Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) Young Retailer of the Year program, now in its 28th year, identifies and promotes the next generation of aspiring independent home improvement retailers.
Honorees are chosen based on a number of criteria, including professional milestones, community engagement, continuing home improvement industry education and extracurricular activities. They are recognized in three categories: Multiple Stores, Over $3 Million in Sales and Under $3 Million in Sales.
Sponsors of the 2024 Young Retailer of the Year program include: American Hardware and Lumber Insurance (AHLI), Arrow Fastener, Intertape Polymer Group (IPG), Midwest Fastener, Pony Jorgensen, PPG and The Wooster Brush Company.
“The Young Retailer of the Year program highlights the bright future of the independent channel,” says Scott Wright, NHPA executive director of content development and executive editor. “It is a privilege to recognize these outstanding young retailers who are making positive impacts in their operations, communities and beyond.”
Program Partner
Coming full circle, Cody Goeppner, a 2020 Young Retailer of the Year honoree, is joining NHPA to support independent retailers through education programs that empower them to strengthen their businesses and communities. As part of this new partnership, Goeppner will be working closely with the Young Retailer of the Year program to celebrate and cultivate the next generation of leaders in the industry.
“Partnering with NHPA feels like a natural extension of the journey I’ve been on in the independent hardware industry,” Goeppner says. “NHPA has been instrumental in my own growth, from my time in the Retail Management Certification Program to being honored with the Young Retailer of the Year Award. Now, I’m excited to give back to the organization that has played such a signifi cant role in my career.”
Celebrate the Honorees
Celebrate the future of the channel during the 2024 Young Retailer of the Year virtual ceremony on Oct. 10, 2024 at 2 p.m. EST. Don’t miss this chance to hear from each honoree and recognize these outstanding retailers. Learn more at YourNHPA.org/yroty.
Jared Brown
Multiple Stores
Director of Business Intelligence
The Aubuchon Company
In the last decade, Jared has dedicated his career to The Aubuchon Company’s growth, which has grown nearly 69% in sales. He’s not only made a major impact on the growth of The Aubuchon Company, his exceptional contributions have set new standards in inventory and replenishment management, retail price optimization and margin management. His commitment to data governance, accuracy and integrity also address critical concerns facing many other organizations today.
During the pandemic, Jared developed a “flip flop” logic algorithm, a groundbreaking solution that offers deeper logic and responsive replenishment. This initiative was pivotal in ensuring that Aubuchon stores continued serving their communities with critically needed products despite global supply chain disruptions.
When Aubuchon made the conversion to Ace Hardware, Jared’s collaboration on the modeling and his work on inventory and margin forecasting were crucial. His involvement in visiting new store locations ensured a smooth integration of best practices and standards.
Currently, Jared is pioneering a third version of his algorithm to further optimize purchasing decisions, incorporating factors such as case pack, break pack fees and freight costs. His role in store acquisitions and leading a three-year inventory optimization project further demonstrates his comprehensive approach to retail management.
Even after achieving milestone after milestone, Jared has committed to growth and evolution through professional development. He completed NHPA’s Retail Management Certification Program, where he received the Marcus Moran Jr. Best in Class Award, which is named for a former leader of The Aubuchon Company. He has taken NHPA’s Foundations of Leadership course, and he engages in extensive networking, learning from and collaborating with industry experts to enhance retail operations and promotional ordering, among other areas. Recognizing the value of shared knowledge, Jared initiated the establishment of an inventory best practices roundtable, inviting collaboration with other retailers to foster industrywide improvements.
Jared’s impact extends into the community and his leadership skills and commitment to community service are seen through his participation in the North Central Mass Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program. Through this program, Jared supported the Montachusett Opportunity Council with window insulation kits, directly benefiting local families and promoting energy effi ciency. His efforts to maintain a strong partnership between The Aubuchon Company and Habitat for Humanity ensure vital resources like code-compliant smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are available for housing projects.
