Home Hardware

[UrbanWaterloo]

Home Hardware
Head Office: 34 Henry Street West, St. Jacobs
www.HomeHardware.ca
www.HomeFurniture.ca
http://www.homehardware.ca/Images/logos/en-hh-loggedout.png


About Home Hardware: http://www.homehardware.ca/Cms/content/index/page/Retailer_of_the_year_Awards_2009
Home Hardware Stores Limited is Canada's largest independent hardware, lumber and building materials and furniture retailer with more than 1,000 stores across Canada, under the Home Hardware, Home Building Centre, Home Hardware Building Centre and Home Furniture banners.Dealers have access to 100,000 quality brand name and private label products and the company has annual retail sales of $4.85 billion. The cooperative was founded on January 1, 1964 by 122 independent hardware Dealers.

Home Hardware - St. Jacobs: http://www.homehardware.ca/Dealer/index/contact/companyId/363/myLocalStore/1
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Welcome to the site of the "original" Home Hardware Store. Located in the heart of St. Jacobs, we continue to serve the needs of locals and visitors alike!

History: http://www.homehardware.ca/Cms/content/index/page/homeofthehandyman_01
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The birth of a national identity: Appropriately, the Home Hardware name and logo - recognized by four of five Canadians - became official on November 9, 1967, during Canada’s internationally defining centennial year.
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Home Hardware operates four distribution centres: St. Jacobs, Ontario; Elmira, Ontario (Home Furniture); Debert, Nova Scotia; and Wetaskiwin, Alberta; approximately 2.5 million square feet of combined warehousing space holding over 100,000 products. Home Hardware’s distinctive yellow trucks, trailers and vans - of which there are over 400 - are a common sight on Canadian roads traveling from these hubs to make their weekly deliveries to stores across the country.
The company offers over 8,700 exclusively-branded products. Beauti-Tone Paint - produced along with many cleaning and solvent products at its plant in Burford, Ontario - is just one well-known Home Hardware private-label success story.

Home at home in St. Jacobs
A large organization that has never forgotten its small-town community roots, Home Hardware’s corporate headquarters and its largest distribution centre is located in the scenic village of St. Jacobs, Ontario.
Twice a year, in Spring and Fall, the corporate office hosts the Home Hardware Dealer Market. Home Hardware’s predecessor, Hollinger Hardware, inaugurated the first hardware show in Canada to be organized by an independent retailer in 1961. The hugely popular Dealer Markets outgrew a succession of venues, finding a permanent home in 1979 at the Henry Sittler Building in St. Jacobs - dedicated in tribute to one of the company’s founding partners, whose management skills greatly contributed to Home Hardware’s enduring success.
The Dealer Markets are much more than just trade shows; they are a multi-community reunion. Here, hundreds of Home Hardware Dealers and employees from across Canada can connect, share ideas and build friendships. Brisk business, Canadian cuisine, and lively entertainment are always highlights of these semi-annual gatherings.
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Mr. Hardware - Walter J. Hachborn
Walter Hachborn -one of the company’s founders - literally “climbed the ladder,” starting at Hollinger Hardware in 1938 working as a stock boy for $8 per week. When Gordon Hollinger died in 1948, Walter took over many of his mentor’s responsibilities, soon purchasing the company in partnership with Henry Sittler and Arthur Zilliax in 1950. It was Walter who spearheaded Home Hardware’s Dealer-owned cooperative model, inspired by the need to address the urgent economic challenges of his fellow retailers, and encouraged by the success of the concept in the United States.
Retired from the day-to-day operations since 1988, Walter Hachborn retains the title of President. His combination of business acumen, work ethic, ingenuity and kindness, have inspired thousands over the course of his distinguished career. That leadership tradition has since passed into the hands of Paul Straus, a long-time employee, who as CEO now guides Home Hardware’s continuing success and community esteem across Canada.
In 1999, Walter was recognized by his industry as Canadian Hardware Retailer of the Century. The very next year, in 2000, his country bestowed upon him its most distinguished honour - appointment to The Order of Canada, in tribute to his outstanding business achievements and community service. Most recently, in 2003, Walter was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.
“Home Hardware was created by and for independent Dealers who believed in a community that would serve the Canadian hardware retail industry’s common good. That kind of principle is as solid a foundation as you can have for succeeding in business, because it attracts good people. Our Dealers - and everyone else who works for Home Hardware - are driven by more than just the bottom line. They care about building friendships, helping people and serving their communities. That spirit is what defines Home Hardware on the Canadian retail landscape.
It has been my privilege and honour to work alongside these people for the last 40 years. On this occasion of Home Hardware’s anniversary, we should all be thankful that the hardware store, that uniquely Canadian community tradition, is alive and well.” (Walter Hachborn)
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[UrbanWaterloo]

Home Hardware dealers gathering this weekend
September 20, 2008
Record staff and news services - ST. JACOBS
http://news.therecord.com/article/417839

More than 10,000 Home Hardware Stores Ltd. dealers and vendors will converge here for the company's fall market starting this weekend. The trade show, which runs tomorrow until Tuesday, is held twice a year in the company's massive head office and distribution centre in St. Jacobs. Dealers from more than 1,000 stores across Canada are expected to attend.


