Home Hardware
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the Canadian chain. For the unaffiliated Australian chain, see Home Timber and Hardware.
| Home Hardware Stores Ltd. | |
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| Slogan | Help is close to home |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | St. Jacobs, Ontario, 1964 |
| Headquarters | St. Jacobs, Ontario |
| Key people | Walter Hachborn, President |
| Industry | Retail (Department & Discount) |
| Products | Retail hardware supplies |
| Revenue | est 4.0 billion CAD 3.2 billion FY 2001) |
| Employees | Unknown (all stores independently owned) |
| Website | www.homehardware.ca |
Home Hardware is a privately held Canadian home improvement, construction materials, and furniture retailer. Co-founded in 1964 by Walter Hachborn and headquartered in St. Jacobs, Ontario, it has become a cultural icon of Canadian business. The chain is cooperatively owned by over 1000 independently-owned member stores.
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[edit] Banners
Home Hardware consists of four separate banners, offering goods such as the following:[1]
- Home Hardware – housewares, tools, paint, garden supplies
- Home Building Centre – lumber, plumbing and electrical supplies, building materials
- Home Hardware Building Centre – full range of Home Hardware and Home Building Centre items
- Home Furniture – furniture and major appliances
[edit] Current operations
Home Hardware has survived the expansion of The Home Depot, an American home improvement chain, into Canada, as well as the expansion of a domestic competitor, Rona, into the big-box arena. This resilience has been attributed to a number of factors, including the provision of services which large-format stores usually cannot provide.
For example, Home Hardware locations tend to be smaller stores. This allows the company to have a retail presence in smaller markets that may be uneconomical for large chains to compete in. This also allows for more personal, attentive customer service and retail accountability. Some locations offer a delivery program, wherein any product will be personally delivered to a customer within a reasonable vicinity of the store. This policy may be contrasted with a more impersonal, big-box approach to home delivery and customer service in general.
In 2000, the chain expanded through the purchase of the Beaver Lumber chain from Molson.[2] Incidentally, Molson was also previously owner of a big-box chain itself, Aikenhead's, which was sold to Home Depot.[3]
On January 11, 2003, Home Hardware received unexpected worldwide exposure, when a T-shirt worn by Avril Lavigne during a performance on Saturday Night Live featured her hometown of Napanee, Ontario and the local hardware store there. In response, the chain produced a limited-edition line of identical T-shirts for sale at locations nationwide, with proceeds going to charity.[4]
In 2004, Canada Post issued a postage stamp to commemorate the company's 40th anniversary. Though Home Hardware is an iconic Canadian company, Canada Post was accused by some of providing free advertising for the company.
[edit] References
- ^ About Home Hardware, Home Hardware website, accessed October 4, 2006
- ^ Home Hardware Acquisition, Lexpert, February 2000, accessed October 4, 2006
- ^ Home Depot Takes Control of Canadian Chain, The New York Times, March 2, 1994, accessed October 4, 2006
- ^ Fans go ape for Avril T's, Doug Lunney, Winnipeg Sun, March 12, 2003, accessed October 4, 2006
