ACO Hardware returns to its roots

ACO Hardware is getting back to its hardware roots, back to a relationship with Ace and back to its Michigan heritage.

The 52-store chain’s focus never left the Great Lakes state. But as it joins the Ace co-op — during an anticipated several-month-long transition period — the stores will be known as Great Lakes Ace.

Perhaps the biggest change at the chain is its point of emphasis. In 2011, the company announced plans to shift its focus away from home improvement. The move was not a success; and its architect, Dick Snyder, a former Walmart executive, is no longer with ACO.

The retailer was founded in 1946 as Traskos Brothers Hardware Depot in Dearborn, Mich. Last year it closed 12 underperforming stores and looked hard at its options.

“We felt the best thing for us was to go back to our hardware roots,” said Mark VandenBerg, ACO Hardware CFO. “And aligning ourselves with the Ace co-op would be the best way to do that.”

For about 20 years until 1981, ACO was part of the Ace family. When it broke away, it changed the E to an O for its new identity.

Michigan roots run deep: “We feature what we call ACO-niche product categories — these are Michigan-based food products and some non-food categories,” VandenBerg said. “They offer uniqueness for us, and they help drive traffic into the stores.”