HOME HARDWARE TO HOLD ITS 100TH MARKET
For the 100th time, Home Hardware dealers will gather in St. Jacobs to see what’s in store for them
SINCE OPENING IN ST. Jacobs in 1964, the Home Hardware brand has expanded to encompass more than 1,000 stores across the country. But as the venerable home improvement chain prepares to launch its 100th semi-annual market this week, president and CEO Paul Straus affirms that the company’s identity remains distinctly local.
“This is where it all started,” said Straus at Home Hardware’s main office on Henry Street. “This was the root, and if you look at our stores across the country, most of them are in rural communities.”
Home Hardware’s brand may have expanded over the years, but the store has kept its feet planted in Woolwich. Straus said there is much here that is conducive to the company’s public image. “We’ve got a good workforce here – this area is known for its work ethic – so it makes good sense to be here.”
The 100th market will gather representatives of the hundreds of independently-owned, Home Hardware-branded Canadian stores to St. Jacobs from April 14 to 16. On those days, the visitors will preview September’s vendor market, where industry professionals will offer a glimpse of the wares that will dominate the fall/winter season.
“The idea was to share your products with your dealers,” said Straus. “It’s the opportunity to buy your merchandise and prepare for the upcoming seasons. So every year we’ve done that twice a year.”
The next day, after a tour of Home Hardware’s distribution centre, the event will conclude with a keynote speech by Stephen M.R. Covey, best known for his business book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Anna Olson, of the Food Network, will also speak before the crowd.
And, exploring Home Hardware’s institutional memory, Straus himself will deliver a speech lead- ing storeowners on a “journey through the past,” describing the ins and outs of the brand’s 49-year history.
The concept behind Home Hardware began in 1964, when a collective of 122 hardware stores in Canada formed a cooperative by buying St. Jacobs’ Hollinger Hardware Limited. This came at a time when independent hardware stores were steadily closing, facing intense competition from big box retailers. This new cooperative offered independent storeowners many collec- tive resources (inventory, delivery, advertising, etc.).
In November 1967, the “Home Hardware” name and logo were formally adopted. In 1981, a merger with Link Hardware led to the initiation of a cross-country chain.
Straus, who has worked at Home Hardware since its 1964 founding, has risen the ranks from controller to vice-president to president and CEO. Over the years, he has seen the once-modest business expand into one of Canada’s most recognizable brands. “When we first started, the concept was such a new concept that it just grew and grew,” he said.
“There were times when we were overwhelmed, and there were times when the warehouses were so cramped it was hard to move around,” he remembered. “There were times when we would invite the dealers to come in – because this was their company, they owned the company – and they helped us to sort inventory on the
shelves because we were growing so quickly.”
The semi-annual market has jumped around various Woolwich locations during its existence, but currently has a permanent home at Home Hardware’s large facilities on Henry Street. While the market is only open to industry professionals and not the general public, its presence is felt emphatically. Studies have shown that visitors rent an average of 3,000 hotel rooms, and have pumped $13 million into the local economy over the past 20 years. Indeed, Home Hardware’s markets have earned it the first Corporate Tourism Ambassador Award from the Waterloo Regional Tourism Marketing Corporation.
All of which, of course, is incidental to Home Hardware’s main mission statement, which Straus continues to take to heart. “From day-one, our mission was to help the independent dealers compete with these large discount stores that were coming to Canada. One of the things we haven’t strayed from is that mission.”
And, pulling out a bright, red bowtie as if on cue, Straus added, “Walter Hachborn, the founder, was known for his bowties. And like the bowtie hasn’t gone out of style, our mission hasn’t gone out of style.