DISTRIBUTORS/CO-OPS

Employee morale
The following is a response to the article, “Unhappy employees are staying put.”

“[Unhappy employees are] soon to be going, or at least when the economy improves — that’s when they will leave in droves because of extreme low pay and lack of respect from employers. Why wouldn’t they? No one likes being used or abused. Do you?”
— Rick Heath

When Mike Clark, True Value’s senior VP and chief merchandising officer, talks about growth areas, he points to canning, he points to pet food. He points to strength in these warm times, of anything that moves cool air through a ouse, or moves water around the yard.

But Clark seems most excited about initiatives in farm and ranch. 

New categories, products and trends take the stage in Las Vegas.

Cleaning supplies and storage have become a separate category with their own dedicated buyer at Do it Best Corp., the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based co-op. Amanda Harmeyer, the organization’s former associate merchandise manager for housewares, has been promoted to merchandise manager for Cleaning Supplies and Storage, a newly created position.

A five-year veteran of Do it Best, Harmeyer previously worked in merchandising for two international retailers. 

A small chain of Ace Hardware stores in the Midwest plans to add another unit -- this one in Duluth, Minn. -- by November, according to an article in the Duluth News Tribune. 

Two notable newcomers appearing at the True Value Fall Market show floor in Salt Lake City were Stihl power tools and Benjamin Moore paints. 

Loyalty to national brands drives traffic, according to True Value senior VP and chief merchandising officer Mike Clark.

Chicago -- Ace Hardware supplied several growth-minded statistics to members during the co-op’s Fall Market general session, which was heavy on strategy initiatives and inspirational messages for store owners.

The paint department figured heavily in the Thursday morning presentation. So did payment systems, logistics and -- as one would expect -- the concept of customer service as delivered by a friendly store. 

Northwest True Value Hardware, a Roanoke-based chain of six retail outlets, will open a new store near Ridgeway in early 2013, according to an article in the Martinsville Bulletin.

The 20,000-sq.-ft. structure will carry traditional hardware categories, lawn and garden, Benjamin Moore Paint, and niche items such as the Lodge Cast Iron brand of cookware, an American-made product.