Throughout his career, Jared has forged strategic partnerships and driven innovation within the independent hardware channel. Looking forward, his Retail Management Certificate Program project is set to significantly impact Aubuchon’s growth strategy and aims to enhance profitability and operational efficiency as the company expands. Jared’s vision for Aubuchon involves internal growth and the cultivation of industry standards and practices that will benefit the broader hardware retail community.
Tyler Garrett
Multiple Stores
President, CEO and Co-Owner
Moscow & Pullman Building Supply
Tyler is a third-generation owner of Moscow & Pullman Building Supply (MPBS), and while he grew up helping his father Pat Garrett in the business, he didn’t immediately join the operation when he fi nished high school.
A phone call from his father in late 2010 put his future with the family business into perspective—his father had an offer to buy the business. If Tyler had no interest in returning to the company, Pat was going to sell the business.
In December of that year, Tyler returned to work at Moscow Building Supply, working in the contractor sales division, running the inside sales desk and learning the POS system. When an outside sales role opened, he transitioned into that role. Two years into his return to the family business, Tyler and Pat started the conversation about expanding their Pullman facility. The new building was an important project that required Tyler’s full attention, so he transitioned out of his outside sales position and focused on handling all of the facility design management for the new Pullman Building Supply.
Tyler had designed a full-service home center that was a huge upgrade for the Pullman market. But he didn’t just include items typically found in a lumberyard. He also included niche categories, like higher end housewares and gifts. During the holidays, they have a huge selection of Christmas trees on display.
Because of the lack of any clothing retailers in town, Tyler added a full apparel area to the store with Carhartt clothes. He also added a full nursery with live plants and green goods. The nursery continues to be a big hit with customers. Between the two stores, MPBS sold more than $1 million in green goods in 2022 alone.
At just 25 years old, Tyler took over as general manager for the Pullman location. Shortly after the Pullman store opened, the Moscow location lost its general manager, so Tyler served in the role for both. As he oversaw operations at both locations and helped fi nd a replacement for the manager in Moscow, he continued to keep the business on a trajectory of growth. Sales increased another $3.2 million in 2017, an 11% increase, and Tyler was promoted to vice president of operations.
In 2018, Pat started the ownership transition process with Tyler and his sister Katie, the company’s chief financial officer. In 2019, Tyler became the majority owner. As a testament to Tyler’s management skills and the respect he had earned from the staff, everyone on the team stayed on when Tyler took over.
Tyler continues to deliver an impressive record of growth since becoming owner. He has grown sales at the operation by $18.3 million to nearly $55 million in 2023, an increase of more than 50%.
Looking ahead to the future, Tyler says with new residents coming into the communities from the West Coast, there is stable economic growth. In addition, he’s looking forward to seeing his two young sons, who are 5 and 8 years old, get more involved in the operation. Tyler says he will let them make their own life plans just as his father did for him, but is looking forward to having them be involved in any way.
Lee Heinrich
Over $3 Million
Owner
H&R Hardware and Lumber
With an independent spirit and the determination to revitalize a local hardware store, Lee Heinrich purchased H&R Hardware and Lumber in Hohenwald, Tennessee, in 2017. He began working at the store in 2014 after leaving Nashville to seek a quieter lifestyle and a deeper connection to the community. Lee teamed up with his mother Lena Rayfi eld to acquire the store, rebranding it as H&R Hardware to reflect both of their last names.
Under Heinrich’s leadership, the store experienced a surge in sales, with a 50% increase in the first 18 months and a remarkable 72% growth in 2022. All of the changes Lee implemented in the 8,100-square foot store had the goal of increasing customer service. Lee and Lena revamped the store with a vintage vibe that is both warm and welcoming. They then increased the store’s inventory from $300,000 to $1.4 million, adding new categories such as grilling and a gift and housewares department. Taking the profits made in the first three years, Lee and Lena reinvested back into inventory and improvements on the building.