Home Hardware, Toyota join forces in marketing
February 24, 2009
Record staff and The Canadian Press - ST. JACOBS
http://news.therecord.com/article/493015

Home Hardware Stores Ltd. and Toyota Canada have entered a marketing partnership. Toyota will be the official vehicle of Home Hardware, and Home Hardware the official "home improvement retailer" of Toyota, the companies announced yesterday. As an example of how the joint marketing will work, Toyota vehicles will be displayed at Home Hardware's Tough As Nails shows for contractors.


Home Hardware retailers arrive for massive market
April 18, 2009
Record staff and news services - ST. JACOBS
http://news.therecord.com/article/522521

Home Hardware dealers from across Canada descend on Waterloo Region this weekend for the retailer's spring market. The market, from Sunday to Tuesday, gives dealers a chance to attend seminars and check out the latest products. Home's giant distribution centre in St. Jacobs becomes a trade show for the event. Home is a dealer-owned co-operative with more than 1,000 stores.


Schaefer elected to chair board
April 25, 2009
http://news.therecord.com/article/526477

A longtime Home Hardware dealer in Bradford, Ont., is the new chair of the company's board.

Jim Schaefer Sr. succeeds Ron Goldade of Nepawa, Man., who retired after 19 years as a director, including seven as chair.

Schaefer, a member of the company's board for 10 years, has owned Bradford Home Hardware since 1978. He operates the store with his wife, and son and daughter.

Home Hardware, based in St. Jacobs, is a co-operative-owned by its dealers. It is governed by a 16-member board elected by the dealers.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Home Hardware reports banner year
Independents thrive while big box chains struggle
April 25, 2009
Rose Simone, RECORD STAFF - ST. JACOBS
http://news.therecord.com/article/526452

http://media.therecord.topscms.com/images/91/5b/85ef2e744a97addb613ff9c2fc92.jpeg
St. Jacobs, Ontario - Tuesday Apr 21, 2009 - Paul Straus, chief executive officer of Home Hardware Stores Ltd., says the commitment to service demonstrated by Home's dealers is a key reason why the company is thriving despite the recession. Philip Walker, Record staff

In the David and Goliath battles of independent retailers against big box stores, score one for the Davids of the business world.

As a deep recession grips the country and home improvement giants such as Home Depot, Rona and Lowe's struggle with waning consumer confidence and stalling growth, the network of independent Home Hardware retailers collectively ended 2008 with record-breaking retail sales of $4.85 billion and an expanded reach.

"We had a banner year," Paul Straus, chief executive officer of Home Hardware Stores Ltd., said earlier this week as 10,000 Home dealers from across the country gathered at the company's distribution centre in St. Jacobs to check out the latest products at the retailer's biannual market.

Straus acknowledges that the recession is having an impact. Sales of lumber and building materials have been slower, and dealers in some communities, such as in areas of Alberta and British Columbia that are heavily dependent on oil or lumber, are feeling the pinch.

But sales of products such as hardware, housewares, sporting goods and auto parts were up eight per cent last month, Straus said. The company as a whole expects retail sales will rise three per cent this year.

Home Hardware also continues to expand its reach. It gained 39 stores last year, raising the total of independently owned home-improvement stores in the company to 1,045.

The dealer-owned co-operative was formed 45 years ago when 128 independent retailers came together to gain the collective buying power that would allow them to compete against large discount retailers.

Michael McLarney, editor of Hardlines, a weekly newsletter for the retail home improvement industry and managing director of the North American Retail Hardware Association in Canada, has dubbed 2009 "the year of the independents."

The three big box home improvement giants in Canada -- Home Depot, Rona and Lowe's -- have had an incredibly successful business model and "have been the go-to place for home owners in Canada for the past the past 15 years," he said.

Big box format stores still account for about 21 per cent of Canada's $42-billion home improvement market. But their growth has stalled, he said.

