Ace Hardware will celebrate its 100th anniversary with expansion in 2024. This year, it opened 100 new stores, including its 5,000th store domestically. The company is on track to open more than 200 new stores by year’s end, a notable accomplishment in a year marked by rapid growth. This milestone includes the recent opening of Fixit Ace Hardware in Roswell, Georgia, its 5,000th store in the United States.
The retailer’s growth has been driven by a combination of factors, including existing retailers opening additional locations, competitors converting their stores to Ace, and new investors entering the brand. Over the past five years, Ace has opened more than 900 new stores worldwide, showing strong interest in its collaborative business model. In the first half of 2024 alone, Ace opened 111 new stores, which the home improvement retailer said was “a record-breaking achievement.”
With over 5,800 locally owned stores in 50 states and 60 countries and over $22 billion in global sales, Ace Hardware’s cooperative model continues to attract new entrepreneurs. This model allows local store owners to become shareholders in Ace Hardware Corporation, making owning an Ace store even more attractive.
Just in time for its anniversary, the hardware store based in Oak Brook, Illinois, introduced a new store concept called ELEVATE.3 Ace at its fall 2024 meeting in Chicago, according to Store Brands. This experience concept will be both integrated into existing stores and built from the ground up in new locations, starting with a few stores this year and a full rollout over the next five years.
According to John Venhuizen, CEO and president of Ace Hardware, the company plans to invest at least $1 billion in “opening new stores and remodeling existing stores to better serve our neighbors. The ELEVATE3 As The store model will be at the heart of this investment.”
“Elevate Ace is not just a new store format; it is our vision to be known for four things in the neighborhoods we serve: color, power, backyards & grilling, and home care. We believe in the power of local, and this initiative strengthens our community bonds by creating experiential spaces that are not just places to shop, but places to connect. Our neighbors will benefit from locally relevant, premium products, expert advice, and comprehensive retail innovation. With Elevate Ace, we are setting a new industry standard as we truly strive to be the best, most helpful store in the world.”
John Venhuizen, President and CEO of Ace Hardware, on Store Brands
The ELEVATE3 The Ace store model introduces several key features to enhance the shopping experience. It will showcase premium brands such as Weber, Traeger and DeWalt in a “brand-immersive shopping environment unique to Ace,” according to Store Brands. This approach aims to enhance the shopping experience by highlighting exclusive products.
Customer service is also a focus of ELEVATE3Ace model that addresses evolving consumer trends and aims to improve overall service standards. The store design includes an outdoor area for live product display and barbecue demonstrations, providing an “ambitious backyard experience.”
In addition, the ELEVATE3 As The model will include new product assortments and store improvements designed to increase sales and enrich the consumer shopping experience.
Dale Fennel, vice president of merchandising at Ace Hardware, told Chain Store Age that this new store concept offers customers a “richer and more immersive shopping experience.”
“That’s what we wanted to achieve here with Elevate.3 Ace,” he explained. “We tried to create a unique shopping experience that is not easily replicated online or in-store. We have a small number of our best and most exclusive brands that drive most of our growth, and so we set out to elevate those brands.”
Fennel added: “From the assortment to the store environment, we wanted to bring everything together and make the shopping experience as simple as possible for customers so they don’t have to shop across multiple categories. But the heart of the home improvement store is still the home preservation categories. They still make up the lion’s share of a store’s gross profit and are central to Ace, but when you first walk into the store, you will be enveloped by these brands.”
