.”
The IHI Conference sets itself apart by being the one place where the whole industry comes together, regardless of affiliation, to discuss opportunities, vent over challenges and learn and grow together, says Craig Cope, owner of the Hardware Conference.
“The IHI Conference puts you in a resort environment to have quality conversations with other industry peers, whether that is your wholesaler, whether that is key vendors, or whether that is a retailer you just met at the pool,” Cope says. “That’s the linchpin of exactly what a good conference does.”
On Tuesday, July 28, Orgill will host a day of partner events, open to all conference attendees. Sessions will cover a wide variety of topics, including margin management, maximizing labor, practical marketing solutions and innovation in action. Orgill will present its technology symposium, diving into the ways retailers can embrace innovation for growth. That night, the Independents Celebration will feature food, fun and a little funk with a Yacht Rock band and food and beverage sponsored by Orgill.
Featuring a laid-back environment where retailers can meet leading service providers and manufacturers, discover new solutions and talk business, the Partner Pavilion is the place to meet service providers and vendors who have the solutions your operation needs.
A key component of the IHI Conference is the educational opportunities, including breakout sessions, featuring industry heavyweights sharing real-world best practices covering the topics that matter most to independent retailers. After the morning’s breakout sessions and dedicated time in the exhibit hall engaging with vendors, the general session will open each afternoon, featuring keynote speakers and panels.
“As an independent contractor and small business owner, I fully understand the pain points in wanting to work on the business more than work in it,” Cope says. “The IHI Conference gives me the chance to be able to sit back for five minutes and breathe and think about the market and how can I take advantage of opportunities. It’s an opportunity to carve out 2.5 days and go and actually put in that work because you don’t know what the yield is going to be until you get back home.”
