Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Today at the Independent Home Improvement Conference (IHI Conference), the North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) announced the extension of several popular programs and the launch of two new ventures made possible through the ongoing support of the National Hardware Show (NHS).
The two organizations have agreed to continue their cooperation and commit to the evolution of several ongoing programs, including NHPA’s Foundations of Merchandising Management (FOMM) Live! training program, the Independent Retailer Center and Retailers’ Choice Awards, all of which take place during the National Hardware Show each year. The 2025 National Hardware Show is scheduled to take place March 18-20 in Las Vegas.
“Starting with our Retailers’ Choice Awards that have been a fixture at the National Hardware Show for 60 years, the show has provided an ideal stage for many of our programs and events, and I am excited that this relationship continues to evolve,” says Bob Cutter, NHPA president and CEO. “More recently, we saw an opportunity to host our FOMM Live! event at the show. These educational sessions focused on helping independent retailers better understand how merchandising and inventory management work and are well suited to be conducted in and around the show.”
The Independent Retail Center is an area on the show floor at NHS that provides a home base for independent retailers to meet and serves as a central point for educational and networking opportunities.
“The independent retail segment of the channel represents such an important part of the industry and the show,” says Hector Morfin Chong, event director for NHS. “We want to continue to work with NHPA on the evolution of the National Hardware Show to ensure that it better meets the needs of independent retailers. We are committed to doing this now and in the future.”
To help make it easier for independent retailers to attend NHS in 2025, the show is offering to provide all qualifying independent retailers with two free hotel nights at the host property, Resorts World. Independent retailers will also be registered as show VIPs and have access to special amenities at the show like free meals, meeting rooms and more. (To learn more about this offer, please reach out to Joelle Cohn at joelle.cohn@rxglobal.com.)
In addition to the ongoing support for these NHPA programs, the National Hardware Show has also agreed to continue its sponsorship of the annual IHI Conference, as well as the reception for the industry’s Top Guns Awards, which celebrates the best of the best from the independent retail channel.
The IHI Conference is held every year and brings together independent retailers and industry partners to attend educational sessions, network and celebrate the independent channel. The NHPA Top Guns Awards are held during the conference along with NHPA’s Young Retailer of the Year Awards and The Hardware Connection magazine’s Beacon Awards.
“An industry like ours only succeeds when all parts of the channel come together,” says Dan Tratensek, NHPA chief operating officer. “The industry is also better when there is a vibrant and responsive trade show like the National Hardware Show. Like the IHI Conference, the National Hardware Show offers the industry a neutral place to come together, learn, discover and grow. While IHI focuses only on the independent segment, NHS brings the entire channel together, and we need that.”
In this spirit of evolution, support from the National Hardware Show is also a key element in two additional NHPA programs.
First, the National Hardware Show has agreed to, once again, serve as the exclusive sponsor of NHPA’s Merchandising for Profit Study. This study, now in its third iteration, evaluates the efficacy of various merchandising techniques like clipstrips, counter displays and endcaps. The real-world retail research also shows typical sales lift generated by these different techniques and provides retailers a guide for best practices in merchandising.
The study will be released in 2025 at the National Hardware Show, which will also showcase the findings along with examples of effective merchandising techniques in a brand new Pathways to Profit area on the show floor.
“The National Hardware Show is really about helping attendees discover new products, so it’s only logical that we take our attendees further down this path, showing them how to best merchandise and promote those products in their stores,” says Morfin Chong.
The next new program that will find a home at the National Hardware Show is one that resonates throughout the industry.
While there is no way to repay the sacrifices made by veterans of the armed forces, NHPA recognizes that not only have these individuals made a lasting impact on their country, but they are also a prominent and positive influence within the home improvement industry.
To honor the ongoing impact veterans make throughout the home improvement industry, NHPA is launching its Helmets to Home Improvement recognition program, and the National Hardware Show has agreed to serve as its exclusive event sponsor.
Helmets to Home Improvement will be an ongoing fixture in NHPA’s media, including Hardware Retailing and Paint & Decorating Retailer magazines, dedicated to honoring military veterans who are working in all segments of the home improvement channel.
“We want to shine a spotlight and really illustrate the contribution these folks make in retail, distribution, manufacturing and really every area of this industry,” says Tratensek. “There is some kind of unique fit that military vets not only seem to gravitate toward this industry but also excel within it. This is our way to make sure they continue to receive recognition for their contributions.”
The Helmets to Home Improvement program will kick off in late 2024, and a special kickoff event is planned for the March 2025 National Hardware Show. While veterans will be profiled throughout the entire year, in November 2025, NHPA will single out a select group of veterans from across all branches of the armed forces whose contributions within the industry go above and beyond the call of duty.
This select group of honorees and other guests will be invited to attend the Helmets to Home Improvement Awards ceremony to be hosted at the 2026 National Hardware Show where a special donation will also be made to veteran’s charities.
“How can honoring the ongoing contributions of veterans not be a top priority for any of us?” Cutter says. “This program was actually the brainchild of our national sales manager Greg Cole. Greg is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and this was a very personal project for him. I’m so glad, with the support of the National Hardware Show, we are able to make this a reality.”