Building a business-to-business sales program from the ground up was another major shift Lee implemented that resulted in a 95% increase in commercial sales in fi ve years and the expansion of the department from a small section in the store to a 7,200-square-foot warehouse. Lee created a maintenance, repair and operations system that supplies large manufacturing facilities, city and county governments and school systems.
The store’s best-selling categories are plumbing, paint and hand tools. H&R Hardware is currently the No. 1 Benjamin Moore paint store in the region and has consistently been the No. 1 paint store overall for the area.
As a result of Lee and Lena’s hard work the last few years, H&R Hardware won several area accolades from the Lewis County Herald, including Best Customer Service, Best Hardware Store, Best Paint Store, Best Building Supply, Friendliest Staff and Best Entrepreneur.
Lee plans to grow the lawn and garden and electrical categories in the future and is opening a greenhouse later this year. To keep the store’s product selection fresh, Lee regularly attends industry trade shows and wholesaler markets for product discovery and relies on vendor reps to keep him informed about the latest offerings. When traveling out of town, he enjoys stopping by local stores to see how they do business.
Lee is continually improving himself and striving to become a better owner and operator and engages with training from NHPA and takes part in vendor training. Involvement in the community is high on Lee’s priority list. He served on a vocational and technical education advisory committee for the Lewis County Board of Education, and the store hires students from Lewis County High School’s vocational technical program. Lee served on the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and supports the Davis House Child Advocacy Center. The store also hosts a customer appreciation cookout each year and sponsors local teams and organizations.
Jonathan Jasik
Multiple Stores
General Manager
Sarasota Paint
Born into the paint business, Jonathan grew up in his grandfather’s paint store. In 2002, when Jonathan was 4 years old, his father purchased Sarasota Paint, and Jonathan spent a lot of time with his father at the paint store, doing small jobs around the store to earn money for Legos. He officially started working part time at age 14 and spent the first three years in the business watching, listening and learning from his father.
At 17, Jonathan became the companywide substitute store manager, where he developed relationships with the entire staff and developed his approach to management. He also took courses on business management from the local community college on his days off. Just two years later, Jonathan became store manager of the second largest location and grew store sales to record levels.
When a position for outside sales became available, Jonathan jumped at the chance to go outside his comfort zone, enrolling in the Benjamin Moore Outside Sales Development Program. Continuing with diligence and persistence, he was able to increase territory sales, plan and execute several contractor buying events and plan several product-based sales events.
Currently, Jonathan serves as general manager of Sarasota Paint and participates in executive planning sessions, working hand in hand with the store managers, supporting the outside sales staff to gain market share, assisting staff in managing yearly budgets and achieving the operation’s strategic goals. Jonathan and his father have started planning for the next chapter, and as part of their strategic business succession plan, Jonathan will be working step by step with his father to take over ownership of the company.
Jonathan attended NHPA’s Retail Management Certification Program in 2019, where he developed a platform for in-store training modules that is still in use today. He also participates in ALLPRO’s Next-Gen training and attends industry markets and events.
Being able to attend trade and design shows with his father taught him the importance of networking and relationships. Those events also helped him understand the benefit of taking advantage of buying opportunities and the value of improving gross profit margin to maintain a competitive edge.
Jonathan’s passion for relationship-building extends to his customers and community as well. In 2017, Hurricane Irma directly hit Florida’s west coast, and Jonathan gathered donations and set up mobile kitchens to deliver hot meals to disaster relief workers and families in need. A week later, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, and Jonathan hosted a food drive, collected donations to buy pallets of supplies and spent 10 days on the island repairing and rebuilding the local communities affected by the storm.
When he is not working at the store, Jonathan spends time with his wife, Faith, and son, Nathan. He is involved with the music ministry at his local church, and his hobbies include hunting and fishing, which he also uses to develop relationships with customers. Jonathan’s vision for Sarasota Paint is to operate as the pinnacle of paint stores and deliver a five-star experience to employees, customers and associates.