McLarney, who expects sales for the industry as a whole to be flat this year, said that between them, Home Depot, Rona and Lowe's plan to open only 10 big box stores in Canada this year. That's about half the number they typically opened in past years, he said.

The market for big box format stores is saturated, while independents are holding their own, McLarney said.

Sales and profits for big box stores have taken a bigger hit than for independents, partly because they have bigger overhead costs, he said. "They need the traffic in their stores, and in this economy, the traffic has slowed."

Furthermore, the giants are focused on big-city markets, and when financial markets take a tumble, those urban centres are the ones that feel the pain, he said. Independent retailers, who are more focused on smaller towns and secondary urban centres, tend to be more insulated from those economic shocks.

Those are factors in Home Hardware's success, but Straus believes the commitment to service demonstrated by Home's dealers also plays a critical role. Operating as an independent retailer, "you know that you need to have the same people coming back to your store time and time again, and that if you don't give them service, they will go somewhere else. People still appreciate service," he said.

Home Hardware has played up its commitment to service in its advertising. Late last year, it introduced the tag line, "Home Owners helping homeowners," to get the message across that Home Hardware stores are owned by dealers who live in the communities where they do business.

"We have been getting good comments about that," Straus said.

The message underlying the slogan is taken to heart, he said. "We say to our dealers that you will always have competitors, but you should worry about the customers because they are the ones spending money in your store."

Over the course of the company's 45 years, many recessions have come and gone, but Straus said that "when things get tough, people do spend more time at home and in their communities. That is our market. We help them make their house into a home."

He noted that many children of Home Hardware store owners are now taking over the family businesses. So while the home improvement business can change in many ways, "what we will never lose is that family atmosphere."

Meanwhile, despite the recession, McLarney remains upbeat about the future of independents and the entire home improvement industry.

Canada's population continues to grow, he said. As new communities are built and old ones are made over, "there will always be room for a hardware store, large or small."



Retailer of the year Awards 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Home Hardware Dealers Honoured at Hardware Merchandising's Outstanding Retailer Awards
http://www.homehardware.ca/Cms/content/index/page/Retailer_of_the_year_Awards_2009

Toronto, ON, October 22, 2009 - Today, at the 2009 Outstanding Retailer Awards ceremony held in Toronto, Home Hardware Dealer-Owners with three of the six prestigious awards presented by Hardware Merchandising Magazine.

Bringing home the much sought after Hardware Store of the Year award was Quincaillerie Home Hardware in Rimouski, Quebec.Ontario's Orillia Home Hardware Building Centre was awarded Outstanding Building Supply Store Over 25,000 Square Feet, while Kamloops Home Hardware Building Centre in British Colombia was presented the Contractor-Specialist Dealer of the Year award.

"For the past 45 years we have remained confident that Home offers the strongest program for independent hardware retailers in the industry," said Paul Straus, Vice President and CEO, Home Hardware Stores Limited. "These award-winning Dealers are a testament to the strength of our company and we're very proud of their successes."

Each Hardware Merchandising Outstanding Retailer Award nominee was judged by a panel of industry experts on a range of criteria, including sales growth, customer service, overall store appearance, merchandising and marketing, employee management and dedication to the industry.

Winners were selected in six separate categories: Outstanding Young Retailer of the Year, Outstanding Building Supply/Home Centre Under 25,000 square feet, Outstanding Building Supply/Home Centre Over 25,000 square feet, Outstanding Hardware Store, Outstanding Contractor Specialist Dealer and Outstanding Large Surface Retailer.

"On behalf of more than 1,000 Dealers across Canada, I'd like to congratulate each of these very deserving Dealers," said Paul Straus, Vice President and CEO, Home Hardware Stores Limited. "We are so proud to have Dealers who are committed to constantly building and enhancing their businesses - making them true models for home improvement retailers across Canada."

Founded in 1991, Hardware Merchandising's Outstanding Retailer Awards program was created to acknowledge excellence in hardware/home improvement retailing. The awards are presented annually to winners and designed to focus on particular store formats or specific areas of business concentration.

About Home Hardware
Home Hardware Stores Limited is Canada's largest independent hardware, lumber and building materials and furniture retailer with more than 1,000 stores across Canada, under the Home Hardware, Home Building Centre, Home Hardware Building Centre and Home Furniture banners.Dealers have access to 100,000 quality brand name and private label products and the company has annual retail sales of $4.85 billion. The cooperative was founded on January 1, 1964 by 122 independent hardware Dealers.
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[UrbanWaterloo]

Home Hardware Tough as Nails Contractor Show represents more than $100 million of business in Waterloo
Posted February 18 , 2010
http://www.exchangemagazine.com/morningpost/2010/week7/Thursday/021806.htm

St. Jacobs – Yesterday, Home Hardware Stores Limited held its Tough as Nails Contractor Tradeshow in Waterloo, one of six shows being held across Canada. The action-packed show attracted more than 85 hardware and building material vendors and more than 1400 professional contractors on an invitation-only basis. The exclusive tradeshow represents more than $100 million worth of business for the Waterloo area and provides some of its most valued contractors with the tools they need for the new business year.

