Big brands lift Ace market
The Ace spring convention kicked off with a morning strategy, merchandizing and marketing general session aimed at showing member retailers what the co-op has planned for the future.
Two big items on the list: Craftsman brand products and Benjamin Moore paint.
The session started with a call to action from president and CEO Ray Griffith.
“It’s time to start growing again," he said. "Both of us, profitable. Are you with me?”
To do that, the company looked back to the strategies it developed and presented to its members during the fall market in Atlanta, centered around building upon its already strong paint department and differentiating Ace from the warehouse home centers as a home repair and maintenance center, rather than a home improvement destination.
On the merchandising end, John Surane, VP merchandising, marketing and paint, laid out the company’s plans by diving into its newest brand alliances, in Benjamin Moore and Craftsman, two alliances that the company continuously labeled as game changers.
Surane reinforced Ace’s commitment to being No.1 in paint. He pointed to the retailers themselves as the prime example of why Ace needs to win in paint.
“In almost every store I go to, it’s either No. 1 or No. 2 in sales, and it’s generating the most profit,” he said. “That’s not something we can back up on, as a matter of fact, that’s something we can capitalize on.”
With that in mind, Surane pointed to Ace’s two-brand paint strategy, which leverages its increased partnership with Benjamin Moore.
“We spent a lot of time in the last show talking about Ace paint and the re-launch of Ace paint with new labels and all of that,” Surane said. “This time, we are rolling out our new relationship with Benjamin Moore. Those two brands work together to be this leveraged two-brand strategy that will hopefully raise the level of the whole department.”
In short, Ace brand paint isn’t competing with Benjamin Moore for shelf space, but instead, the two are being utilized together to draw in more paint customers.
Next, Surane pointed to what he called the slap in the face of the morning. Tool sales were declining. “You know what makes this even worse folks? The hardware store used to be known for tools,” he said. “We have to have a game change. It is an important component of a great hardware store to have a healthy tool department.”
The third piece of the merchandising puzzle was batteries and the company’s all new 40-sq.-ft. replacement battery display they call “The Battery Place.” It features hard-to-find replacement batteries for everything from cameras, laptops and cell phones to dirt bike and radio-controlled car batteries.
Retailers were given a chance to see three of the television commercials that are set to start airing in more than 4.5 billion homes in the next two weeks. The "I will" ads feature DIYers pledging not to build a whole new home, but to fix and maintain the one they already have. One ad began: “This spring, I will not plan a yard project where I have to rent a bulldozer. I will just fertilize the lawn. I will not add an entire wing to my house. I will paint the wing I have.”
The ad culminates with a pledge to go to Ace and kick off the to-do list.