Joel Pletch
Under $3 Million
Dealer-Owner
Walkerton Home Hardware
The Pletch family has had a long history in farming, and from an early age, Joel knew he wanted to forge a different path. As soon as he was old enough, he got a job at the local grocery store, and that’s what sparked his passion for retail. He worked at the store throughout high school and through the co-op program, attending school half days and working at the store the other half of the day, which allowed him to learn scheduling, ordering and other key retail operations.
Near the end of high school, Joel was dreaming about owning a retail store. Because the grocery store in town was part of a large chain, he knew that dream wouldn’t be realized there, so he started exploring other opportunities.
Joel reconnected with his childhood hockey coach, who owned Walkerton Home Hardware. He joined the staff there part time while still working full time at the grocery store. After working seven days a week across both operations, he made a choice to focus on hardware and was welcomed into Walkerton Home Hardware full time.
Five years later, at just 23 years old, Joel purchased the store and now serves as dealer-owner. Joel served as store manager of the business for the last five years, and throughout that time, he committed to growing the business across departments and in unique ways.
With a salesfloor of just 3,300 square feet, Joel has worked diligently over the last fi ve years to grow overall sales and margin by focusing on specific departments and paying attention to the details. In the company’s tools category, which includes hand and power tools, power tool accessories and outdoor power equipment, Joel has driven growth 426% since 2018. Another successful category for the business has been outdoor living, which has seen 88% growth since Joel started as store manager. Joel notes that strategic merchandising and bringing in impulse items like snacks, barbecue seasonings and cleaning products have allowed them to boost average transaction size by 300%.
Joel’s goal is to make Walkerton Home Hardware the place for pros to shop in the community, and he has been persistent in his efforts. Early on in his tenure, Joel started building a contact list of local contractors and tradespeople, and he curated the lists based on their power tool preferences.
To familiarize himself with the retail hardware industry, Joel has spent a signifi cant amount of time exploring training and creating unique educational opportunities. He completed over 50 product education courses across hardware categories and in retail operations.
In addition to taking courses, Joel sought knowledge from experts. Starting from the beginning, Joel ] forged relationships within the industry, starting by connecting with other retailers and industry members on LinkedIn. Joel encourages the same passion for learning and exploring new opportunities in his team. He asks staff to go through the same product knowledge and operations training he completed and encourages them to act on their curiosities in the business.
Being engaged in the community is a priority for Joel, and on the recommendation of another community member, he joined the local Kinsmen Club, a nonprofit service organization. The store also donates money and volunteer hours to local organizations and events, including the hospital foundation and family and sporting events.
Isaac Weber
Over $3 Million
Owner and President
Lugbill Supply Center
While his path into the home improvement industry didn’t follow a straight path, Isaac has always been focused on growth and achieving his goals. His entrepreneurial spirit started in high school, when Isaac started a paintball business. In his short career since, his resume includes concrete plant payloader, shelf stocker, construction worker, insurance sales, farming, excavating, fitness center owner and now, president and owner of Lugbill Supply Center.
Isaac holds an associate’s degree in concrete technology from Rhodes State College and a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering and minor in business from the University of Toledo.
Not long after opening Temple Gym & Fitness with his wife Leslie in 2020, Isaac joined a Bible study with the owner of Lugbill Supply Center. At one study, the owner mentioned wanting to retire and Isaac told him he would be interested in buying the store. On April 15, 2022, Isaac became the proud owner of Lugbill Supply Center. As soon as he bought the store, Isaac went all-in to change the store’s perception in his market. He undertook an ambitious remodel inside and out that would modernize not only Lugbill’s looks but also its product offering, doubling the amount of product Lugbill offered, ensuring it was well-stocked with the right quantities of key categories so he could properly service his pro customers.
Isaac more than tripled the size of his fastener section and brought in software so his staff could do takeoffs more quickly for their pro customers. Isaac is also planning on bringing in more outside sales reps to serve his contractors. Isaac knew customer service would be crucial, so he established a culture throughout the business that empowered his team to own their portion of the operation and be accountable for it.
