News

Cottin’s Hardware & Rental in Lawrence, Kansas, starts the fall season off each year with a scarecrow building contest to raise money for local schools. Several years ago, a customer approached store owner Linda Cottin with the idea. “Our customer …

John Venhuizen, Ace Hardware president and CEO, recently took questions from Hardware Retailing about the co-op’s purchase of The Grommet, an e-commerce startup company. Ace announced the purchase Oct. 3. Hardware Retailing (HR): Why did Ace purchase a majority stake in The Grommet?  John Venhuizen (JV): There …

Sears Canada Inc. will liquidate its assets and begin to “wind down” after its board rejected a business plan proposed by the company’s top executive, The Wall Street Journal reports. The board’s decision to liquidate most of the Canadian retailer’s …

Edward Lampert, CEO of Sears Holdings, has loaned the company an additional $100 million, the Chicago Tribune reports. Sears borrowed the money from affiliates of ESL Investments, Lampert’s hedge fund, which also agreed to lend the company up to $100 million more …

Big-box home improvement retailers Lowe’s and The Home Depot each recently opened warehouses in the Houston area to help meet demand for building materials following Hurricane Harvey, reports the Houston Chronicle. According to the newspaper, Lowe’s signed a lease on a 244,000-square-foot …

Independent retailers have a variety of tools they can use to encourage customers to visit their businesses. In some communities, taking out an ad in the local newspaper or a radio spot is the best way to market their business. …

Take this survey to help the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) determine if independent retailers’ online presence and use of online platforms meet customer expectations. When you finish the survey, you’ll be entered to win one of five $100 Visa …

Walmart has purchased Parcel, a delivery logistics startup that focuses on overnight and same-day last-mile delivery, Reuters reports. The Parcel purchase is Walmart’s latest acquisition, following its purchase of apparel company Bonobos in June for $310 million and e-commerce retailer Jet.com …