“The Tough as Nails Show is a way for Home Hardware Building Centres to thank our contractors and to show our appreciation for their business,” said Paul Straus, Vice President and CEO of Home Hardware Stores Limited. “It’s a great opportunity for vendors, Home Hardware Building Centre Dealers and contractors to gather together under one roof and learn about the latest trends, products and techniques in our industry and at the same time to enjoy an exciting evening of contests and giveaways.”

Contractors are bussed to the industry-only evening courtesy of Home Hardware and some travel to the show from as far as four hours away. Contractors are given the chance to meet with local Home Hardware Building Centre Dealers and hardware and building material vendors to improve their product knowledge and learn about important industry trends. Contractors are also given the chance to compete in the legendary ‘Contractor Skills Competition’ which includes events such as the Nail Driving Contest, Saw by Sight Contest and the Driver Drill Competition. At the end of the show medals and prizes are awarded to the top performing contractors.

“Contractors and Dealers look forward to the Tough as Nails shows every year. The shows offer a fun environment to build relationships and strengthen our industry,” said Straus.

[Shawn]

I attended the Fall Home Hardware Dealer Show in St. Jacobs in 2009. Unfortunately, I only booked a few hours off and soon discovered you can easily spend an entire day! The company empties out it's St. Jacobs Warehouse and fills it with Merchant booths representing hardware suppliers from across North America. When the Spring Show happens you can be guaranteed I'll have booked the whole day off to go exploring and look at all the new and cool items being offered!

[Shawn]

Home Hardware Spring Show

http://www.homehardware.ca/images/en/logo-store-1-bgred.gif

Starting April 17th and running to April 20th it's the semi annual Home Hardware Dealer Market where representatives from over 1000 Home Hardware store owners across Canada get to meet, greet and mingle with hundreds of Vendor who are showing off their products. The Spring Show is mostly comprised of Fall & Winter vendors, so you will see lots of shovels, snow blowers and Christmas items. Their Fall Show that happens in September features Spring & Summer vendors!

It's a massive undertaking. Home Hardware's main warehouse in St. Jacobs, ON is completely emptied out with most of the merchandise having been loaded onto their huge fleet of transport trucks and stored there for the few days of the show.

Unfortunately it's not open to the public and you must either be an employee of a Home Hardware Store or a vendor to attend.

[IEFBR14]

Unfortunately it's not open to the public and you must either be an employee of a Home Hardware Store or a vendor to attend.But they do HH HQ tours at other times, at least for groups. I'll be there in early May.

[UrbanWaterloo]

Home Hardware Spring Market 2010 - April 19, 2010

Exterior
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Ground Level
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Overview
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WW Member Shawn
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[Shawn]

No comment - now I know why the paparazzi are so universally hated! haha :cool:

[Shawn]

Home Hardware Autumn Trade Show
September 11th to 14th, 2010

Stay tuned for details and photos!

[Tuuluuwag]

The company I work for does all the Home Hardware graphics. We have just finished up all the graphics for the Fall fair. We have been pretty busy with just them alone this year!

[Shawn]

Where at the Fall Trade Show will I be able to see some examples of the work you've done? Will it appear on signs? Brochures etc?

[Tuuluuwag]

Shawn - We are all over the map on this one. We have done about 4 Vehicle wraps in total. Not sure which ones will be at the show. We completely wrapped a 2010 Tundra that was black in the HH yellow. I think that one is to be raffled off to a vendor.
We also did alot of signage for the show. Alupanel signs, Banners, wall graphics and the like.
I think there is another guy who wants 2 riding lawnmowers wrapped up for the show this week as well. Not sure of details just yet.
They have been keeping us inundated!

[Waterlooer]

I like the red carpet

[Shawn]

Shawn - We are all over the map on this one. We have done about 4 Vehicle wraps in total. Not sure which ones will be at the show. We completely wrapped a 2010 Tundra that was black in the HH yellow. I think that one is to be raffled off to a vendor.

I was at the show Monday and I saw the Toyota that was being raffled off to a vendor! Lots of great looking banners and posters there too.