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With a focus on what’s next and best practices, the True Value 2024 Fall Reunion in Orlando brought together retailers from across the U.S. and around the world for several days of product discovery, education and networking.
“The True Value team is always centered around how we help our independent retailers and our vendor partners grow, and Reunion is the perfect example of that Here For You promise,” says True Value CEO Chris Kempa. “This fall show was all about investing in the areas our attendees have told us they want from True Value, whether it’s connecting with us and each other to education about running a retail business and new, industry-leading products.”
The Reunion kicked off with the Retail Best Practices Conference, where retailers heard from keynote speaker and entrepreneur Troy Hazard, who shared how to future-proof your business and prepare for tomorrow by developing yourself as a leader.
“With those you lead, be more distinctive and lead with a culture of confidence to help bring them along,” Hazard says. “With those you lead, be more focused on engagement and not just achieving an outcome.”
After Howard’s keynote, attendees chose from one of five breakout sessions to attend, covering marketing, driving store traffic, loss prevention, hiring and improving efficiency.
Also taking place on Sunday, the Garden Center Retailer Conference featured guest speakers, merchandising experts and vendors who educated attendees on industry trends and running a garden center business.
In the True Value University area, each day was packed with educational sessions, speakers and panels. The sessions covered everything from e-commerce to product knowledge, cybersecurity to business financing.
Chris Fisher, ECI’s Software Solutions LBM division vice president, presented on using e-commerce for more than just selling products, including strengthening customer loyalty and providing a higher level of customer service.
“If we’re not showing up online, we’re essentially invisible to a large part of our audience. The internet has changed human needs at a fundamental level, and businesses need to be ready,” Fisher says. “E-commerce is the assist that makes customers successful by providing the information they need when they need it.”
Finding Deals, Making Connections and Looking to the Future
On the show floor, retailers shopped Assortment City, with full planogram assortments on display, found deals in Discount City and Closeout Corner and browsed new product offerings in the New Product Area.
Lisa and Gary Kruse, owners of Kruse True Value Hardware in Hartington, Nebreska, say they enjoy coming to Reunion to get the best deals.
“We really appreciate being able to talk directly with the venders to answer questions,” Lisa says. “We loved seeing new items and the demos on the floor.”
Rick Roos, director of sales for BinClaw, was excited to share his product with retailers and be a part of the New Product Area.
“This is our first independent retailer show, and it’s been great to be able to talk to retailers about the product,” Roos says. “We had great traffic in the New Product Area.”
At the end of the first day of the show at every Reunion, attendees and the True Value team enjoy a Welcome Reception. This year was no exception, with an evening out at Universal Studios, solely for registered Reunion attendees. 
About 3,000 people enjoyed the rides, food, beverages, character meet-and-greets, and the opportunity to bond outside of the busy show floor.
Mark Williamson, owner of True Value of Ocean Pines, says he enjoys spending his time at Reunions networking with his fellow retailers.
“I come to learn about new products, the latest trends and other operational areas,” Williamson says. “I like to talk with other retailers and find out what’s going on in their operations, what is working, what isn’t.”
As another outlet for promoting growth and the success of the True Value brand, the company has begun owning and operating retail stores. Eric Lane, senior vice president of retail store development, sat down with Hardware Retailing exclusively at the Fall Reunion to share the strategy behind the new program. Read that Q&A here.
“We absolutely believe there are operational disciplines we can implement and test that will allow us to create synergies and savings as we move forward,” Lane says.
