Rice sizzles at Ace Session

Las Vegas -- Condoleezza Rice added star power to the general session that kicked off the 2015 Ace Hardware Spring Convention & Exhibits. But she wasn't the only attraction, as Ace executives bullet-pointed highlights from a record year and programs designed to build sales.

Among the key takeaways from a wide-ranging general session were the following:

• John Surane, Ace's EVP merchandising, marketing and sales, reported the good news from the company's fiscal 2014 report. Sales of $4.7 billion were up 13.2%, and profits of $140.9 million were up 34.8%. He encouraged the attendees to think even bigger. "We have 5% market share in the home improvement space," he said. "We've got a long way to go."

• Calling 2015 "the year of the light bulb," the co-op has high goals for LED light bulb sales. The co-op is shooting for 3,000 stores to embrace LED merchandise resets. It also hopes to sell 5 million LED light bulbs, about three times what it sold in the same quarter last year.

One reason for the focus on LED is the dramatic change of the product's life cycle. There's a race to be first-to-the-socket across the home improvement industry, merchandise executives said.

• The co-op's 2014 patronage dividend was up 24.4% to $135.3 million, Surane said.

• Also in 2014, the co-op set a record for fundraising for Children Miracle Network Hospitals: $5.8 million. 

• Sales of mowers have shown a surge -- up 115% since 2011, the co-op said. And now, Ace has added Toro to its longstanding Craftsman offering, giving the co-op what it describes as the top two brands in the field.

• President and CEO John Venhuizen described 2014 as "the best year in the company's history."

• Surane pointed to a 2015 media spend of $55 million, with nine "national events" planned for the year. The spend is about twice what it was three years ago, Surane said, without adding to the dealers' marketing fee. New twists to the advertising include a present at Major League Baseball teams and sponsorship of PGA Tour Pro Hunter Mahan.

Also, "Meet the chameleons" is one of the new marketing campaigns added to the Ace lineup. A pair of colorful lizards named Jon and Val will appear in marketing spots to promote the co-op's color offering.

• When asked for the department of an Ace store in which she would most like to work, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the paint department. However, she expressed a dislike for the color pink.

Rice generated standing ovations during her keynote speech on the state of a "dangerous and chaotic world" and America's place in it. In closing, she encouraged small business owners to continue to support their local communities. "This is what makes America great," she said.