Costello's Ace points to growth
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK—Costello's Ace Hardware demonstrated its strong family values and documented its growth to an audience of key suppliers Tuesday morning.
And like the donuts-and-coffee and peanut-butter-and-jelly combos that were provided at each seat of the general session, the two-day Vendor Summit ran with the theme of "Better Together."
The Deer Park, New York-based chain with 50 stores shared a wealth of statistics demonstrating growth since 2021, from the size of its delivery fleet (up 250 percent) to the number of internal promotions throughout the company (100).
Costello's Ace CEO Michael Costello described the event as a big one for the family owned retailer.
"It's to show appreciation for those who have really helped us throughout the years," he said. "And also to sit down and take a hard look at the business, and set strategy aligned with where the vendors want to go, and explain to them where we want to go."
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Vendor of the Year: Stanley Black and Decker -
Champagne Award for lawn and garden vendor Jonathan Green -
Champagne Award for Blake Waldman, center, of Benjamin Moore and Co.
During the general session, Ace leaders including Michael Costello and Ken Goodgame, SVP of marketing and merchandising, made clear that they are headed in the direction of growth. A slide demonstrated the path from $180 million in total sales in 2024 to $375 million in 2030.
Growth mode
Costello's Ace Hardware's new store activity.
• Tri County (Md.) Hearth Patio Center, Q1 2024
• Farmingdale, N.Y. relocation, Q2 2024
• Belimore, N.Y. remodel, Q2 2024
• Warrenville, N.J. Paint and Hardware, Q3 2024
• All Pro Chimney and Home, Q3 2024
• Crofton, Md. Ace Hardware, Q3 2024
• Bernardsville, N.J., Q4 2024
• Cedar Knolls, N.J., Q1 2025
"We're optimistic for a number of reasons. First of all, there's a lot of opportunity out there," Michael Costello told HBSDealer. "There's a lot of competition. But there's a lot of opportunity for us to be the succession plan for so many great stores out there that don't have one. And also there are some new markets that are growing, and they're ready for a hardware store to come in and be a part of these communities."
The retailer's high-impact vendors were recognized.
Stanley Black and Decker received the 2024 Vendor of the Year award. And bottles of champagne in recognition of successful partnership were given to Joe Ewing of Milwaukee Tools, Blake Waldman of Benjamin Moore, and Mark Arlotta and Tony Langlois of Jonathan Green.
Costello's Ace also recognized one of its own with a Champagne Award: Promotional Marketing Manager Pasquale LaManna.
Goodgame pointed to stats showing Costello’s relative success compared to its giant competitors. Costello’s 2024 sales (up 2.8 percent), comp-store sales ( up 1.4 percent) and transactions (down 2.5 percent) all outpace Home Depot and Lowe’s.
He also revealed a long list of retail tactics that are producing results, including the Top 500 program. The program identifies top selling skus on the store shelves. “These are best sellers, no different than you would find if you went on Amazon and saw their best sellers list,” Goodgame said. “The program has pushed our Top 500 sales over 11 percent. And as a side benefit, it trains our new associates as to what our best sellers are. It’s a win-win.”
He also expressed excitement over a handful of recent acquisitions, all of which involve businesses with annual sales higher than the average of $3.5 million for a typical Ace Hardware store.
“We’re leaning into big-to-larger volume stores because we know that having that additional top line helps us fund other products that we have going on in the company,” Goodgame said. “And it’s all centered around growth.”
