Amid products, Orgill points to independent growth

Innovations, improvements and evolutions. That’s how Orgill CEO Ron Beal described the show floor – in excess of a million square feet – at the 2015 Orgill Spring Dealer Market.

Editors on the floor saw all that, as well as a healthy dose of retro-flavored products during the event in Orlando – the first market of the year among the big four national distributors. Ace Hardware Corp. and True Value Co. will follow suit in March and Do it Best Corp. will host a market in May.

The event showcased an efficiently merchandised 11,000 sq.-ft. model store called “One Stop Hardware plus,” plus a series of seminars

In the Great outdoor showcase area, Snapper was on display as a new Orgill partner. Promoted with a free Snapper banner POP package to the first 50 locations that place an opening order.

There was news in garage storage, with Gladiator by Whirlpool Corp., entering the Orgill warehouse program for the first time.

Tradition had its place across the Orange County Convention Center. In the massive impulse item area, a row of vintage soda pop was stacked  -- Route 66, to Choc-Ola. And elsewhere, Grandma’s Hand Crafted Herbal Soaps was promoting a throw back all-natural soap that doubles as a mosquito repellant.

Through it all, Ron Beal interpreted the action as a sign of health for the independent hardware store.

“One of the things so cool about this event is how really viable and vibrant the independent hardware industry is,” Beal said. “We have more new stores that are being built ground up by independent hardware folks than ever.”