HARDWARE STORES

Sulphur Springs, Texas — “Let me show you something.”


That’s how an employee at Fix & Feed Sulphur Springs Hardware greeted a reporter who was visiting the store about 80 miles east of Dallas on a hot July weekday. She marched to a back room of the 20,000-sq.-ft. hardware store to a door marked “Keep this door closed at all times,” and led the visitor inside. 


“Here is where we make the fudge,” she said. 


True Value Co. reported revenue of $536 million for the second quarter, an increase of 1.2% from $529.5 million for the same period a year ago. The Chicago-based co-op posted a quarterly net margin of $22.2 million for the quarter, an increase of 1.8% over $21.8 million one year ago.

Stine Home & Yard will accept the prestigious Retailer of the Year Award during the 2014 Golden Hammer Awards Ceremony at this year’s National Hardware Show in Las Vegas on May 6.