Ace Hardware hits 100
CHICAGO—The Centennial Celebration kicked off with a patriotic, Taylor-Swift-like LED light show, continued with vintage video of WWI fighter pilots, and condensed 100 years of Ace Hardware history into a Broadway-like, Blue-Man-Group-infused production.
Highlights from the general session stage included a parade of Ace dealers who shared their perspectives on careers in hardware retailing.
Husband-wife team Ben Banyasz ad Dana Sneade Banyasz of Sneade’s Ace Home Center in Maryland described the joys of a family-run hardware store. Fourth-generation retailer Bill Hagan, president of Hagan Ace Hardware in North Florida, shared how the family business grew into a $72 million chain with 11 stores and 440 employees.
Hagan described how helping a customer when he was working the aisles as a youngster encouraged him to take up a hardware career.
“It’s the business of helping others,” he told the audience assembled in the Wintrust Arena here in Chicago. “And I’m sure many of you know that feeling and that experience that I’m talking about."
The Centennial Celebration included a video presentation of the three chief executives who led Ace from 1986 to 2013.
Ray Griffith (CEO from 2006-2013); David Hodnik (1996-2006) and Roger Peterson (1986-1995) reminisced in the video about their days with Ace Hardware.
Griffith summed it up: “A great company wouldn’t last 100 years without integrity,” he said. “And everybody has great ideas, but its’ a matter of who can execute.”
He added: “Maybe along the way we can make some money.”
Putting growth numbers and sales statistics aside during his few moments on the stage, Ace Hardware’s current CEO John Venhuizen encouraged the crowd to be a light to others. He emphasized Ace Nation’s potential to be “an incredible force for good.”
“You are the hope of the hardware industry,” Venhuizen told the crowd.
Ace’s marketing team described the co-op’s 2024 Fall Convention as the “biggest in hardware industry history.” It backed up that statement with statistics: Total attendance of more than 17,600 attendees from more than 5,000 stores arrived in Chicago for the three-day convention. Plus, the event attracted 6,000 vendor personnel spread out over 1.5 million square feet and 1,500 booths at McCormick Place.
On the exhibits floor, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based co-op unveiled the new ‘Elevate3 Ace’ store concept. A 13,000 sq. Ft. store-on-the-floor model demonstrated merchandising and service enhancements.
The co-op said the Element3 Ace design "represents a fundamental shift in the Ace store model and has been proven to both boost consumer relevance and drive store economics."
Among the design enhancements are enhanced showcases for Ace’s leading brand. Store aisles take on the feel of immersive mini showrooms for Craftsman, DeWalt, Weber and others. Ace says the format also makes it easier for store employees to execute buy-online-pick-up-in-store, and it helps mitigate retail theft.
The 2024 Ace Convention runs through Saturday, Aug. 10.
