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Dive Brief:
- Ace Hardware continues to expand its brick-and-mortar presence by opening 60 additional stores before the end. It plans to open three additional warehouses in the next five-years. Wednesday’s announcement by the hardware retailer. The company has so far opened 95 stores in this year.
- The three new warehouses will increase the company’s distribution network’s capacity by 4.4 million square footage. The hardware retail chain has added more that 2.5million square feet to its distribution system over the last four years.
- The company currently has more than 5,600 hardware shops in 70 countries, including the U.S. According to a press release it has opened more than 840 stores in the past five years.
Dive Insight
Ace Hardware opened additional distribution facilities in order to keep up with the growth of its stores.
It has distribution capabilities in China, Panama and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the U.S.
“With over 100 new stores already opened for the year, we remain enthusiastically bullish about the continued prospect for new store growth,”John Venhuizen, Ace Hardware CEO, said in a statement. “I applaud our local Ace owners for the pace with which they’ve integrated our digital efforts with our physical assets. Seventy percent of Acehardware.com orders are picked up in store and 20% are delivered to customers by our own red vested heroes, thus further advancing the relevance and necessity of our neighborhood stores.”
Ace Hardware is expanding its physical presence, but the company has made some recent changes. After Obtained a majorityAce Hardware owns a stake in The Grommet (an online curation retailer). The platform was closedIn June, 44 employees were fired. Jules Pieri, founder of The Grommet, announced its closure via LinkedIn.
Ace Hardware announced that new stores were opened following a strong first-quarter. Its Q1 2022 revenue 8.9% Increase to $2.2 BillionIts net income rose 13.7% to $119.8million. The retailer reported sales growth across all of its departments at that time, with outdoor power equipment and plumbing reporting the highest gains. Lawn and gardening categories also saw significant growth.
Ace Hardware is experiencing an increase in sales but its competitors are beginning notice the difference. Popular home improvement products are in high demand. Home Depot’s Q1 sales increased 3.8% year-over-year, while Lowe’s reported that their Q1 total sales saw a 3% decrease compared to last.
