On the floor with Ace dealers
Taylor Ward, owner of Ward Ace Hardware in Alexandria, Louisiana, and his store manager Amy McGraw, moved along the tables of merchandise in the New Arrivals section at the Ace Hardware spring show in Dallas.
“We like checking out the new stuff,” Ward said as he paused for a moment to chat.
His 10,000 square foot store, in a town of 40,000, is almost 100 years old, he said, as he also acknowledged Ace’s century celebration going on this year.
He was here at the show to do some seasonal buying as well.
“Christmas gifts are big at our store,” he said. “We’ll be buying for the holiday season. We’re known for our Christmas gifts. We have about 30 customers who come to us exclusively for all their items.”
They paused for a photo and moved off to check out item after item in a busy product area.
This Ace show felt bigger than last year’s spring show. Larger venue, more attendees. At a morning keynote, John Venhuizen, CEO, said there were 450 new items at this show.
He also said there would be a BBQ Flavor Fest outside with 45 vendors. “We’re going big in Texas,” he said.
Along the busy, crowded main aisle running the length of the show, Jason Vinson, owner of Vinson Ace in Red Bay, Alabama, paused to talk about his unique store.
“We’re a hardware store and a grocery store,” he said.
He has 22,000 square feet of retail space and he runs three of these combination stores, one in Alabama and two more in Mississippi.
“I’m here at the show looking for special deals. I’ll find them too,” he said.
Speaking of special deals, up some wide stairs and into another show hall, near the back by the education and training stage was the Deals and Steals section, heavy with dealers checking items and prices.
“We’re looking for everything – where have you heard that before,” said Rick and Tara McCarraher from Advantage Rental in Seaville, New Jersey.
“Tara is the floor manager, I’m the assistant manager,” said Rick.
We started talking mainly because we almost walked right into each other, but I noticed Rick’s cool beard and black leather jacket. We laughed.
“What’s on your mind today about the hardware business,” I asked.
“It’s hard to staff up,” said Tara. Rick nodded. “Nobody wants to work anymore,” he said.
After we exchanged handshakes, they moved off toward one of the educational sessions about to start.
Cameron Elliott, manager of South Salem Ace Hardware in Oregon, came to the show with his wife Melissa and his assistant manager Hunter Koskondy.
They said there was lots to see at the big show and they were open to finding anything.
“We have a specialty gift section at our store that does well,” said Elliott. “We have one store. We’ll buy for our section of specialty items.”
They were happy to have their photo taken and wished me a good show and turned back down a wide aisle that led to the Ace Cafe.
Back in New Arrivals, later in the afternoon, Dave and Chelsea Clement, owners of Dave’s Ace in Hammond, Louisiana, talked about their claim to fame.
“We’re the barbecue place,” said Dave, glad to chat about his business.
He said his store is 15,000 square feet and they’ve been owners for two years. They came into the business with no hardware background but love it.
“Our biggest sellers in BBQ grills are either Traeger or Big Green Egg, they trade off being number one in sales almost quarterly,” he said, “but we do ok in Weber too.”
With knowing smiles, they said other areas are tougher. “Paint is a bit of a challenge for us with competition just down the street,” he said.
They serve a town of 35,000 people and are happy to be in the hardware business.
“We’re here for the show specials and we’re already buying for winter,” he said.
They happily posed for a photo and wished me well, turning back to look over all the new items being offered.
