Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
A few years ago, Jill and Jeremy Post, owners of Post’s Hardware Hank, noticed that around Memorial Day, it was difficult to find a place in town to buy flowers or ornaments to decorate the graves of veterans.
The small town of Hankinson, North Dakota, has five cemeteries, so that meant a lot of residents who wanted to honor their loved ones had to drive out of town for a purchase as simple as a bouquet of flowers.
To help their customers, the Posts began stocking a variety of artificial flower arrangements and wreaths in the weeks leading up to Memorial Day. The section has grown to an 8-foot gondola run that includes flowers, LED candles and other ornaments.
“We bring in the flowers and ornaments early in May and usually sell everything out by the time Memorial Day arrives,” says Jill. “It’s something nice we can offer our customers who want a way to honor their veterans over that weekend.”
Retailers who want to follow the Posts’ lead and sell memorial decorations as a convenience to their customers can stock them around not only Memorial Day, but also the other patriotic holidays of the year, including Veteran’s Day and Patriot Day (Sept. 11).
