Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Ben Ginn has been a part of the independent home improvement channel for literally his whole life, and has channeled a lifetime of hardware experience into his own content creation project.
In 1978, Ben’s grandfather, Sam Ginn, started a plumbing supply store in Vanceburg, Kentucky, with Ben’s father, Rodney Ginn, joining the family business right out of high school. When Sam retired in 2001, Rodney saw the opportunity for growth and purchased a larger building down the road, opening up Ginn Hardware. The store’s name changed to Ginn Hardware & Auto Parts when auto parts were added in 2021.
“I started getting off the bus at the plumbing store when I was seven, and my dad opened the hardware store when I was 11,” Ben says. “I’ve been involved with the hardware store since the beginning.”
Ben officially joined the family business in 2017, though he has always been helping in the background, filling in during the evenings, on the weekends or whenever needed. He currently handles all the purchasing and marketing and also takes care of back-end office work and customer service when needed.
“I’m kind of all over the place, which is what it takes to work in a hardware store,” Ben says. “Especially in small town stores, you kind of have to become a mini expert in a lot of areas so you can cover a broad range of topics to help your customers.”
As a hardware industry lifer, Ben has plenty of experience and knowledge, and decided he wanted to share that with the channel, so he started a media brand called “Ben From the Hardware Store” and shares content on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
