Meet the 2023 STIHL Hardware All Stars: S.C., S.D., Tenn.
Here are the next three in the latest class of STIHL 2023 Hardware Store All Stars that represent community-oriented, customer-focused, high-performance hardware-and-building-supply retailing at its finest. From each of the 50 states, HBSDealer recognized an All-Star performer.
You can read about all 50 honorees here in the digital issue of HBSDealer. Additionally, HBSDealer.com will highlight a handful of honorees one batch at a time. This year’s superstar performers from South Carolina, South Dakota and Tennessee are featured below.
South Carolina
Oswald Wholesale Lumber in Leesville
Owner Jimmy Oswald started as a teenager in his father’s lumber company before founding Oswald Wholesale Lumber out of a one-room office in 1972. Today, this versatile dealer has grown into a full-scale retail and wholesale operation. The team of 65 employees includes Marie Leaphart, who started at the elder Oswald’s company in 1960. They support community arts, athletic programs, and sponsor the South Carolina Poultry Festival.
South Dakota
Mike, Amy and their team, competed in the Valspar Paint Race – a United Hardware annual sales competition – and have won two years in a row. Mike and Amy Locke are owners of Whetstone Home Center, a United Hardware (Hardware Hank) dealer in Milbank, with a lumber yard and hardware store that serves a 60-mile radius. The paint race was a winning experience. “We are grateful for all our loyal customers who have made winning this award possible,” said Amy Locke.
Tennessee
The store, located a short drive from Orgill headquarters in Collierville, has been serviced by Orgill for decades. The relationship tightened in 2020, when Orgill’s wholly owned subsidiary Central Network Retail Group acquired the store. Highlighted at the recent Orgill Spring Dealer Market was a celebration of retail best practices in the form of an 18,200-square-foot model store patterned after this recently remodeled store.
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Special thanks to STIHL for its support of the ALL-STAR project. (Note: Not all honorees are STIHL dealers.)