To bring DIYers into his store, Isaac doubled the size of his lawn and garden department, added new product lines like Case knives and ammunition and revamped the store’s custom kitchen design center. He extended the store’s hours, advertised through radio ads, Facebook and Instagram and updated the store’s website, including adding e-commerce.
Since officially opening in 2022, Lugbill Supply Center is averaging 400 more transactions per month and the average ticket has increased 39% since he bought the store. In his first half-year of ownership, Isaac grew sales by 15%. For 2023, he grew sales an additional 20%.
Isaac is looking to continue his expansion by going after more of the DIY market share and making it easier for homeowners to get what they need for home improvement projects without having to drive to a larger city.
With a passion to continually improve and grow, Isaac regularly attends trade shows and talks with vendors to learn more about products. He networks with other industry members so he can gather best practices and share ideas. He also wants to develop and improve the talents of his staff, so he brings them to the shows so they can sit in on seminars and stay up to date on the latest products and trends.
Isaac takes his role in his community seriously, supporting a variety of causes, including Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Habitat for Humanity and Water For Ishmael, an organization that assists refugees with foundational skills for success. He donates to area school fundraisers and supports local Future Farmers of America chapters.
Alex Ziegenbein
Multiple Stores
Owner
Gretna Ace Hardware
With a willingness to take risks and a grace-filled heart, at the age of 24, Alex left his role as a salesman for a farm machinery magazine and embarked on his career in home improvement. His grandfather, Bill Sapp, who owned Sapp Brothers Truck Stop, had a vacant building to fill and saw the need for a hardware store in the fastest growing community in Nebraska. Bill tapped Alex to be his store manager, and after some prayer, he agreed, spending the summer remodeling the vacant building and attending the Ace New Owners Academy.
In January 2014, Alex and his wife Ashley opened Gretna Ace Hardware and brought on fi ve employees, three of whom are still with the company. By year three, the 4,500-square-foot store met its 10-year goal of $1.7 million in sales. Knowing the Gretna community had outgrown its hardware store, Alex began looking to expand in 2020, and in September 2022, moved into a 20,000-square-foot former grocery store. After a full remodel of this new space, the Gretna location saw a 90% increase in sales from 2021 to 2023.
In 2018, Alex opened a 12,000-square-foot ground-up store in Springfield, Nebraska. By the third year, that store marked year-10 sales, pulling in $1.93 million. In 2023, both stores combined had sales of $6.1 million.
With a sixth sense for products, Alex noticed both stores’ communities lacked a grilling destination with expert help and knowledge. He was not only one of the first Ace stores to adopt the reset for a large grilling display, but he went even further to add other local barbecue sauces and spices and trained an employee from each store to be the designated grilling expert.
As his operation expands, Alex himself is also growing by embracing lifelong learning through industry workshops, seminars, webinars and leadership conferences and sharing the best of his learning with his team. He is continually listening to leadership podcasts such as Entreleadership to glean new best practices. Alex and his team take part in regular vendor training and educational courses through his wholesaler, and his goal is to offer a minimum of 15 hours of training per employee each month.
Alex possesses a strong commitment to his core values—compassion for others, generosity, responsibility, integrity—which shine through in his professional dealings and his involvement with the community. He has a very genuine sense of responsibility for his family, his employees whom he views as extended family members and the role of his business within the community.
At both stores, he cultivates an encouraging and fun environment because he believes if the employees are positive the customers can sense it and will enjoy shopping at the store. He is a supporter of Youth for Christ in the Greater Omaha area, hosts round-up fundraisers in the stores, offers an angel tree at the Springfield store at Christmas and donates to local schools, sports teams and other nonprofits. He works with the local schools to employ high schoolers, training them to continue through life with successful work ethic and skills. Alex is also an active member of the Local Big Red Ace Group (BRAG) Nebraska retailer group.
With an eye to the future, Alex’s drive to always be changing with retail, staying up to date with new emerging products and increasing his business profits never wanes or slows. Some of his goals and dreams include becoming “The Supply Place” for both communities, better serving his business customers and increasing his relationships with other small businesses in his communities.
