Home » Association » IHI Conference Day 1 Casts Vision for Industry Future, Shares Leadership Lessons

IHI Conference Day 1 Casts Vision for Industry Future, Shares Leadership Lessons

The first day of the 2025 Independent Home Improvement Conference kicked off with education, networking and celebrations of the industry.

During his State of the Industry address, NHPA COO Dan Tratensek shared that even though the pandemic was five years ago, the entire industry is still “shell shocked.”

“We are still facing challenges that were born from the ‘pandemic era’ like inflation, delayed purchases, economic uncertainty and social uncertainty,” Tratensek says.

“This has caused independent retailers to rethink and reframe the basic value proposition that they stood behind for decades,” Tratensek says. “Convenience, service and product knowledge now mean something completely different. Convenience is giving way to curation, service is evolving to relationship cultivation and product knowledge is transitioning to customer confirmation.”

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During Top Guns Live: Leadership Lessons From the Industry’s Boldest Leaders, the 2025 Top Guns honorees—Jeff Grasty, Ryan Ringer and Hervey Wright—shared insights on leading their teams, leaders they admire and what the future of the industry looks like.

“Leadership is not just a title; you have to tailor your leadership to who you are leading,” Wright says. “Because of this, my role as a leader has changed over the years and involves more listening and empowering my team to lead.”

During his presentation, Macro-Economic Factors Impacting Home Improvement Behaviors, executive director of the Home Improvement Institute Dave King broke down the key economic factors—unemployment, inflation, interest rates and more—influencing home improvement behaviors in 2025.

“When it comes to unemployment, in reality, we’re moving back toward historical norms,” King says. “We’re going to be OK.”

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For the first time ever, the NHPA Young Retailer of the Year Awards and the Beacon Awards came together to celebrate excellence in the industry during the All-Industry Awards Gala.

“This evening is a celebration of momentum, innovation and legacy,” says Cody Goeppner, NHPA director of education and training. “Tonight is about recognizing how far passion and purpose can take you. It’s about honoring the people who are building, growing and giving back at every level. We hope this evening inspires you as much as it humbles us.”

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2025 Young Retailer of the Year Honorees
Jay Engler | Multistore
Busy Beaver Building Centers, Inc.

Jacqueline Fenton | Multistore
Hassett Ace Hardware

Ryan Leger | Multistore
Richibucto Home Hardware Building Centre, St. Louis Home Building Centre

Matthew Spinks | Multistore
Lumber King

Huong Luu | Under $3M
Luu Color Center, Inc.

Mitchell Stadtlander | Under $3M
Cedar Mountain True Value

Brookelyn McClellan | Over $3M
Hardware Sales

Skylar Stevenson | Over $3M
Stevenson’s Ace Hardware

Retail Beacon Award
Randy Andes
Randy’s Hardware

Peter Grebeck
Peter’s True Value

Theisen’s Family
Theisen’s

Beacon Award for Digital Excellence
Pat Sullivan
Sullivan’s Hardware and Garden

Beacon Award for Best New Store
Dave and Lori Ables
3 Sons Hardware

Kerry Higgins
Coulee Hardware

Isaac Smith
Matt’s Building Materials

In the Partner Pavilion, over 20 exhibitors engaged with attendees and shared their services that can help attendees take their business to the next level in a variety of operational areas.

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Yesterday, Partner Events welcomed attendees to gain insights on a variety of topics. Do it Best and True Value, Orgill and Epicor offered educational sessions, seminars and networking opportunities.

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About Lindsey Thompson

Lindsey joined the NHPA staff in 2021 as an associate editor and has served as senior editor and now managing editor. A native of Ohio, Lindsey earned a B.S. in journalism and minors in business and sociology from Ohio University. She loves spending time with her husband, two kids, two cats and one dog, as well as doing DIY projects around the house, coaching basketball, going to concerts, boating and cheering on the Cleveland Guardians.

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